C36 - America in World War II 1941-1945

Question 1

D Day

Answer 1

June 6, 1944. US and Allied troops stormed Normandy (in France) to attack Germany from the Western front.

Question 2

George S. Patton

Answer 2

US General who made quick gains after D-day, moving across France with his soldiers. First major German city fell in October, 1944.

Question 3

Teheran Conference

Answer 3

November 28 - December 1, 1943. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin met in Teheran (in Iran/Persia) as a neutral place to meet. Plans were made for a coordinated attack on Germany. Soviet Russia would attack from the East while US and Allies would attack from the West. French Normandy was chosen for this Western attack.

Question 4

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Answer 4

US General who led 40,000 troops in the surprise 1942 invasion of French North Africa. Germans and Italians surrendered by May, 1943.

Question 5

Chster W. Nimitz

Answer 5

US Navy Admiral who won many victories against Japan in the Pacific.

Question 6

Harry S. Truman

Answer 6

FDR chose as his VP/running mate in 1944 election.

Truman became President not-long after. FDR died of a massive stroke on April 12, 1945.

Question 7

Henry J. Kaiser

Answer 7

American industrialist who built ships during WWII.

Question 8

V-E Day

Answer 8

May 7, 1945. “Victory in Europe” Day. What was left of German government surrendered unconditionally.

Question 9

braceros

Answer 9

1942. Deal was made with Mexico to bring braceros (Mexican workers) in to the US to help on farms. They were needed because men had left their farms to become soldiers.

Question 10

Thomas E. Dewey

Answer 10

Republican candidate in presidential race of 1944.

Question 11

Office of Price Administration

Answer 11

Formed in 1941 to control prices during WWII.

Question 12

Casablanca Conference

Answer 12

January 1943, meeting between Eisenhower and Churchill in Morocco to discuss war strategy.

Question 13

A. Philip Randolph

Answer 13

American Navy leader who had great success fighting the Japanese in the Pacific (Midway).

Question 14

Douglas MacArthur

Answer 14

General in charge of US soldiers in Philippines who held the Japanese away until May, 1942 when MacArthur left his forces there (saying he would be back). He did not come back. He was ordered by DC to go to Australia to lead forces there. and his soldiers were treated terribly - Bataan Death March.

Question 15

War Labor Board

Answer 15

(WLB) - made rules related to war-time factory production and workers during wartime. With so much demand for military supplies, regulations were put in place to handle issues that resulted. E.G. with full employment/no unemployment, wages were increasing too quickly, causing inflation.

Question 16

V-J Day

Answer 16

September 2, 1945. Victory in Japan Day

Question 17

War Production Board

Answer 17

Halted production of non-essential items in factories, like cars, so war-essentials could be produced instead.

Question 18

Joseph Stalin

Answer 18

Russian leader during WWII.

Question 19

Smith-Connally Act

Answer 19

June, 1943: Congress passed law making it illegal for workers to strike at a factory making goods needed for the war effort.

Question 20

Second front

Answer 20

In 1942, US was favoring an invasion of German-held France from Europe. Britain did not agree, so Allied forces attacked secretly from a second front, in North Africa.

Led by US general Dwight D. (Ike) Eisenhower.

Question 21

Potsdam Conference

Answer 21

July 1945. Meeting near Berlin Germany between President Truman, Joseph Stalin and British leaders issuing stern ultimatum to Japan to surrender.

Question 22

Albert Einstein

Answer 22

German-born scientist who was exiled and living in the US, was one of the scientists who had persuaded FDR to keep pursuing developing the Atomic bomb.

Question 23

Fair Employment Practices Commission

Answer 23

Formed by FDR in 1941 to enforce his new rules saying that Blacks could not be discriminated against by companies making goods for the government (government contractors). Blacks had just as much right to be hired as whites.

Question 24

John L. Lewis

Answer 24

Labor leader who, even during the war effort, encouraged workers to strike for higher wages.

Question 25

Winston Churchill

Answer 25

British leader during WWII

Question 26

Henry A. Wallace

Answer 26

FDR’s VP until 1945, when Harry S. Truman became VP, just a few months before FDR’s death.

Question 27

Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek)

Answer 27

Chinese general who was resisting Japanese invasion during WWII. US was helping him with military supplies.

Question 28

Hirohito

Answer 28

Japanese emperor who was allowed by the Allies to keep his title after Japan was defeated in August 1945.

Question 29

Hedeki Tojo

Answer 29

Japanese Prime Minister during WWII

Question 30

Detroit

Answer 30

1943: Terrible race riots killed 20+ blacks and 5+ whites.

Question 31

The BIG Three

Answer 31

Leaders of the 3 most prominent countries in the Allied force against Germany. FDR from US, Winston Churchill from Britain, Joseph Stalin of Soviet Russia.

Question 32

Yalta Conference

Answer 32

Meeting in Crimea to discuss post-war reorganization. Present: FDR, Churchill, Stalin