WWII Flashcards
5/4/9 power treaties
5- 5:5:3 ratio of battleships for US:GB:Japan and GB and US agree not to fortify far eastern possessions
4- bound GB, Japan, France, and US to preserve status quo in pacific
9- promised to keep China with the “open door” policy
Sig? Didn’t restrict small warships, submarines, etc and didn’t include any means of reinforcement- Americans just want comforting words that promise no war
Washington disarmament conference (21-22)
US called all the major naval powers and called for a ten year holiday on construction of battleships and that the battleship tonnage should be limited
US and GB agree to stop fortifying far eastern possessions
Sig? Makes it hard to dislodge Japanese possessions during WWII and shows that Americans want to avoid another mass war through mutual disarmament
Debt crisis/Dawes plan (24)
GB and france owe US money but don’t want to pay it BC they gave up lives and the US tariff is ridiculous
germany owes reparations to GB and france so they inflate their money a shit ton-> really bad economic collapse
Dawes plan- rescheduled German payments and allowed us to privately loan money to Germany
Sig? Everything relies on american credit, so when the depression hits everyone is screwed + foreign resentment towards america and from US towards Europe-> neutrality
Stimson doctrine (32)
A verbal slap on the wrist to Japan after they invaded Manchuria and violated the nine power treaty
Sig? Shows that Americans don’t care enough about what’s going on in Asia to actually do anything… They have a depression to deal with!
Neutrality acts of 35-37
35: allowed president to prohibit arms shipments and travel to warring nations
36: forbade loans to warring nations
37: forbade shipment of arms to either side of spanish civil war
Sig? Shows that isolationists hold a majority in house and senate and push legislature that is hard for FDR to overcome
America First Committee
Scared that FDR would support british, they formed a committee and hired famous speakers to mobilize public opinion against the war
Sig? Not only political, but public opposition to the war that FDR has to overcome
Lend-Lease Act
Ended cash and carry requirements and allowed GB to obtain US arms on credit
Sig? Shows shifting public opinion towards supporting GB
Bracero program
Agreement with Mexico in 42 that brought thousands of Mexican agricultural workers (braceros) across the border to fill labor shortages
Sig? Outlived the war by 20 years and became a fixed feature of the economy in many western states
Double v
Victory over dictators abroad and racism at home
Sig? Blacks rally behind this slogan and join the NAACP and nonviolent Congress of Racial Equality in mass numbers
Rosie the riveter
Represents the 6 million women that worked outside the home during the war
Sig- shows that the true impact on women was exaggerated by propaganda- most did not leave the home, especially if they had kids, and 2/3 left after the war
Island hopping
Strategy the US decided to use against Japan- hop islands until you get within striking distance of Japan
Under general MacArthur, US captured islands, set up airfields, and bombed Japanese bases into submission
Sig? Extremely successful- turns the tide of the war! US gets back Aleutians islands, Guam, and destroys a ton of aircraft and ships
Battle of midway
Midway island is near Honolulu and Pearl Harbor- Japan really wants it
Small but skilled american carrier force defeats Japanese aircraft! 🎉
But… They still seize islands near Alaska… Yikes
Sig? Shows tide is maybe starting to turn towards US
D day
June 6, 1944
Allies invade france and catch German troops off guard with a feint, liberate Paris in August 1944
Sig? Takes some pressure off of the Soviet Union front and signals that the tide has shifted towards the allies
