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Chapter 25: World War II, 1941-45
Study Guide
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Overview
This chapter covers American involvement in World War II and its effects on the United States. At the
height of the Depression, America tried to legislate isolation from any future foreign conflicts by enacting a
series of Neutrality Laws, but as wars broke out first in Asia and Africa and then in Europe, the U.S.
gradually amended these laws or President Roosevelt managed to find ways to moderate their effects. Even
before Pearl Harbor, the U.S. was involved in a naval conflict with Germany in the North Atlantic. U.S.
policy sought to deal with Hitler's Germany as the most serious enemy, but the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor partly changed that. The U.S. and its allies were on the defensive until mid-1942 when the North
Africa counter-offensive, the Battle of Stalingrad in Soviet Russia, and the Coral Sea-Midway victories in
the Pacific marked the turning of the tide. The war became a battle of production, with the U.S. possessing
enormous advantages. While the U.S. fought the war for democracy, some constituencies still had to fight
for democracy at home. The home front's involvement in the war changed the lives of many women and
African Americans, who became essential to the wartime economy. Japanese Americans, mostly from the
West Coast, experienced a humiliating and unjust detention even as many of their sons served with
distinction in Europe. The U.S. became the world's greatest single power and stood at the center of global
politics. Roosevelt and his successor Harry Truman worked with a range of politicians and experts to
develop a new foreign policy to face these changing conditions.
CCSD Objectives:
15.1 TSW describe the causes of WW II, including the legacy of WW I.
15.2 TSW assess the Holocaust as it related to the U.S.
15.3 TSW describe the course and character of WW II, including; campaigns and strategies; the atomic
bomb; significant military political and scientific leaders; and the Big Three.
15.4 TSW explain the effects of WW II on the home front in the U.S. including: internment camps,
technologies, economic developments propaganda, women/minority contributions and the GI Bill.
15.5 TSW describe the effects of WW II, including the United Nations and the changing world status of
the U.S.
Textbook Objectives:
I. Discuss the problems in American communities created by war time changes using the Los Alamos
scientists as your example.
II. Trace the changes in American policy from isolationism to involvement in the war in Europe and Asia as
well as reactionary critics to the policy.
III. Summarize the effects of the war on the home front, including business, labor, the family, and various
ethnic groups.
IV. Describe the effects the war had on men and women in uniform.
V. Outline the strategies needed to win the war in both Europe and the Pacific.
VI. Explain what significant technological and political changes developed in the last stages of the war.
VII. Compare the U.S. involvement in World War I and World War II in terms of the foreign and domestic
policies that were developed, and the effects of those policies on the nation. (review chapter 22)
25.1: The Coming of World War II
pp. 771-76
1. What were the first indications of war?
2. Hitler's campaign against the Jews officially started with what?
3. In the late 1930s, Americans generally thought that U.S. involvement in another world war would be
what?
4. From 1935-1937, the U.S. tried to avoid involvement in another world war by passing what?
5. The anti-war group most well known because of famous members such as Henry Ford, Charles
Lindbergh, and Lillian Gish was what?
6. What actions did the U.S. take before its formal entry into World War II?
7. Did the U.S. preoccupation with Germany and Europe greatly contribute to the Japanese strategy of
conquest in the Pacific?
8. What was the intent of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor?
Chapter 25: World War II, 1941-45
Study Guide
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25.2: Arsenal of Democracy
pp. 776-81
1. During World War II, the federal budget grew to be what size of the New Deal peacetime budget?
2. Did wartime funding prolonged the life of a number of New Deal agencies, including the WPA and
Civilian Conservation Corps?
3. Was the decisive factor that determined victory over the Axis powers the U.S.A.'s ability to outproduce
them?
4. The economic boom related to World War II had the greatest impact in what region?
5. What ethnic group did not find new employment opportunities during World War II?
6. In the shipbuilding and aircraft industries on the Pacific Coast, women accounted for what percentage
and/or ratio of the work force?
7. Before the United States entered the war, did more workers go on strike than in any previous year
since 1919?
8. The first federal antistrike bill was passed in response to what?
25.3: The Home Front
pp. 781-86
1. Did sudden increases in wartime wages and the prospect of wartime separation produced a huge
increase in marriages?
2. What were problems for families during the war?
3. Did fear of Japanese invasion and espionage after Pearl Harbor led to internment of Japanese
Americans in inland camps?
4. Government actions against the Japanese resulted in what?
5. African American activists mobilized for the war and for civil rights reform through what?
6. Did severe violence against African Americans occurred in northern cities which experienced mass
migration of Blacks to wartime jobs?
7. The zoot suit riots were started by uniformed sailors assaulting whom?
8. Hollywood supported the war effort by doing what?
25.4: Men and Women in Uniform
pp. 786-92
1. How rigorous screening affect the American military?
2. Most GIs forged bonds with whom?
3. As a group, were the 350,000 women serving in the military better-educated and more skilled than the
average soldier?
4. Describe how women in uniform were organized and treated.
5. Were only a small number of African American soldiers permitted to serve in combat units, and
complete segregation of blacks and whites the rule?
6. The 442nd Infantry unit was to the Japanese Americans what the 99th Pursuit Squadron was to what
ethnic group?
7. Compared to being killed in combat, the risk of being injured was what?
8. According to many soldiers, the true medical heroes of the battlefront were whom?
9. Approximately how many Americans became prisoners of war?
10. How were Americans treated in Japanese POW camps?
Chapter 25: World War II, 1941-45
Study Guide
25.5: The World at War
pp. 792-98
1. Germany's hope of invading Great Britain was ended by what?
2. At the battle of Stalingrad, the did the Soviets suffer more casualties than Americans did during the
entire war?
3. What were the U.S. and British advantages over the Germans?
4. Did the Dresden air raid that killed 135,000 people also seriously damaged key enemy industries?
5. The activities of partisans fighting the Nazis included what?
6. What was Operation Overlord?
7. The casualties in the Allied European campaign totaled ___________.
8. What were the results of the Battle of Midway?
9. Was island-hopping the strategy of capturing important atolls from the Japanese and opening the way
to Japan?
25.6: The Last Stages of War
pp. 798-802
1. Did fabricated stories about German atrocities in World War I cause major news media organizations
to dismiss or play down reports about the Holocaust?
2. With regard to the Nazi death camps, Roosevelt and his advisers followed a policy that emphasized
what?
3. At the Yalta Conference, the United States and Britain unofficially accepted a Soviet buffer zone
where?
4. It was clear from the Yalta conference that the goals of the Atlantic Charter were what?
5. What influenced the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan?
6. The number of people who died within weeks of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima was what?
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