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AP US History
Chapter 28 Questions
1) In what places did the U.S. fight WWII? What were some of the key details of the
fighting in these locations?
During World War II, America fought in North Africa, Europe, and the Pacific.
America first fought in North America so that they can invade Italy from there. By
invading into Italy, they can take control of it and use it to invade Germany as well and
end the war like in that way. But it wasn’t easy for them to invade Italy and it took some
time for America and the Allies to achieve its goal. America also fought in Europe as
well to regain France from Germany. Due to Germany’s invasion in France, France had
fallen and so the Allies and America tried to regain France back. But most of the places
that America focused during the war were in the Pacific. America fought most in the
Pacific mostly because America was mainly in war with Japan. Because Japan started the
attack in the Pacific, America just continued fighting with it there. In the Pacific, many
major battles and victories took place such as the Battle at Leyte Gulf. At the Battle of
Leyte Gulf, it became the great turning point for America because they almost destroyed
Japan’s naval power completely. Because of this battle, the Japanese were greatly
weakened and it made it easier for Americans to move towards Japan. But at the same
time, the Japanese didn’t want to admit defeat yet and so they continued to fight to the
fullest and made their defense stronger than before. America focused on battling against
Japan more than on other nations. America’s final attack on Japan was when they
dropped the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When America dropped the
first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, they were hoping that the Japanese would surrender and
they can end the war, but the Japanese didn’t surrender. And so because the Japanese
didn’t admit defeat, America quickly dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki and
that ended World War II between Japan and America. Through all of this battling and
fighting with each other, America and many other nations had advanced their technology
and military forces to fight and win. Through this, new techniques and strategies were
developed. America fought all over the place during this war, but mainly focused their
attention on the war in the Pacific.
- Okinawa and Iwo Jima
2) How did the American people and the American government react to early news
of the Holocaust?
Many Americans and the American government basically ignored the Holocaust
and some even believed that it didn’t even happen. Instead of being bothered by the
Holocaust, they focused their attention only on World War II. When ships such as St.
Louis were used to ship the Jews to America to escape, America rejected them and
ordered the ship to return them back to where they were before. America simply turned
down their plea and barely did much to help the Jews through the threat they were facing
Many American leaders explained that they can do very little and because of the
American bombings in camps, it might kill the Jews. Policymakers also said that because
so many Hews were suffering and dying that America had to increase their commitment
in killing off the main source of this problem which was the Germans. But all of these
were excuses to make it seem like America tried to help, but in reality, America just
ignored the Holocaust and focused on fighting in the war.
3) In what ways was American home front mobilization during WWII similar to that
of WWI? To what extent did this mobilization during WWII help end the Great
Depression? USE KEY TERMS!
The American home front mobilization of World War II was very similar to
World War I because they had intense commitment to fighting in the war. The war
production board and new technology were created and advanced during both wars. Due
to the mobilization of World War II, the Great Depression finally ended in America.
Because of this war, more and more jobs were opened for people and it needed people to
work. Most of the white men worked as soldiers and fought in the war. When the white
men were gone, the factories and industries needed a lot more people to work to create
more weapons and supply for the war. And so women, blacks, Mexican-Americans, and
other ethnic groups had an increase on employment. Also, after the incident at Pearl
Harbor the tensions and problems that the Americans had before disappeared and was
replaced with the commitment to fight in the war. This war was very similar to World
War I because in both wars, America was united together by nationalism to fight for their
country. Also, in both wars America created a war industries board and a war production
board to help supply for the war. Both of these boards were ineffective and didn’t have
much authority. Both wars also had a great advance in technology in weapons and
supplies. In World War I, airplanes, the navy army, and poisonous gas were used and it
made it into a more modern war. Then in World War II, they had soldiers who used
bombs, tanks, and atomic bombs to fight. Due to the new technologies, it encouraged a
more modern warfare in fighting. In general, World War I and World War II were very
similar due to nationalism, the war boards, and the new technologies and advances.
World War II also helped end the Great Depression for America as well.
- stimulated the economy
4) Describe the situation for African Americans and women during WWII.
The situation for African Americans and women during World War II was better than
before. Women and African Americans were able to experience more freedom and they
can also take part in the war. But even with their situations a bit better than before, they
can do little because of racial prejudice and social injustice. At first when African
Americans participated in the war with white soldiers, they were still faced with
discrimination, but slowly African Americans and the white soldiers started to get along.
African Americans tried to ask the government for racial justice as they were fighting in
the war with white soldiers. The government denied them and the Congress of Racial
Equality (CORE) stepped in and allowed blacks to eat in restaurants. This showed that
with their commitment and the government’s assistance, they can erode away racial
prejudice. As for women, during the war their situations bettered than before because
they experienced a high employment rate and gained more freedom from this. Because
the men were gone, it left many jobs open for women and so many of them went out to
work. But because they had to go out to work by themselves, they had more stress and
left their children uncared. Because they had to go out to work, they abandoned most of
their children at home or in cars and from this the children received a limited amount of
child care. Even though women worked in armies and created weapons, there were not
given the opportunity to fight with men. This showed there was still limited equality
between men and women. Therefore, African Americans and women’s conditions did
better somewhat during the war, but weren’t able to gain equal rights.
5) Describe the situation for Native Americans and Mexican Americans during
WWII.
The situation for Native Americans and Mexican Americans during World War II
was just like the African Americans and women. They too, experienced a mass
employment and economical booms, but they still experienced racial tensions. Because
there was a high demand for war supplies, more Native and Mexican Americans were
able to find jobs more easily than before. Native Americans were also able to participate
in the war as “code-talkers” because of their native language. Because of all this
opportunities being offered, the Native Americans didn’t want to return back to their
reservations. But they were still faced with racial discrimination; they didn’t have enough
money to live in the white’s society. As for the Mexican Americans, they also
experienced a mass employment but were faced with racial prejudice. The whites and
they caused a lot of tensions and riots such as the zoot-suit riot took place. The Native
Americans and Mexican Americans tried hard to enjoy the opportunities they had, but it
was difficult with prejudice existing.
6) Describe and evaluate the situation for Japanese Americans and the changing
relationship between the U.S. and China during WWII.
The situation for the Japanese Americans was worse than the other ethnic groups
because to the Americans, they were viewed as a threat to America. Ever since the
incident at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Americans were viewed as if they took part in it
and Americans feared they will do any damage to their country again. The Japanese
Americans were relocated to internment camps. They were locked up as if they were
prisoners and this incident was somewhat similar to what Hitler did with the Jews except
the Americans didn’t torture the Japanese Americans. The Americans just simply isolated
them away from the rest of the country. This showed injustice in the society and the
Supreme Court case Korematsu vs. US clearly shows the injustice. Korematsu refused to
be relocated into the internment camps and stated that America had no right to do this.
The Supreme Court ruled saying that relocating the Japanese in internment camps was
constitutional because when a country is at war, they can do whatever they needed to
keep the nation safe. Since the Japanese were viewed as a threat in society, relocating
them would be a right thing to do. As for China and America, they relationship bettered
during World War II. It’s because America was fighting with the Japanese to protect
China and America later on repealed the Chinese Exclusion Acts. Chinese immigrants
were able to immigrate to America, though they were still faced with racial injustice. But
because of the incident at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Americans’ status quickly declined
while the Chinese American received benefits from the war.
- America wanted to make relationships better with their allies  making military
relationships with China because their common enemy was Japan  China became
America’s ally
- McCarthyism
7) What were the key events that led to victory for America and its allies in Europe,
North Africa, and the Pacific? How did American leaders and forces particularly
contribute to these key victories? USE KEY TERMS!
America and the Allies were able to gain France back, invaded Italy, and
protected the Soviet Union was because of America’s contribution to the war with
supplies and soldiers. By gaining France back, it made it easier for the Allies and
America to attack Germany from the West. This also helped end any effective western
offensive from the Germans. During this war, America played an important role because
they provided a massive amount of weapons and bombs. Then America and the Allies
also took back northern Africa and invaded into Italy, where they can attack Germany
from the south as well. America also played an effective role in the revival of the Soviet
Union because of the battle as Stalingrad. In this battle, America was successful in
driving the Germans back from the Soviet Union and prevent the USSR from collapsing.
This gave the Allies an opportunity to attack from the east and it surrounded the Germans
from the west as well. By surrounding the Germans from west, east, and south, they
successfully defeated the Germans. And so, Due to America’s contribution to the war,
they were able to achieve victory.