America in World War II Flashcards
Adolf Hitler
Nazi Party leader who established a totalitarian state in Germany. His policies took Germany into a devastating war in 1939 and led to the deaths of millions of Jews in the Holocaust. [302]
Appeasement
A policy of making concessions to an aggressor in the hopes of avoiding war. Associated with Neville Chamberlain’s policy of making concessions to Adolf Hitler.
Neutrality Acts
1939 laws designed to keep the United States out of future wars; prohibited Americans from traveling on ships of nations at war.
Flying Tigers
1st American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Chinese Air Force; trained in Burma before the American entry into World War II with the intention of defending China against Japanese forces
Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941- Japanese airplanes attacked in Hawaii and destroyed much of the American Pacific fleet and killed over 2000 armed personnel and civilians
Rationing
A limited portion or allowance of food or goods; limitation of use
Victory Gardens
Gardens planted by American citizens during war to raise vegetables for home use, leaving more for the troops
Office of War Information
Established by the government to promote patriotism and help keep Americans united behind the war effort (through the use of propaganda)
Tuskegee Airmen
332 Fighter Group famous for shooting down over 200 enemy planes. African American pilots who trained at the Tuskegee flying school
Executive Order 9066
1942; 112,000 Japanese-Americans forced into camps causing loss of homes & businesses, 600K more renounced citizenship; demonstrated fear of Japanese invasion
Korematsu V. U.S.
1944 Supreme Court case where the Supreme Court upheld the order providing for the relocation of Japanese Americans. It was not until 1988 that Congress formally apologized and agreed to pay $20,000 2 each survivor
George Patton
Allied Commander in WW 2, tank commander, popular among troops and high survival rates
Dwight Eisenhower
United States general who supervised the invasion of Normandy (D-Day) and the defeat of Nazi Germany
George Marshall
He was a military leader for the Allies in WWII. He was the Chief of the Staff of the Army, Secretary of State, and Secretary of Defense. Winston Churchill referred to him as the “organizer of victory” for his help with the Allies winning WWII
Vernon Baker
African American who earned the Medal of Honor during WW2 but was not presented with the award until 1997
Omar Bradley
A general of the twentieth century. He commanded the United States ground forces in the liberation of France and the invasion of Germany in World War II. Landed on Omaha and Utah
Holocaust
A methodical plan orchestrated by Hitler to ensure German supremacy. It called for the elimination of Jews, non-conformists, homosexuals, non-Aryans, and mentally and physically disabled.
Bataan Death March
(1942) a forced march of American and Filipino prisoners of war captured by the Japanese in the Philippines in World War II
Navajo Code Talkers
Native American men who served in the military by transmitting radio messages in their native languages, which were undecipherable by German and Japanese spies
Battle of Midway
1942 World War II battle between the United States and Japan, a turning point in the war in the Pacific
Nuremberg Trials
Trials of the Nazi leaders, showed that people are responsible for their actions, even in wartime
Douglas MacArthur
Commanded Allied troops in the Pacific during World War II. He was forced to surrender the Philippines in 1941 and was thereafter obsessed with its recapture, which he accomplished in 1944. He later commanded the American occupation of Japan and United Nations troops in the Korean War.
Harry Truman
33rd President of the United States. Led the U.S. to victory in WWII making the ultimate decision to use atomic weapons for the first time. Shaped U.S. foreign policy regarding the Soviet Union after the war.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
nuclear attacks during World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States of America at the order of U.S. President Harry S. Truman
