1940s

Events

• Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor

  • On December 7th, 1941, the United States was attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

  • The bombing on the Hawaiian islands caused severe damage to the American naval and military forces.

  • President Franklin D. Roosevelt requested Congress declare war on Japan on December 8, 1941.

• Lend-Lease Act

  • Allowed the U.S. to provide weapons and military supplies to allied nations in WWII.

  • Enabled allies to defend themselves against the Axis nations.

  • Began on March 11, 1941, under President FDR.

• Selective Service and Training Act

  • Implemented in 1940, the first peacetime draft in history.

  • Required all men between 21 and 45 to register.

  • Signed on September 16th, 1940, under President FDR.

• Holocaust

  • A genocide where over six million Jews and millions of others were killed by Nazi Germany.

  • In 1940, major ghettos like Warsaw in Poland were established.

  • Nazis started using concentration camps like Auschwitz to imprison and murder Jews.

• Manhattan Project

  • A top-secret U.S. government research program during WWII.

  • Developed the first nuclear weapons with the involvement of the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.

  • Officially began in 1939 and lasted 7 years.

  • Led by Major General Leslie Groves and nuclear physicist Robert Oppenheimer.

  • Bomb names were Thin Man, Little Boy, and Fat Man.

• Zoot Suit Riots

  • Took place in Los Angeles, California, starting on June 3rd, 1943.

  • White servicemen attacked young Mexican-American men wearing zoot suits.

  • Military men were restricted from Los Angeles by June 8th due to the severity of the riots.

• Ghost Army

  • A top-secret U.S. Army unit during World War II.

  • Used creative deception tactics to mislead German forces.

  • Deployed in 1944 and 1945 across Europe.

  • Used inflatable tanks, planes, trucks, and artillery to create the illusion of a big army.

  • Actions remained classified until 1996.

• Fred Korematsu v. The United States

  • During World War II, Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps.

  • Fred Korematsu refused to go to the camps and was arrested.

  • In 1944, the Supreme Court ruled against him, stating it was legal during that time.

• D Day

  • June 6th, 1944, the U.S. invaded the beaches of Normandy.

  • Strategies included a dummy army and airborne drops.

  • The goal was to gain a front in Western Europe and air superiority.

  • Approximately 2,501 American soldiers died.

• Hiroshima

  • The bombing of Hiroshima took place on August 6, 1945.

  • The United States dropped the first atomic bomb used in warfare on Hiroshima.

  • The plane that dropped the bomb was called the Enola Gay, bombs were called Little Boy.

• Nagasaki

  • The dropping of the Nagasaki bomb took place on August 9, 1945.

  • The bomb (Fat Man) exploded over the city.

  • The United States dropped atomic bombs to force Japan to surrender quickly.

• UN Created

  • The UN was created officially on October 24, 1945, after the end of WWII.

  • Its primary purpose was to promote peace, security, and cooperation among nations.

  • Representatives from 50 countries drafted the UN Charter in San Francisco.

• Cold War

  • The Cold War was fought through proxy wars, espionage, propaganda, and nuclear arms races.

  • Key events include the Berlin Blockade, the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War.

  • The U.S. promoted containment, while the USSR tried to expand its influence.

  • Economic troubles and internal pressures led to the fall of communist governments.

• Nuremberg Trials

  • The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals held after World War II.

  • Took place in Nuremberg, Germany, from 1945 to 1946.

• Bataan Death March

  • American and Filipino soldiers were forced to surrender to the Japanese army in April 1942.

  • Soldiers were forced to walk over 60 miles with almost no food or water.

  • Around 10,000 soldiers died during the march.

• Tuskegee Airmen Double V Campaign

  • The Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black military pilots in the U.S.

  • These pilots proved their skill and bravery by flying over 15,000 missions in Europe.

  • The Double V Campaign called for victory against fascism overseas and racism at home.

People

• Truman

• Hitler

  • German Dictator/Leader of the Nazi party.

  • Invaded Poland, marking the start of World War 2.

  • Killed 6 million during the Holocaust.

• Fred Korematsu

  • A civil rights leader and a Japanese American.

  • Refused to go to the internment camp and was arrested.

  • Tried to change his identity to avoid looking Japanese.

• Dr. Seuss

  • Author of popular children's books.

• Philip Randolph

  • Civil rights and labor activist.

  • Founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.

• Charles Lindbergh

  • A prominent figure in the America First Committee.

  • Against U.S. intervention in World War 2.

  • Pro Nazi Germany

• Rosie the Riveter

  • An icon that represents women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War 2.

• Nazi

  • A member of a German political party that controlled Germany from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler.

• Franklin D. Roosevelt

  • President of the United States during the Great Depression and World War II.

  • Served from 1933-1945.

• Winston Churchill

  • Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War II.

  • Best known for his strong leadership and powerful speeches.

Places

• Pearl Harbor naval base, Oahu, Hawaii (1941)

• Bataan Death March “approximately 60 miles (96.6 km) from Mariveles to San Fernando and then the final 9 miles (14 km) to Camp O'Donnell.” (1942)

• The Battle of Midway in the Pacific (1942)

• D-Day Normandy, France (1944)

• Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombing (1945)

• Nuremberg Trials in Nuremberg, Germany (1945)

• Berlin blockade/ Berlin airlift (1949)

• 3 major Nazi Concentration camps: Auschwitz-Birkenau (Poland), Dachau ( Munich, Germany), Treblinka (Poland) (1933-1945)

Terms

• Pre war and early WW2 (late 30s 1941):

  • Isolationism - U.S. policy to stay out of foreign wars after World War I.

  • Neutrality - U.S. laws passed in the 1930s and 40s to keep America out of WWII.

  • America First Committee (1940) - Group opposing U.S. involvement in WWII, led by Charles Lindbergh.

  • Cash and Carry Policy (1939) - Allowed countries at war to buy U.S. goods if they paid cash and transported them.

  • Selective Training and Service Act (1940) - First peacetime military draft in U.S. history.

  • Allied Powers - U.S., U.K., USSR, France, China

  • The Axis powers - A military alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan.

  • Fascism - Political ideology of dictatorship, militarism, and nationalism, like Hitler or Mussolini.

  • Hitler - Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany, started WWII and the Holocaust.

  • Nazi Rally - Propaganda events in Nazi Germany promoting fascism and loyalty to Hitler.

  • Blitzkrieg - Fast, surprise attacks by Germany to quickly conquer countries like Poland and France.

  • Atlantic Charter (1941) - The U.S. and Britain outlined goals for the post-war world, like free trade.

  • Lend-Lease Act - Allowed the U.S. to send war supplies to direct allies quickly and efficiently.

  • Pearl Harbor - Japan's surprise attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii; one of the many reasons the U.S. entered WWII.

• U.S. joins the war and the Homefront:

  • Japanese-American Internment Camps - U.S. forcibly relocated Japanese Americans to camps due to war fears.

  • War effort - All citizens contributed: working in factories, rationing, or buying war bonds

  • Homefront- People supporting the military from home

  • OWI- Office of War Information- 1942 - Controlled propaganda and news to support the war.

  • OPA - Office of Price Administration - 1941: Controlled prices and rationing to prevent inflation.

  • WPB- War Production Board- 1942 - Shifted U.S. factories from consumer to war goods.

  • Rationing - Government-controlled limits on food, gas, rubber to support troops overseas.

  • War bonds - Citizens lend money to the government to fund the war effort.

  • Zoo Suits riots- 1943 - Racial attacks in LA between U.S. servicemen and Mexican-American teens.

  • NWLB- National War Labor Board- 1942 - Prevented strikes to ensure steady wartime production.

  • The Manhattan Project- 1942-45 - Secret U.S. project to develop atomic bombs.

  • The atomic bomb- 1945, Fat Man and Little Boy - dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, led to Japan’s surrender.

  • VE Day- Victory in Europe May 8th 1945. Germany surrendered war in Europe ends.

• Post-war and the start of the Cold War:

  • GI Bill-(1944 post-war) – Gave WWII veterans benefits like education, loans, housing.

  • United Nations (1945)- A Global peacekeeping group formed to prevent future wars.

  • Iron Curtain- (1946) – Soviet control divided Eastern Europe from the West.

  • Marshall Plan- 1948, the U.S. gave billions to rebuild