APUSH: World War II (1920-1945) – Flashcards
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Good Neighbor Policy
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withdrawal of American troops from foreign nations (especially Latin America) to improve international relations and unite western hemisphere; Clark Memorandum (rebukes the "big stick"); peaceful resolution of Mexican oil fields
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Isolationism in 1920s & 1930s
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Americans concerned with economic depression; sought to avoid European involvement, no apparent immediate threats
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Neutrality Acts, 1935-37
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prohibited aiding of belligerent nations, banned civilian involvement; limited power of president during international war, built up armed forces
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Quarantine Speech, 1937
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FDR encouraged democracies to quarantine their opponents (economic embargos); criticized by isolationists
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Neutrality Act, 1939
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allowed sale of weaponry to democracies on "cash-and-carry" basis, avoided full-blown war; danger zones proclaimed; solved American unemployment crisis
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"Four Freedoms" speech
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FDR asked for increased authority to aid Britain; freedom of speech/expression, of religion, from want, from fear; resulted in Lend-Lease
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Lend-Lease Act (1941)
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President to offer military supplies to nations "vital to the defense of the US"; ended US neutrality (economic war against Germany); Hitler began to sink American ships (limited scale)
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Pearl Harbor
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Japanese bombing of ships in harbor; resulted in FDR's request for declaration of war against Japan; Germany and Italy responded with declarations of war
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First American strategy in WWII
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FDR and Churchill agreed to defeat Germany first rather than concentrate on Japan
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Important WWII Battles
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Midway (US Signal Corps, turning point of war in the Pacific), D-Day (Eisenhower's amphibious invasion of Normandy, led to depletion of German forces), Stalingrad (Russians defeated Germans, saved Moscow and Leningrad, turning point in Europe)
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Japanese internment
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fear of Japanese-Americans as traitors, sent off (by law) to internment camps; removal of deemed threats in military areas
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Reasons for US to drop atomic bombs
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risk of too many casualties and high costs for hand-to-hand combat/invasion, Japanese surrender unlikely
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Yalta Conference (1945)
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established world organization; Soviet Union pledged to allow democratic procedures in Eastern Europe; pledge broken, led to Cold War
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Potsdam Conference (1945)
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decided to punish war crimes, established program for de-Nazification of Germany
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The Homefront
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westward migration of workers (new economic opportunities, esp. aircraft industry), high rates of divorce and family/juvenile violence, women encouraged to work in factories, still held inferior to men
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Rationing
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Americans at home reminded to conserve materials in all aspects of life to support the military; resulted in saving up of money to cause economic boom after war
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Rosie the Riveter
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symbol of women workers during the war
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John L. Lewis
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through CIO, led three coal mine strikes (some of the very few strikes during the time period)
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Bracero program
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brought in Mexicans for temporary jobs, concentrated in southern CA, given extremely poor working conditions (as they were not American citizens)
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Zoot Suit riots
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racism riots against Mexican laborers (imported for jobs)
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A. Philip Randolph and the March on Washington
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led Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters: threatened a siege on DC if FDR did not agree to end discrimination in military
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Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC)
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prohibited discrimination in any government-related work; increased black employment
