World War II

International war beginning in 1939, & included the U.S. after The war ended in 1945 with the defeat of the Axis Powers.

Alliances

Group of nations who want the same thing. Ex.) NATO

Appeasement

Giving in to the demands of a hostile nation in order to maintain peace. Britain & France appeased Hitler in 1938 at the Munich Conference.

Axis Powers

Alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan during World War II. They all wanted more land.

Cash & Carry Policy

Allowed fighting nations to purchase nonmilitary goods from the U.S. in CASH and they must CARRY the supplies themselves.

Communism

Ecomonic and political system based on the ownership of property by the community. People lose individual rights.

Hiroshima

One of 2 cities where an atomic bomb was dropped (8/6/1945). Pres. Truman made this decision in order to end the war quickly, while saving American lives.

Internment Camps

Places where FDR required Japanese American to relocate during World War II…due to an issue of national security. Also known as relocation camps.

Korematsu vs. United States

Supreme Court case in which the order to remove Japanese to internment camps during WWII was declared constitutional because it was believed they posed a threat to national security at the time.

Lend-Lease Act

Military assistance provided by the U.S. to foreign countries during WWII. The U.S. lent military resources to countries who may help the U.S.

Munich Pact

An agreement signed in Germany in 1938 by Britain & France to allow Germany to take control of certain countries to appease them…it didn’t work.

Nagasaki

Japanese city that was the site of 2 nd atomic bomb drop in August of 1945.

Neutrality Acts

Acts passed between 1935 and 1937 wh/ limited American’s involvement in the growing problems Europe was facing.

Nuremburg Trials

Trials of Nazi war criminals for their part in the Holocaust.

Pearl Harbor

Site of the Japanese attack on Hawaii on December 7, It provoked the U.S. declaration of war the next day.

Rosie the Rivter

Term to describe women working in defense plants during World War II.

Soviet Union

Group of republics that made up the USSR. Government policy was based on communism.

Joseph Stalin

Leader of the Soviet Union during World War II and the onset of the Cold War.

D-Day

Turning point battle of the war in Europe when the Allied Powers created a second front along the coast of Normandy in June, 1944.

Island Hopping

The term used to describe the fighting tactics of the U.S. against the Japanese throughout the Pacific Ocean.

Rationing

The process of limiting the use of certain goods during wartime, such as rubber, metal, and food.