Terms

1. World Economics Conference (1933)

• Goal: Address global economic depression; stabilize currencies.

• U.S. Role: FDR rejected currency stabilization, focusing on domestic recovery instead.

• Impact: Showed the U.S. was not prioritizing global cooperation in the 1930s.

2. Nye Committee (1934–1936)

• Led by: Senator Gerald Nye.

• Investigated: How arms manufacturers profited from WWI, suggesting they pushed the U.S. into war.

• Result: Fueled isolationism, leading to the Neutrality Acts.

3. Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact (1939)

• Between: Germany & USSR (Hitler & Stalin).

• Agreement: They wouldn’t attack each other & secretly divided Poland & Eastern Europe.

• Broken in 1941: When Hitler invaded the USSR (Operation Barbarossa).

4. Neutrality Acts (1935–1937)

• Laws that kept the U.S. out of foreign wars:

  • 1935: No arms sales to warring nations.

  • 1936: No loans to warring nations.

  • 1937: No Americans on warring nations’ ships.

• Effect: Limited FDR’s ability to help Britain & France.

5. Roosevelt’s Quarantine Speech (1937)

• Context: Japan invaded China (Rape of Nanking).

• FDR’s Message: The U.S. must “quarantine” aggressive nations like Japan & Germany.

• Reaction: Public disliked it—America still wanted isolationism.

6. Munich Appeasement of Hitler (1938)

• What happened? Britain & France let Hitler take Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia) to avoid war.

• Key Leader: Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister.

• Backfired: Hitler took all of Czechoslovakia & later invaded Poland.

7. Vichy Government (1940–1944)

• France’s Nazi puppet state led by Henri Pétain.

• Collaborated with Hitler (helped deport Jews, worked with Axis).

• Opposed by: Free France (led by Charles de Gaulle).

8. Burke-Wadsworth Act (1940)

• Established: First peacetime military draft in U.S. history.

• Why? Germany was getting stronger, and FDR knew war was coming.

9. Lend-Lease Act (1941)

• What it did: U.S. lent weapons & supplies to Allies (Britain, USSR) without direct involvement.

• FDR’s Justification: Called the U.S. the “Arsenal of Democracy”.

• Replaced: The “cash & carry” policy.

10. Panay Incident (1937)

• What happened? Japan bombed a U.S. gunboat in China.

• U.S. Reaction: Japan apologized, but showed their aggression.

11. Office of Price Administration (OPA, 1941)

• Controlled: Prices & wages during WWII to prevent inflation.

• Managed: Rationing of goods (gas, sugar, rubber, etc.).

12. War Production Board (WPB, 1942)

• Directed wartime industry: Converted factories from civilian to military production.

• Example: Ford stopped making cars, built tanks & planes instead.

13. Senate War Investigating Committee (1941–1948)

• Investigated: Waste & corruption in military spending.

• Led by: Senator Harry Truman, which boosted his reputation.

14. Selective Service System (1940)

• Managed the draft—millions of men drafted into military service.

15. Office of War Information (OWI, 1942)

• Propaganda agency: Encouraged war support through posters, radio, & movies.

• Example: “Loose Lips Sink Ships” warned against spies.

16. Office of Economic Stabilization (1942)

• Controlled: Wages & prices to prevent wartime inflation.

17. D-Day (June 6, 1945)

• Largest invasion in history: U.S., UK, & Canada stormed Normandy, France.

• Led by: General Eisenhower.

• Result: Opened a Western Front against Germany.

18. Kamikaze Attacks

• Japanese suicide pilots crashed planes into U.S. ships.

• First used: Battle of Leyte Gulf (1944).

• Why? Japan was desperate & running out of resources.

19. U.S. Invasion of Okinawa (April–June 1945)

• Last major battle of WWII.

• Bloodiest Pacific battle—kamikaze attacks & high U.S. casualties.

• Convinced Truman to use atomic bombs instead of invading Japan.

20. Casablanca Conference (1943)

• Who? FDR & Churchill (no Stalin).

• Major Decision: “Unconditional surrender” policy—Axis must fully surrender.

21. Yalta Conference (Feb 1945)

• Who? FDR, Churchill, Stalin.

• Decided:

  • Germany split into 4 zones (U.S., UK, USSR, France).

  • Soviets promised to fight Japan.

  • Stalin promised free elections (he later broke this).

22. Morgenthau Plan (1944)

• Proposed: Turning Germany into a farmland-only country after the war.

• Rejected—instead, Germany was rebuilt to prevent another war.

23. Potsdam Conference (July 1945)

• Who? Truman, Stalin, Churchill/Attlee.

• Decided:

  • Issued Potsdam Declaration: Japan must surrender or face destruction (led to atomic bomb).

24. Atlantic Charter (1941)

• Agreement between FDR & Churchill on post-war goals:

  • Self-determination for nations.

  • No territorial expansion.

  • Created basis for the United Nations.

25. Isolationists

• Americans who wanted the U.S. to stay out of WWII.

• Key supporters: America First Committee (led by Charles Lindbergh).

26. Interventionists

• Americans who wanted to help the Allies before Pearl Harbor.

• Key supporters: FDR, internationalists.

27. Axis Powers

• Germany (Hitler), Japan (Tojo), Italy (Mussolini).

28. Allied Powers

• USA, UK, USSR, France, China.

29. “Cash & Carry” Policy (1939)

• Replaced Neutrality Acts:

  • Allies could buy U.S. weapons, but they had to pay cash & transport them themselves.

  • Prevented U.S. ships from being attacked.

30. Tripartite Pact (1940)

• Formal alliance of Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan.

• Goal: Prevent U.S. from joining the war (but failed).

1. December 7, 1941 (Pearl Harbor Attack)

• What happened? Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

• Damage:

  • 2,400 Americans killed.

  • U.S. Pacific Fleet crippled (battleships sunk, planes destroyed).

• Result: U.S. declared war on Japan the next day → Germany & Italy declared war on the U.S.

• Significance: Ended American isolationism & brought the U.S. into WWII.

2. "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

• Who said this? J. Robert Oppenheimer, lead scientist of the Manhattan Project (atomic bomb development).

• Origin: Quote from Hindu scripture (Bhagavad Gita).

• Context: He said this after witnessing the first successful atomic bomb test in New Mexico (Trinity Test, July 16, 1945).

3. Smith-Connally Act (1943) (War Labor Disputes Act)

• What was it? Gave the government power to seize industries if labor strikes threatened war production.

• Why?

  • Labor unions agreed not to strike during the war.

  • However, some strikes still happened (e.g., coal miners’ strike).

• Effect: Increased government control over war industries.

4. General Maximum Price Regulation (1942)

• Goal: Prevent inflation by setting maximum prices on goods.

• Why? During war, demand for goods skyrockets → inflation risk.

• Enforced by: The Office of Price Administration (OPA).

5. Anti-Inflation Act (1942)

• Gave FDR power to control:

  • Prices & wages → Preventing inflation.

  • Rationing essential goods (gas, rubber, sugar, etc.).

6. Revenue Act of 1942

• What did it do?

  • Increased income taxes (to fund war efforts).

  • Expanded taxes to millions of Americans (before, only wealthy paid).

• Significance: Created mass income tax system we still use today.

7. “Four Freedoms” Speech (1941)

• Given by: FDR in January 1941 (before U.S. entered WWII).

• Promoted:

  1. Freedom of Speech

  2. Freedom of Worship

  3. Freedom from Want (economic security).

  4. Freedom from Fear (no war threats).

• Why? Justified Lend-Lease Act & U.S. support for Allies.

8. The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) (1942)

• Founded by: Civil rights activists.

• Goal: Fight racial segregation nonviolently (sit-ins, protests).

• Significance: Early push for Civil Rights Movement.

9. Manhattan Project (1942–1945)

• What was it? Top-secret U.S. program to develop atomic bombs.

• Key locations:

  • Los Alamos, NM (bomb design).

  • Oak Ridge, TN (uranium enrichment).

• Key people:

  • J. Robert Oppenheimer (lead scientist).

  • General Leslie Groves (military leader).

• Result: Created two bombs:

  • “Little Boy” (Hiroshima, uranium bomb).

  • “Fat Man” (Nagasaki, plutonium bomb).

10. Hiroshima & Nagasaki (August 6 & 9, 1945)

• Hiroshima (Aug. 6, 1945): First city hit with atomic bomb ("Little Boy").

• Nagasaki (Aug. 9, 1945): Second city hit ("Fat Man").

• Casualties: 200,000+ civilians killed.

• Effect: Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945 → End of WWII.

11. Battles of Midway & Coral Sea (1942)

Battle of Coral Sea (May 1942)

• First major battle where aircraft carriers fought.

• Stopped Japan from invading Australia.

• Tactical draw, but strategic U.S. victory.

Battle of Midway (June 1942)

• Turning point of the Pacific War.

• U.S. cracked Japanese codes & ambushed their fleet.

• Japan lost 4 aircraft carriers; U.S. only lost 1.

• Result: Japan on defensive for rest of the war.