Chapter 26: The Second World War
1940-1945

     I. Foreign Affairs, 1928-1940 (backtracking to Chapter 24& 25)
          A. Deteriorating U.S. economy undermines democratic European nations
          B. Weakened democracies vulnerable to upheaval by authoritarian governments
          C. Japan attacks China, 1931
               1. Stimson Doctrine
          D. Germany moves towards the Nazis
          E. U.S. recognizes Soviet Union, 1933
          F. "Good Neighbor" Policy with Latin America
          G. The Fascist Challenge
               1. Hitler and Mussolini
          H. U.S. response to the European troubles: the Neutrality Acts
          I. Spanish Civil War, 1936
          J. Hitler on the March: Austria & Czechoslovakia
               1. Munich Conference
               2. Deportation of Jews begins, U.S. does little

     II. War in Europe Begins (Chapter 26)
          A. Soviet-Nazi Pact (Non-Aggression Pact)
          B. Bleitzkreig (England and France declare war on Germany)
          C. "Phony War" ends, German invasion begins April, 1940
          D. French surrender, June, 1940
          E. England bombarded, Nazis back off
          F. FDR wins re-election

     III. U.S. Neutrality Ends
          A. Lend-Lease Act
          B. Germans break Nazi-Soviet Pact, June 1941
          C. Atlantic Charter
          D. Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, December 1941
          E. Early defeats in Pacific

     IV. Homefront
          A. Depression ends
          B. War Production Board
          C. Financing the War
               1. War Revenue Act of 1942
               2. War bonds
          D. Rationing
          E. Migrations
               1. Rural to urban
               2. South to North
               3. Coastal areas
          F. Women's role (Rosie the Riveter)
          G. Double V Campaign (race relations during war)
               1. beginning of the Civil Rights movement
         H. Japanese-American internment

     V. The Grand Alliance
          A. Get Germany First
          B. The Second Front
               1. control the Atlantic
               2. victory in North Africa
               3. Stalingrad (turning point of the war)
          C. Normandy Invasion (D-Day) June 6, 1944
          D. Germany surrenders, May 1945
          E. Holocaust exposed

     VI. The Pacific War
          A. Midway
          B. Leapfrog campaign
          C. Okinawa
          D. Roosevelt re-elected for 4th term
          E. Yalta Accords
          F. Truman takes over
          G. The Atomic Bomb
          H. Japan surrenders, September, 1945

Key Terms

     Soviet-Nazi Pact
     blietzkreig
     Luftwaffe
     phony war
     Lend-Lease Act
     "arsenal of democracy"
     Atlantic Charter
     Winston Churchill
     embargo
     Pearl Harbor
     Bataan Death March
     Revenue Act of 1942
     Rosie the Riveter
     Grand Alliance
     Second Front
     General George Patton
     Dwight D. Eisenhower
     D-Day
     Battle of the Bulge
     Holocaust
     Admiral Chester Nimitz
     General Douglas MacArthur
     kamikaze
     harikari
     Yalta Accords
     Harry S. Truman
     Manhattan Project
     Enola Gay
     Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Essay Topics

     1. Explain the events in Europe that led up to the beginning of World War II in the fall of 1939.  What was the reaction of Americans?

     2. Describe the actions taken by Roosevelt to aid the British before the United States entered the war as a result of Pearl Harbor.  Were the actions really neutral?

     3. Describe the American homefront during World War II, explaining how it affected the lives of American women, African-Americans, and other minorities.  What permanent changes occurred for these groups?

     4. Explain how the war created suspicion between the United States and the Soviet Union.  What specific issue caused disagreements between the Allies?

     5. Explain why the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  What other alternatives were there that might have been tried and why were they not used.