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United States History
Chapter 17
World War II: The Road to War
(1931-1941)
Section 2
Europe Goes to War
What occurred on September 1, 1939?
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After attempts by the British and French to
“appease” Germany’s land acquisitions failed,
the nations made a pack to declare war on
Germany if they were to invade Poland
(September 1, 1939) Germany invaded Poland;
days later Britain and France would respond
with their own declaration of war
World War II had officially begun
Who were the Axis Powers?
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Germany
Italy
Japan
Who were the Allies?
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Great Britain
France
Soviet Union
United States
Section 4
From Isolationism to War
Explain the Neutrality Acts?
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1939 laws designed to keep the United States
out of future wars
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Banned the United States from providing
weapons to nations at war
Banned loans to nations at war
Cash and Carry – permitted trade with fighting
nations in nonmilitary goods as long as those
notions paid cash and transported the cargo
themselves
What was the Lend-Lease Act? Why such a
drastic change in foreign policy?
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1941 law that authorized the President to aid
any nation whose defense he believed was
vital to American security
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FDR immediately began sending aid to Britain
After Germany attacked the Soviet Union, the
United States extended lend-lease aid as well
Why was the United States and Japan at odds with
each other prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor?
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In response to Japanese aggression in Asia,
the United States froze all Japanese assets in
the United States
Because Japan was at war, the United States
cut off all oil shipments and the shipment of
other goods to Japan as well
Identify the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
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December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a
surprise attack on American forces at the
naval base at pearl Harbor
In less than 2 hours, some 2,400 Americans
had been killed and nearly 1,200 wounded;
200 warplanes damaged or destroyed; 18
warships had been sunk or heavily damaged
Destruction at Pearl Harbor
What was the U.S. response to the bombing of
Pearl Harbor? What was the world response?
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(December 8) the United States responded
with a declaration of war with Japan
(December 11) Germany and Italy declared
war on the United States
United States History
Chapter 18
World War II: Americans at War
(1941-1945)
Section 1
Mobilization
What was the Selective Training and
Service Act?

1940 law requiring all males aged 21 to 36 to
register for military service
What role did African Americans play
in the military during World War II?
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Nearly a million African Americans joined the
military
At first black troops were limited to
supporting roles [Examples: cooks, supply
yards, etc.], but as the war waged and
casualties increased black troops were given
more opportunities to fight in separate units
What role did women play in the
military during World War II?
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Some 350,000 women served in the military
during the war in every role except combat
What actions would the American government take
on the country’s economy during the war effort?
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War Productions Board (WPB) – set up to
direct the conversion of peacetime industries
to industries that produced war goods
How did World War II impact
American employment?
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Unemployment virtually vanished during
World War II
Not only did people find jobs, they also
earned more money
How did the United States pay for
World War II?
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Taxes [which paid for about 41% of the cost
of war]
Borrowed money from the sale of war bonds
Explain shortages, rationing, and price
controls.
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Shortages:
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Rationing:
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some consumer goods were unavailable during the war,
materials needed to make these goods were now being used
for war materials
The purpose of rationing was for fair distribution of scarce
items [examples: sugar, coffee, meat, shoes, etc.]
The public was offered ration books of coupons to acquire
these items
Price Controls:
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To stop the inflation of the prices of goods, especially those
in short supply, the government established a system of
price and rent control
In what was did the public support the
war effort?
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Planted victory gardens to add to the home
food supply and replace farm produce sent to
feed the soldiers
Recycling of materials that could be used for
war production
Buying bonds
Section 2
Retaking Europe
Identify the Atlantic Charter.
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Agreement signed by President Franklin
Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston
Churchill in 1941 outlining the two nations’
war aims:
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No new territorial expansion
Self-determination
The final destruction of Nazi tyranny
The end of the use of military force
Atlantic Charter
Roosevelt and Churchill Meet
Key Military Actions in Europe
North African Campaign
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Unable to find footing to fight in Europe, the
Allies decided to invade North Africa
Much of the fighting in North Africa
highlighted tank warfare
The Allied victory in North Africa freed the
Allies to move northward through the
Mediterranean Sea to invade Italy
Key Military Actions in Europe
D-Day [Operation Overlord]
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(June 6, 1944) Allied invasion of both land
and sea, across the English Channel, on the
coast of France [Normandy]
Allied success now provided a European base
from which to launch an assault on Germany
Key Military Actions in Europe
Battle of the Bulge
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(December 1944) German counterattack on
Allied forces in Belgium
Germany hoped to break through Allied lines,
but only succeeded in temporarily pushing the
Allied forces back
This was the last major victory for the
Germans in World War II
Identify the closing moments on the
European Theater.
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(early months of 1945) Russian forces in the
East and American/British forces for the West
both arrived in Berlin at almost the same time
to surround the city
April 30, 1945, Hitler commits suicide
May 8, 1945, Germany surrenders [V-E Day]
What was the Yalta Conference?
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(February 1945) Meeting of Roosevelt, Churchill, and
Stalin to plan the final defeat of Germany and to decide
the shape of the postwar world
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Agreed to split Germany into four zones; as well as a division
of Berlin
Stalin promised to allow elections in the nations of Eastern
Europe
Soviet Union promised to enter the war against Japan within
three months of Germany’s defeat
Stalin did not fulfill his promises at Yalta
Section 3
The Holocaust
Define anti-Semitism.
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Hostility or discrimination toward Jews
What was the Holocaust?
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Nazi Germany’s systematic attempt to murder
all European Jews
In all, 6 million Jews would lose their lives;
some 5 to 6 million other people would also
die in Nazi captivity
Outline the Nazi policies that dealt
with the Jews in Germany.
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Nuremburg laws (1935) – stripped Jews of their
German citizenship, outlawed the marriage between
Jews and non-Jews
(1938) Nazis forced Jews to surrender their businesses,
Jewish doctors and lawyers could not serve non-Jews,
Jewish students were expelled from public schools
Jews were forced to wear the yellow star marked “Jew”
(1938) Kristallnacht – “Night of the Broken Glass,”
Jewish businesses and synagogues destroyed, thousands
shipped to concentration camps
(1939) Nazi moved Jews in “ghettos,” physically
separated from the rest of society
(1942) enacted the “final solution”
What were concentration camps?
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A place where political prisoners are
confined, usually under harsh conditions
In addition to Jews, these camps housed what
the Nazi considered the “undesirables”:
homosexuals, Jehovah Witnesses, Gypsies,
homeless, handicap, etc.
Explain Hitler’s “final solution.”
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The complete destruction of the Jews
The Nazis would establish death camps to
eliminate the Jews
The popular method of death was the gas
chamber
Explain the Nuremberg Trials.
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Series of trials in 1945 conducted by an
International Military Tribunal in which
former Nazi leaders were charged with crimes
against peace, crimes against humanity, and
war crime
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Of the 24 Nazis tried, 12 received the death
sentence
The trials established the important principle
that individuals must be responsible for their
own actions
Section 4
The War in the Pacific
Define island hopping.
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A military strategy used during World War II
that involved selectively attacking specific
enemy-held islands by bypassing others
By capturing only a few crucial islands, the
United States effectively cut off the bypassed
islands from supplies and reinforcements and
rendered those islands useless to Japan
This strategy allowed the Americans to move
more quickly toward their ultimate goal - Japan
What was the Manhattan Project?
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Secret American program during World War II
to develop an atomic bomb
Why did the United States drop the atomic bomb
on Japan? What other alternatives did they have?
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Why?
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An invasion of Japan could cost millions of
American casualties
What other alternatives?
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A naval blockade to starve Japan, along with
continued bombings
A demonstration of the new weapon on a deserted
island to pressure surrender
Softening Allied demands for unconditional
surrender
What events would lead to the end of the
war between the United States and Japan?
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(August 1945) the United States dropped an
atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing some
80,000; three days later another was dropped
on Nagasaki
(August 14, 1945) Japanese accepted the
American terms of surrender
The formal surrender was signed on September
2, 1945, aboard the USS Missouri
Japanese Surrender
Section 5
The Social Impact of the War
Who was A. Philip Randolph?
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Considered by many as the “Father of the
Modern Civil Rights Movement”
Randolph pressured FDR, through the threat
of a massive march on Washington, to grant
concessions to end discrimination in hiring
practices in defense industries
What advances were made in the rights of African
Americans during World War II? New problems?
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Many would prosper with new job
opportunities in industry
African Americans were forced to live in
segregated neighborhoods, often in poor and
rundown housing; violence also erupted with
whites
Explain the “Bracero Program.”
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A shortage of farm laborers led the United
States to seek help from Mexico
Between 1942 and 1947, more than 200,000
braceros worked on American farms and in
other industries
Explain the significance of the “Zoot
Suit Riots.”
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Highlighted the cultural differences between
Mexican Americans and whites, erupting into
violence in the streets
What problems did Japanese
Americans face during World War II?
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Discrimination and racial prejudice
Americans feared sabotage and spying by the
Japanese
Explain the Japanese internment in the
United States during World War II.
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The government relocated some 110,000
people, citizen and non-citizen, to camps in
remote areas far from the coast
Many Japanese-Americans lost their
businesses, farms, homes, valuables, etc.
All of the camps were located in desolate
areas, living conditions were far from
extravagant; barbed wire surrounded the
camp, while armed guards patrolled the
grounds
Many Japanese Americans resented their treatment by the United States,
taking their complaints to the courts. How did the courts respond?
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The Supreme Court would rule in favor of the
United States government
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Relocation was constitutional
What role did women play in the workforce
during World War II? After the war?
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Again, women replaced men in all aspects of
the workforce
Again, women were pressured to leave their
jobs after the war for the returning men