Download WWII – The European Theater - Taconic Hills Central School District

Jordan Mato
APUSH
4/10
Vocab 177-216
WWII – The European Theater
Fall 1939 – Hostilities on the Atlantic: U-boat attacks on merchant ships on the Atlantic
Description: During the early stages of the war, German u-boats hunted merchant ships on the
Atlantic. After repeated attacks, the US began sending convoys to protect US merchant ships. In
addition to this, the US gave England WWI Destroyers for aid in exchange for access to English
naval bases.
Significance: In response to repeated attacks by German u-boats, US merchant ships began being
accompanied by convoys. Surrounding the merchant ships were battleships and destroyers in an
arrowhead formation around the battleships.
December 8th, 1941: The day after Pearl Harbor and the formal Declaration of War by the U.S.
and England upon Japan.
Description: In response to Japanese aggression (Pearl Harbor), President Franklin D. Roosevelt
addressed his Infamy Speech to a joint congress and the nation. After the speech, congress
quickly brought a declaration of war to vote. Passing in both houses, 82-0 in the Senate and 3881 in the House, President Roosevelt signed the declaration at 4:10pm. 9 hours prior to the signing
of the declaration of war, England declared war upon Japan, partially due to Japanese attacks on
Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong, and partially due to Winston Churchill’s promise that
England would declare war on Japan “within the hour” of a Japanese attack on the U.S. Finally,
Germany also declared war on the U.S. following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Significance: With the Declaration of War upon Japan by the U.S., WWII was effectively turned
into a global war by causing the U.S. to enter WWII. The U.S. joined the war on the Allied side
and declared war on Germany 3 days later.
Western Front: Front along the countries of Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the
Netherlands, France, and Germany.
Description: The battle line between the Axis Powers and the Western Allies in Western Europe.
Throughout the war, this line made little advancement towards the East or West. Significant
progress along the front occurred with the German occupation of France and once again
following D-Day. During the war, German resources were primarily allocated to the Eastern
Front, leaving the Western Front less reinforced.
Eastern Front: Front along Eastern Axis held Europe and the Soviet Union and its allies.
Description: The battle line between Eastern Germany, Finland, the Soviet Union, Poland, and
other allied nations in Eastern Europe. Compared to the Western Front, the Eastern Front
witnessed more destructive battles. Battle broke out when Axis forces crossed the border
established in the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact during the Axis Operation Barbarossa. The
battles on the Eastern Front led to the decisive defeat of the Germans on May 9, 1945.
Stalingrad: Soviet city which was the site of the Battle of Stalingrad.
Description: Lasting from August 23, 1942 to February 2, 1943, the Battle of Stalingrad is
among the most bloodiest and most strategically decisive battles of WWII. The German 6th
Army reached the outskirts of Stalingrad on August 23. In the following months, positions in and
around the city were constantly changing hands, and both sides took heavy casualties. Soviet
offensives during the battle were halted by German Luftflotte attacks. By October, the Soviet
Forces were pushed back to only a 1,000 yd strip of land on the West Bank of the Volga River.
In their efforts to break the German Army, Soviet forces launched Operation Uranus. The Soviet
forces attacked the Axis flanks, protected by ill-supplied Romanian, Hungarian, and Italian
troops. With success on both flanks, the Soviet forces now held the German 6th Army trapped
inside Stalingrad. During the following winter, the German forces were pushed back to the same
position the Soviets had earlier held on the bank of the Volga. On February 2, 1943, defying
orders from Adolf Hitler, General Field Marshal Paulus surrendered to the Soviet Forces.
Significance: After the Allied victory at Stalingrad, and the fall of the German 6th Army, the
momentum on the Eastern Front shifted and the Soviet forces managed a counter push against
the Germans. The Germans were pushed back to Germany in the relative same time that the
Western Allies pushed back the Western Axis forces./
Holocaust: The systematic genocide of six million Jews in Nazi held Europe.
Description: During the years prior to WWII, the Nazis led a campaign against many political
enemies. Along with Hitler’s idea of the Aryan Race, they began suppressing the rights of many
groups in Germany. In 1935, Hitler introduced the Nuremberg Laws, which: prohibited Jews
from marrying or having sex with "Aryans", stripped German Jews of their citizenship, and
deprived them of all civil rights. Hitler said that if the "Jewish problem" cannot be solved by
these laws, it "must then be handed over by law to the National-Socialist Party for a final
solution". This “final solution” would later be known as the Holocaust. After The Germans
invaded Poland, the matter of Jewish People became an urgent topic for the Nazis. Reinhard
Heydrich recommended concentrating all the Polish Jews in ghettos in major cities, where they
would be put to work for the German war industry. The ghettos would be in cities located on
railway junctions in order to furnish, in Heydrich's words, "a better possibility of control and
later deportation." From the beginning of the Third Reich concentration camps were founded,
although they were not designed to be killing centers. After 1939, the camps increasingly became
places where Jews and POWs were either killed or made to work as slave laborers,
undernourished and tortured. Between 1941 and 1943 Germans practiced public execution of
Jews and sent mobile kill squads to kill Jews in Eastern Europe.
Significance: Of the nine million Jews who had resided in Europe before the Holocaust,
approximately two-thirds were killed. Over one million Jewish children were killed in the
Holocaust, as were approximately two million Jewish women and three million Jewish men.
Nazi high ranking officers were later tried for the crime of the Holocaust during the Nuremberg
Trials.
D Day: Also known as Operation Neptune, D-Day was a massive invasion of Nazi held France
on Tuesday, June 6, 1944.
Description: The landings were conducted in two phases: an airborne assault landing of 24,000
British, American and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight, and an amphibious
landing of Allied infantry and armoured divisions on the coast of France starting at 6:30 am. The
Allies were able to surprise the Germans thanks to inclement weather and a comprehensive
deception plan implemented in the months before the landings. Allied forces staged several
decoy landings to further lead the Germans away from the main landing. The main landing was
broken down into Sword Beach, Juno Beach, Utah Beach, Gold Beach, and Omaha Beach. From
the beaches, Allied forces pushed on to Cherbourg and Caen. The battle ended with the German
retreat over the Seine.
Significance: The Allied forces successfully repelled the German Army. This marked the turning
point on the Western Front.
Battle of the Bulge: German counter attack against advancing Allied forces
Description: The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive launched through the
densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia. The offensive was planned with the utmost
secrecy, minimizing radio traffic and moving troops and equipment under cover of darkness. On
16 December 1944, at 5:30 am, the Germans began the assault with a massive, 90-minute
artillery barrage using 1,600 artillery pieces across an 80 mile front on the Allied troops facing
the 6th Panzer Army. Snowstorms during the battle hindered Allied aircraft usage and German
advancement along roads. German attacks along the Allies northern shoulder did not fare well
due to fierce U.S. resistance. For the rest of the battle, German and Allied forces fought fiercely.
While Germans made an advance through Allied holdings, they were eventually ground to a halt
and Allied pushed back and retook St. Vith.
Significance: With about 610,000 men committed and some 89,000 casualties, including 19,000
killed, the Battle of the Bulge was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in
World War II. British losses totaled 1,400. The German High Command's official figure for the
campaign was 84,834 casualties, and other estimates range between 60,000 and 100,000. In
addition, the last of the German reserves were now gone, the Luftwaffe had been shattered and
the remaining German forces in the West were being pushed back to the defenses of the
Siegfried Line.
WWII – The Pacific Theater
1937 – Japan Attacks China: The beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Description: In September of 1937, Chinese and Japanese troops exchanged fire in the vicinity
of the Lugou bridge. The fight began as a confused skirmish, but soon escalated into a full-scale
battle, in which Beijing and its port city of Tianjin fell to Japanese forces.
U.S. Trade Embargo against Japan: U.S. embargo of oil, metal, and other natural resources
Description: The U.S. embargoed scrap metal shipments to Japan and closed the Panama Canal
to Japanese shipping. After Japan moved into Southern Indochina, the US responded by freezing
Japanese assets in the U.S. on 26 July 1941 and by embargoing oil and gasoline exports to Japan
six days later.
Significance: The oil embargo was an especially strong against Japan because oil was Japan's
most crucial import, and more than 80 percent of Japan's oil at the time came from the United
States. Also, the U.S. embargoes gave Japan a sense of urgency. It would either have to agree to
Washington's demands or use force to gain access to the resources it needed.
Pearl Harbor: U.S. military base on Oahu, Hawaii
Description: On the morning of December 7th, 1941 (December 8th in Japan), Japanese Naval
Forces launched a surprise military strike upon the U.S. Pacific Fleet stationed in Hawaii. In two
waves, the U.S. fleet was attacked by 353 Japanese fighter, bomber, and torpedo planes. These
planes, launched from 6 nearby Japanese aircraft carriers, attacked in three groups per wave,
each with it’s own set of targets. The first wave was detected by U.S. Army radar from a training
base, but, due to miscommunications, the warnings became a jumble of confusion. The attack
lasted 90 minutes. In this time, 2,386 Americans died, 1,139 wounded, 18 ships were sunk, 188
U.S aircraft were destroyed, and 159 were damaged.
Significance: As a result of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese effectively brought the U.S. into WWII.
The following day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his Infamy Speech to a joint congress
and the nation. An hour following this address, Congress passed the Declaration. It passed with a
vote of 82 to 0 in the Senate and 388 to 1 in the House.
Bataan Death March: Forcible transfer by the Imperial Army of Filipino and American POWs
Description: Starting on April 9, 1942, American and Filipino POW’s were sent on a march to
Balanga, the capital of Bataan. From there, they were sent in rail cars to Capas. Following their
arrival, a final march to Camp O’Donnell ended the long trip. Along the march, many POW’s
suffered from abuse from Japanese soldiers and disease from poor conditions while in cities or
rail cars. Japanese soldiers physically beat POW’s. If someone was to fall during the march, they
would be bayoneted or beheaded.
Midway: Naval battle at Midway Atoll
Description: 6 months after Pearl Harbor and 1 month after the Battle of Coral Sea, Japanese
Naval forces planned to lure the U.S. carriers into an ambush at Midway Atoll, and occupy
Midway to extend their defensive perimeters. American code breakers managed to find out when
and where the ambush was planned and sent word for a U.S. counter-ambush. The Japanese
carriers- Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, - were lost at the cost of one U.S. carrier and one U.S.
destroyer.
Significance: The battle at Midway was the most important naval battle in the Pacific Campaign
of WWII. In the period of time following the battle to the Japanese surrender, Japanese
shipbuilding and pilot programs fell drastically behind in replacing their losses. Meanwhile, the
U.S. managed to steadily increase its output in both program areas.
Battle of Coral Sea: Major naval battle in the Pacific
Description: The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought during May 4 through May 8, 1942, was a
major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy
and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. In an attempt to strengthen
their defensive positioning for their empire in the South Pacific, Imperial Japanese forces
decided to invade and occupy Port Moresby in New Guinea and Tulagi in the southeastern
Solomon Islands. On May 4, Japanese forces successfully invaded and occupied Tulagi, although
several of their supporting warships were surprised and sunk or damaged by aircraft from the
U.S. fleet carrier Yorktown. Now aware of the presence of U.S. carriers in the area, the Japanese
fleet carriers entered the Coral Sea with the intention of finding and destroying the Allied naval
forces. Beginning on 7 May, the carrier forces from the two sides exchanged airstrikes over two
consecutive days. The battle resulted in heavy losses for both sides, causing both fleets to
disengage and retire from the battle.
Significance: Although is was a tactical victory for the Japanese, the battle would prove to be a
strategic victory for the Allies. Japanese expansion, seemingly unstoppable until then, was turned
back for the first time.
“Island Hopping”: U.S. battle plan in the pacific theater
Definition: Also referred to as “leapfrogging,” U.S. forces in the Pacific Theater used this
strategy to gain strategic locations without expending too many supplies. The idea of island
hopping was to avoid heavily guarded Japanese bases and strike at less defended bases, but
capable of supporting the push to the main island. The U.S. enabled the plan’s success with use
of submarines and air strikes to blockade and isolate Japanese bases. Island hopping was not only
used by the U.S. Japanese forces used this strategy in their offenses in Southeast Asia in 1941
and 1942.
Significance: This strategy allowed the U.S to reach Japan more quickly without expending too
much time, manpower, or supplies.
Okinawa: The Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa were the site of the Battle of Okinawa.
Description: The battle of Okinawa was an 82 day long battle in the Pacific. As one of the final
targets in the island hopping campaign of the Allies. The battle was the largest amphibious
assault in the Pacific Theater. The battle has been referred to as the "typhoon of steel". This
nickname refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of kamikaze attacks from the Japanese
defenders, and to the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the
island. The main landing was made by XXIV Corps and III Amphibious Corps on the Hagushi
beaches on the western coast of Okinawa on L-Day. From there, the Allied forces divided and
assaulted both Northern and Southern Okinawa. In Northern Okinawa, Allied forces met the
heaviest resistance at Yae-Take and le Shima. In Southern Okinawa, Allied forces met a heavily
defended Cactus Ridge and met the heaviest resistance at Kakazu Ridge and Shuri Castle.
Significance: Seizure of Shuri Castle represented both strategic and psychological blows for the
Japanese and was a milestone in the campaign. U.S. losses were over 62,000 casualties, of whom
over 12,500 were killed or missing. This made the battle the bloodiest that U.S. forces
experienced in the Pacific War. Japanese human losses were enormous: 107,539 soldiers killed
and 23,764 sealed in caves or buried by the Japanese themselves; 10,755 captured or
surrendered. The Japanese also lost their prized flagship, the Yamato, in a Naval encounter
during the battle.
Kamikaze pilots: Pilots that practiced a suicidal attack against enemies
Description: These attacks, which began in October 1944, followed several critical military
defeats for the Japanese. They had long lost aerial dominance due to outdated aircraft and the
loss of experienced pilots. These defeats, along with the reluctant attitude towards surrendering
by Japan, drove them to begin kamikaze attacks. These attacks were designed to kill enemy
warships, which justified the sacrifice of the pilots. Another thing that justified these attacks was
that The tradition of death instead of defeat, capture, and perceived shame was deeply entrenched
in Japanese military culture.
Significance: Kamikaze attacks resulted in 47 allied ships sunk, and over 300 damaged.
However, nearly 4,000 kamikaze pilots were sacrificed. About 14% of kamikaze attacks
managed to hit a ship.
The Manhattan Project: Project to create the first atomic bombs.
Description: In August 1939, prominent physicists Leó Szilárd and Eugene Wigner drafted the
Einstein–Szilárd letter, which warned of the potential development of “extremely powerful
bombs of a new type”. It urged the United States to take steps to acquire stockpiles of uranium
ore and accelerate the research of Enrico Fermi and others into nuclear chain reactions. They had
it signed by Albert Einstein and delivered to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt sent a
committee to investigate the issues in the letter. A committee reported back to Roosevelt in
November that uranium “would provide a possible source of bombs with a destructiveness vastly
greater than anything now known.” At a meeting between President Roosevelt, Vannevar Bush
and Vice President Henry A. Wallace on 9 October 1941, the President approved the atomic
program. Through several years of research the scientists decided on an implosion design bomb,
and begins work on Fat Man. The other bomb, Little Boy, was created in 1945.
Hiroshima & Nagasaki: Japanese cities and targets for U.S. atomic bombs.
Description: During the Manhattan project, A joint targeting committee of the Manhattan
District and USAAF was established to determine which cities in Japan should be targets, and
recommended Kokura, Hiroshima, Niigata and Kyoto. At this point, Secretary of War Henry L.
Stimson intervened, announcing that he would be making the targeting decision, and that he
would not authorize the bombing of Kyoto on the grounds of its historical and religious
significance. On August 6, 1945, the 393 Bombardment Squadron B-29 Enola Gay lifted off
with Little Boy in its bomb bay. Hiroshima, an important army depot and port of embarkation,
was the primary target of the mission, with Kokura and Nagasaki as alternatives. On the morning
of August 9, 1945, the B-29 Bockscar, lifted off with a Fat Man on board, and this time Kokura
was the primary target. When the plane reached Kokura, they found cloud cover had obscured
the city, prohibiting the visual attack required by orders. After three runs over the city, and with
fuel running low, they headed for the secondary target, Nagasaki.
Significance: The aftermath of the bombs:
-Little Boy: Little Boy detonated with a blast that was later estimated to be the equivalent
of 13 kilotons of TNT. Japanese officials determined that 69% of Hiroshima's buildings were
destroyed and another 6–7% damaged. About 70,000 to 80,000 people, or some 30% of the
population of Hiroshima, were killed immediately, and another 70,000 injured.
-Fat Man: The resulting explosion had a blast yield equivalent to 21 kilotons of TNT,
roughly the same as the Trinity blast, but was confined to the Urakami Valley, and a major
portion of the city was protected by the intervening hills. About 44% of the city was destroyed;
35,000 people were killed and 60,000 injured.
Unconditional Surrender of Japan: September 2, 1945, Japan surrenders to the Allies.
Description: By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting
operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent. While publicly stating their intent to
fight on to the bitter end, Japan's leaders, the "Big Six", were privately making entreaties to
Soviet Union to mediate peace on terms favorable to the Japanese. However, the Soviets were
preparing to attack the Japanese, as promised to the United States and the United Kingdom
during the Tehran and Yalta Conferences. After the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, Emperor Hirohito intervened and order the Big Six to accept the terms for ending
the war that the Allies had set down in the Potsdam Declaration. The surrender ceremony was
held on September 2, aboard the United States Navy battleship USS Missouri, at which officials
from the Japanese government signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, thereby ending the
hostilities in World War II.
WWII – The Home Front
Gold Stars: Star given to families if a family member died in WWII
Description: During WWII, families were given banners with gold and silver stars to put in their
windows. Gold represented someone who lost their life to the war, and silver for each family
member in the war.
Silver Stars: Star given to families for each family member that was in WWII
Description: During WWII, families were given banners with gold and silver stars to put in their
windows. Silver represented each family member who was serving in the war. Gold represented
someone who lost their life in the war.
17 million GI’s: The amount of American Soldiers that served in WWII
Description: Under the “Europe First” strategy, more of our troops went to Europe than Japan.
The idea of this was to aid our European allies and defeat Germany and its European allies, then
shift focus onto Japan. By 1941, we were an active force in the war. With our ability to stay
relatively isolated and with our population, we were able to send in fresh troops to the Western
Front to aid our allies.
Significance: With the amount of GI’s we sent off to war, our casualties were 290,000 killed in
action and 670,000 wounded.
WAC’s: Women’s Army Corps
Description: The WAC was a military branch of the US Armed Forces. These were the first
women, other than nurses, to serve with the Army. Conservative leaders in the Army, and
conservative public opinion were generally against this idea. However, a lack of men required a
new policy. Many men in the Army felt that their masculinity would be devalued or that the
women would take the safer jobs and send men from non-combat positions into the fight.
Significance: In contrast to popular opinion among men, the WAC were well praised. General
Douglas MacArthur called the WACs "my best soldiers", adding that they worked harder,
complained less, and were better disciplined than men Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower said that
"their contributions in efficiency, skill, spirit, and determination are immeasurable".
Tuskegee Tigers: Popular name for an African American pilot group.
Description: During WWII, the Army was still segregated. During the group’s service, they were
subjected to racial discrimination both inside and outside the Army. However, these men still
trained and flew with distinction. All black military pilots trained at Tuskegee. The group was
considered combat ready in April of 1943. The group saw combat primarily in the Mediterranean
and, after May of 1944, Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia.
Significance: Throughout WWII, the Tuskegee Tigers were subjected to racism. Although, they
were considered to be the best pilots in WWII. Their combat records managed to sway the minds
of some of the other groups in the Air Force during WWII, yet most other groups were still racist
toward the Tuskegee Tigers.
Rosie the Riveter: Cultural icon and poster girl of WWII
Description: First used in song in 1942, Rosie was used to motivate women to take the jobs that
were now vacated by the male workforce in order to serve in the war. Two well known images
depicting Rosie are the “We Can Do It!” poster and an edition in the Saturday Evening Post.
Significance: Rosie the Riveter inspired a social movement that increased women in the
workforce from 12 million to 20 million by 1944, a 53% increase from 1940. Although Rosie
was depicted as a factory worker, the majority of the women workforce were employed in non
factory jobs in every sector of the economy. After the war, women were asked to give their jobs
back to the men who were returning. Reluctantly, many women went back to traditional work,
but now knew they could handle “a man’s job.”
The Wind Talkers: Navajo Indians that we used for the US’ encrypted messages.
Desciption: During the WWII era, there were about 10,000 left. Of these 10,000, 1,200 were in
the army. These Navajo were used in the clever U.S. encryption code for messages during
WWII. The code had two layers. In addition to the usual methods of using encryption codes, the
messages were translated into Navajo. So the Navajo message was encrypted and sent to it’s
destination. At, most likely, every army installation was a Navajo translator and the message was
translated from the encryption code into the Navajo message and then from Navajo into English.
Significance: This unique code prevented the U.S. encrypted messages to never be broken.
Victory Gardens: Vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted at private residences
Description: March 1917, Charles Lathrop Pack organized the National War Garden
Commission and launched the war garden campaign. This idea of war gardens carried into
WWII. Throughout WWII, 20 million Americans were encouraged to plant victory gardens, and
these vegetables made up 40% of the national consumption of vegetables.
Significance: Victory gardens helped supply much of the national consumption of foods and
lowered prices on vegetables so the US War Department could focus on spending money
elsewhere.
Rationing: The controlled proportioning of scarce goods, resources, and services
Description: With the US producing for nations in WWII, it was foreseen that if the nation
entered war, there would be a shortage of resources available for the public consumption. After
the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US began a policy of rationing. The US initially rationed plastic
and gasoline, but eventually moved to include metals, sugar, medicine, coffee, food, and many
more items.
Executive Order #8802: Executive order given by FDR banning racial discrimination in the
national defense industry.
Description: The executive order was issued in response to pressure from civil rights activists A.
Philip Randolph, Walter White, and others involved in the March on Washington Movement,
who had planned a march on Washington, D.C. to protest racial discrimination. The order
required federal agencies and departments involved with defense production training programs
were administered without discrimination as to "race, creed, color, or national origin." All
defense contracts were to ensure that private contractors were barred from discrimination as well.
Significance: This was the first law concerning integration in the U.S.
Detroit Riots: Riots between blacks and white in Detroit in 1943.
Description: In the summer of 1943, during World War II, tensions between blacks and whites in
Detroit were escalating. The booming defense industries brought in large numbers of people with
high wages and very little available housing. In the recent years prior to 1943, 50,000 blacks and
300,000 whites had arrived in Detroit. Among the whites, ethnic groups resented the blacks.
Tensions over housing in the area led to an inevitable explosion between the two groups. The
riots began when a fist fight broke out when a white sailor's girlfriend was insulted by a black
man. The brawl eventually grew into a confrontation between groups of blacks and whites and
then spread into the city. The riot escalated with a rumor that a mob of whites had thrown an
African American mother and her baby into the Detroit River.
Significance: The riot lasted for 3 days, killing 34, wounding 433, and destroying property
valued at $2 million. After the riot, leaders on both sides had an explanation for the riots. White
city leaders including the mayor blamed young black “hoodlums”. The Wayne County
prosecutor believed that the leaders of the NAACP were to blame as the instigators of the riots.
Japanese later used this to encourage blacks no to fight for the US in WWII.
Zoot Suit Riots: A series of riots between whites and Latinos in Los Angeles.
Description: The riots began in Los Angeles, during a period of rising tensions between
European-Americans and Los Angeles' Mexican-American population. Although MexicanAmerican men were active in the military, many European-Americans resented the sight of
Latinos socializing in there “extravagant and unpatriotic” clothing that they wore during this
time. After rationing was put into place, manufacturers no longer made the zoot suits. These suits
were in high demands and bootleggers in NYC and LA began to manufacture them. It was then
seen that wearing a zoot-suit was a deliberate and public way of flouting the regulations of
rationing. The zoot-suit was a moral and social scandal in the eyes of the authorities, not only
because it was associated with crime and violence, but because it openly disobeyed the laws of
rationing. As violence escalated between the groups of servicemen and Mexicans, thousands of
servicemen joined in on attacks, marching abreast down streets, entering bars and movie houses
and assaulting any young Latino males they encountered. In one incident, sailors dragged two
zoot suiters on-stage as the film was being screened, stripped them in front of the audience and
then urinated on their suits. Although police accompanied the rioting servicemen, they had
orders not to arrest any of them. After several days, more than 150 people had been injured and
police had arrested more than 500 "Latinos" on charges ranging from "rioting" to "vagrancy"
Nisei Policy: U.S. policy concerning Japanese-Americans.
Description: During WWII, the U.S. War Department instilled fear that Japanese-Americans
were committing acts of espionage and sabotage. Since most of the population was centered in
Hawaii and California, Americans believed that Japanese-Americans would help Japan reach the
West Coast. The attack on Pearl Harbor was seen as “supporting evidence,” as some may have
called it, supporting the theory created by the War Dep’t and claiming that Japan had inside help
to allow them to successfully launch the attack. In 1942, all of the Japanese Community was
issued to report to WRA Camps (War Relocation Act). Japanese-Americans were given a one
week notice to sell their property and get on a train to one of the camps. The camps were located
in Death Valley, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. At their core these camps were POW camps.
Each camp was surrounded by fence with razor wire on top of it, and machine gun towers at the
corners of the camp. The Japanese-Americans had plywood barracks. They were given three
meals a day and a bed to sleep in.
Significance: 250,000 Japanese-Americans were sent to the camps during WWII. Later, during
the Presidency of Jimmy Carter, the Nisei population were given a formal apology and promised
reparations of $25,000 to each person. The Nisei population accepted the apology, but fully
denied the reparation money.
Post WWII – The Affluent Society & Rebuilding the World
Suburbia: Growth of suburban communities after WWII
Description: After World War II availability of FHA loans stimulated a housing boom in
American suburbs. In the older cities of the northeast U.S., streetcar suburbs originally
developed along train or trolley lines that could shuttle workers into and out of city centers where
the jobs were located. Economic growth in the United States encouraged the suburbanization of
American cities that required massive investments.
Significance: Suburban houses brought about needs for products that were not needed in urban
neighborhoods, such as lawnmowers and automobiles. In addition, shopping malls were also on
the rise. Malls were being developed near suburbs to satisfy consumers' needs and their car
dependent lifestyle.
Levitt Town: The first mass produced suburb and was used as the template for postwar suburbs
throughout the war.
Description: The Levitt firm began before World War II, as a builder of custom homes in upper
middle-class communities on Long Island. During the war, however, the homebuilding industry
languished under a general embargo on private use of scarce raw materials. William "Bill" Levitt
served in the Navy, and developed expertise in mass-production building of military housing
using uniform and interchangeable parts. Returning to the firm after war's end, Bill Levitt
persuaded his father and brother to embrace the utilitarian systems of construction he had
learned, and with his brother, Alfred, designed a small house that could be rapidly constructed
rented out to returning GIs and their young families. Levitt and Sons built the community with
an eye towards speed, efficiency, and cost-effective construction. With these methods they
managed to produce houses at a rate of 30 houses a day by July 1948. As word got out, demand
for houses at Levittown soared. The brothers expanded from 2,000 houses to 4,000 houses.
Significance: Levittown was designed to provide a large amount of housing for people in a time
of high demand for housing. This suburban development would become a symbol of the
“American Dream” as it allowed thousands of families to become homeowners. However,
Levittown would also become a symbol of racial segregation. This was mainly due to the
discriminatory housing standards of Levittown.
The Sunbelt: A region of the United States generally considered to stretch across the South and
Southwest
Description: The Belt comprises the southern tier of the United States and is usually considered
to include the states of Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New
Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, roughly half of California, parts of Arkansas, North
Carolina, and southern Nevada. After WWII, this region experienced a significant population
boom. Industries boomed in the Sun Belt as companies took advantage of the low involvement of
labor unions in the south and enjoyed the presence of nearby U.S. military installations, who
were the major consumers of their products. Author and political analyst Kevin Phillips claims to
have coined the term "to describe the oil, military, aerospace and retirement country stretching
from Florida to California."
GI Bill: A law that provided a range of benefits for returning World War II veterans.
Description: Also known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, the law gave benefits
to returning GI’s. Benefits included low-cost mortgages, low-interest loans to start a business or
farm, cash payments of tuition and living expenses to attend college, high school or other
education, as well as one year of unemployment compensation. It was available to every veteran
who had been on active duty during the war years for at least ninety days and had not been
dishonorably discharged.
Significance: By 1956, roughly 2.2 million veterans had used the G.I. Bill education benefits in
order to attend colleges or universities, and an additional 6.6 million used these benefits for some
kind of training program. In addition, the success of the 1944 G.I. Bill encouraged the
government to offer similar measures to later generations of veterans.
Housing Bill: Portion of Harry Truman’s Fair Deal.
Description: The main elements of the bill consisted of:
-providing federal financing for slum clearance programs associated with urban renewal
projects in American cities.
-increasing authorization for the Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance.
-extending federal money to build more than 800,000 public housing units.
-fund research into housing and housing techniques
-permitting the FHA to provide financing for rural homeowners.
Significance: The American Housing Act of 1949 was a landmark, sweeping expansion of the
federal role in mortgage insurance and issuance and the construction of public housing.
Urban Sprawl: The rapid expansion of metropolitan areas
Description: Urban sprawl is a Post-World War II phenomenon. The causes of the development
of sprawl vary and are said to be attributed to several factors.
-Home buying subsidies provided by the GI Bill allowed many couples to secure their
part of the American Dream, their own home.
-The post-war baby boom contributed to a demand for additional housing. Rapid, largescale housing construction took place at the margins of existing urban centers, giving rise to
growth of the suburbs.
-The automobile was gaining in popularity and affordability. Also, gasoline taxes were
made available to subsidize massive road construction projects, including the interstate highway
system.
As the suburbs developed and roads and highways were created, business and industries
followed the population migration from urban to suburban areas.
Significance: After several decades of this still present phenomenon, urban sprawl has been
credited with the loss of agricultural lands, forests, wetlands, and wildlife habitat, increased air
and water pollution, and degradation of inner cities.