Unit 11 Study Guide Vocab for U.S. DE History

office of war information

or the office of war mobilization set up in 1943 to settle arguments among different agencies

double V campaign

African Americans emphasized a need to fight for victory against fascism abroad and victory against discrimination at home

April 1945

end of WW2

axis powers

Germany, Italy, and Japan

allies

Britian, U.S., and Soviet Union

lend-lease plan

authorized the president to lease, lend , or dispose of arms and equipment to Britain or any other country whose defense was considered vital to the security of the U.S. (they then would later give the same plan to aid Russia)

atlantic charter

FDR and Churchill meet in secret to discuss how to defeat the Nazis (no territorial expansion, self-determination, free trade, international cooperation — combination of four freedoms and 14 points to create basis of the UN)

pearl harbor

when Japanese forces attacked U.S. soil and they had planned it for over a year (sparked America’s entry into the war)

war production board

set up by FDR after Pearl Harbor; it was given the authority to set priorities and production goals in order to control distribution of raw materials and supplies

office of price administration

created to stabilize wages and prices and counter inflation; froze prices on most goods

Korematsu vs. U.S.

Supreme court decision that ruled the relocation of Japanese-Americans was constitutional because it was based on military urgency not race (if Japanese Americans pledged their loyalty they will be released back to their homes but that doesn’t mean immediate gain of previous jobs and land they’ll have to start over)

bataan death march

78,000 prisoners of war (made up of American and Filipino forces were forced to march 65 miles to a Japanese prison camp - 10,000 died on the way)

doolittle raid

by April 1942, the first American bombs fell on Japan with success in bombing Tokyo launched from one of several American aircraft carriers that had not been damaged at Pearl Harbor

Issei

first generation immigrants from Japan had been banned from gaining U.S. citizenship

Nisei

Japanese Americans that were given birthright citizenship (second generation)

navajo codetalkers

Native Americans who were recruited to serve during the war and they did not have a written alphabet and the language was only known to the tribe so other offensive military groups could not understand

tuskegee airmen

African American airmen volunteers (450 of them fourth in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy)

executive order 9066

the order of relocation centers for Japanese immigrants and native born U.S. citizens (Japanese internment camps)

D-day

the largest amphibious invasion attack battle and it’s a logistical miracle as it helped liberate France and defeated Hitler (led by Eisenhower “operation overlord”)

nye committee

set up by Sen. Nye (South Dakota) who thought that big businesses connections overseas helped the U.S. become involved in the war, so a series of investigations were conducted but there was no concrete evidence found to support this idea (also conducted in 1934 during the Great Depression) (reinforces isolationist ideals)

battle of coral sea

May 1942 stopped the Japanese from landing at New Guinea and attacking Australia

battle of midway

June 1942 marked a turning point in the war as the U.S. stopped the Japanese advance

battle of El alamein

British-American troops vs. Nazis led by Gen. Rommel with months of heavy fighting and the German Afrika Korps surrendered marking a turning point in the Allies’ North African campaign

wartime rationing

involved setting limits on purchasing certain high-demand items

zoot suit riots

discrimination against Mexican Americans who were wearing their formal attire (which was very expensive and didn’t align with the wartime rationing)

rome-berlin axis

a coalition between Italy and Germany to stop fighting and create a pact (1936)

bracero program

many Mexican Americans were being recruited during the war as farm workers to harvest fruits and vegetables and build roads

executive order 8802

prohibited discrimination towards employees in government/defense agencies

United Nations

founded as a successor to the League of Nations which was widely considered to have been ineffective in its role as an international governing body, in that it had been unable to prevent WW2 (26 nations including the U.S. were involved)

containment

phrase coined by George Kennan arguing that the U.S. must pursue patient, long-term, firm and vigilant prevention of Russian expansion/communism

long telegram

the 55,540 word telegram written by George Kennan based on his views and observations of the Soviets

iron curtain

Churchill uses this word analogy to divide communism and democracy (a form of containment)

NATO

alliance of 12 countries initially to come to the aid of any other member who was attacked; 1st time U.S. committed herself to helping maintain peace in Europe

truman doctorine

example of containment efforts

marshall plan

included funding and materials to help rebuild Germany and Japan in order to prevent the spread of communism

warsaw pact

a military alliance for Eastern Europe that included Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union

berlin blockade

Stalin was not happy with the West’s intention of a German republic so he blockaded all traffic to West Berlin

sputnik

launched in 1957 by the USSR triggering a space race between the U.S. and U.S.S.R

berlin airlift

U.S. effort to bring 2 million tons of supplies to the city of Berlin between June 1948 and the spring of 1949 because of a land blockade Stalin had imposed on force the U.S. to abandon West Berlin following the creation of West Germany by combining the British, French, and U.S. zones

38th parallel

divide between North and South Korea (communism and democracy divide)

korean war

conflict from 1950 -1953 that ultimately ended with an armistice and division of the country at the 38th parallel; considered a victory in stopping the spread of communism

CIA

follows the office of strategic service after WW2 in order to deal with international affairs and if they are a threat to the U.S.

space race

a technological race which was part of the Cold War between the U.S. and U.S.S.R to see which country to have the most advancements and best explorations to space

HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)

formed to investigate communist and fascist activities in the U.S.; one of its first hearings in 1947 focused on the film industry

rosenberg case

executed for espionage in 1953, this couple was accused of running a spy network in the U.S. for the Soviets

hollywood ten

a group of writers and directors that dubbed the Hollywood Ten and went to jail for contempt of Congress after they refused to testify about their past associations

national security act

created the CIA, NSC (national security council) in order to prevent foreign threats on American soil

SEATO

1954 defense agreement between the U.S. and Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, and the Philippines

brinkmanship

willingness to go to the brink of war to force the other side to back down

massive retaliation

build up of supply of nuclear weapons to prevent another war by threat of nuclear war

military-industrial complex

Eisenhower’s warning of a new dangerous relationship between the military and the defense industry as part of his farewell address

1949

the year the Soviets successfully tested their 1st atomic bomb which was the same year China fell to communism

GI Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act)

the bill gave educational support, unemployment benefits, and loan guarantees to veterans who fought in WW2 (created by FDR who hoped for continual economic prosperity with the ability to avoid economic turmoil once the war ended)

Taft-Harley Act

crafted changes in procedures and language over time that weakened the right of workers to organize and engage in collective bargaining

Fair Deal

a deal that provided national health insurance, aid to education, a housing program, expansion of social security, higher minimum wage, and a new agricultural program

baby boom

generation born between 1946-1964 and are collecting social security

Dr. Jonas Salk

created a polio vaccine which was eventually used around the world to almost eliminate polio altogether

levittowns

they were the first mass produced suburb homes after WW2

duck and cover drills

supposed to help students and other people alike have a way to protect themselves in case of nuclear bombing

1956 interstate highway act

control of outdoor advertising, including the removal of certain signs along the nation’s growing interstate system and the existing federal-primary aid system

Beatniks

a young person in the 1950s-1960s associated with the rock n’ roll and rebellious generation

nonviolent civil disobedience

a form of protesting where no African American would harm but they would take the pain from those who discriminated against them

NAACP

challenged the separate but equal principle stated in Plessy v. Ferguson in the 1954 Brown vs. Board case

de facto segreagtion

segregation by choice or circumstance (it is harder to fight in court because it is an unwritten custom or tradition)

de jure segregation

segregation by the law or the legalized segregation of races (easier to fight in court)

Jim Crow laws

laws carried out in the South that affected almost all aspects of life from public transportation to cemeteries, from prisons to healthcare, from residences to libraries

CORE (Congress of racial equality)

had the goal of ending discriminatory policies and improving relations between races

SNCC (Students Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)

a group of college students who were inspired to fight for the civil rights movement and enact change through non violent protest

freedom riders

integrated buses on the state line (initiated by CORE)

march on Washington

250,000-300,000 black and white demonstrators march together and there are no riots because the government expected chaos

black panthers

a group whose message to African Americans was to stop being victims

“little rock nine”

escorted by U.S. army and national guard to force the integration in the school systems

montgomery bus boycott

non-violent protest about segregation on the bus and eventually after 381 days they started integrating busses

civil rights act of 1964

verified the 14th amendment which stated citizenship to all born in the U.S.

freedom summer

1964 to get African Americans to vote but the KKK killed them off out of hate and discrimination

SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)

lent moral and organizational strength to the civil rights movement

Brown v. Board of Education court case

overturned “separate but equal doctrine” created by Plessy v. Ferguson

Voting Rights Act of 1965

verified the 15th amendment which stated no one should be denied the right to vote in the U.S.