Apush Key Terms Ch. 35 Revised

Albert Einstein

german-born scientist who immigrated to the United STates in 1933 to escape the Nazis. He helped persuade FDR to push ahead with preparations for developing the atomic bomb, but later reufully declared that "annihilation of any life on earth has been brought within the range of technical possibilities"

Douglas MacArthur

the flamboyant, vain, and brilliant American commander in the Philippines and mastermind of the "leapfrogging" strategy for bypassing strongly defended Japanese islands during WWII he would go on to command American troops in the Korean War until he was relieved of his duties by President Truman for insubordination in 1951

Office of Price Administration (OPA) (1941-1947)

A critically important wartime agency charged with regulating the consumer economy through: 1) rationing scarce supplies, such as automobiles, tires, fuel, nylon, and sugar, and by 2) curbing inflation by setting ceilings on the price of goods. 3) Rents were controlled as well in parts of the country overwhelmed by war workers. The OPA was extended after World War II ended to continue the fight against inflation, but was abolished in 1947.

D-Day (1944)

A massive military operation led by American forces in Normandy beginning on June 6, 1944. The pivotal battle led to the liberation of France and brought on the final phases of World War II in Europe.

Midway, Battle of (1942)

A pivotal naval battle fought near the island of Midway on June 3-6, 1942. The victory halted Japanese advances in the Pacific.

V-J (Victory in Japan) Day (1945)

August 15, 1945 heralded the surrender of Japan and the final end to World War II.

Manhattan Project (1942)

Code name for the American commission established in 1942 develop the atomic bomb. The first experimental bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945, in the desert of New Mexico. Atomic bombs were then dropped on two cities in Japan in hopes of bringing the war to an end: Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.

Potsdam conference (1945)

From July 17 to August 2, 1945, President Harry S Truman met with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and British leaders Winston Churchill and later Clement Attlee (when the Labour party defeated Churchill's Conservative party) near Berlin to deliver an ultimatum to Japan: surrender or be destroyed.

Executive Order No. 9066 (1942)

Order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorizing the War Department to remove Japanese "enemy aliens" to isolated internment camps. Immigrants and citizens alike were sent away from their homes, neighbors, schools, and businesses. The Japanese internment policy was held to be constitutional by the United States Supreme Court in Korematsu v. U.S. (1944).

Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act (1943)

Passed amidst worries about the effects that labor strikes would have on war production, this law allowed the federal government to seize and operate plants threatened by labor disputes. It also criminalized strike action against government-run companies.

Bracero program (1942)

Program established by agreement with the Mexican government to recruit temporary Mexican agricultural workers to the United States to make up for wartime labor shortages in the Far West. The program persisted until 1964, by when it had sponsored 4.5 million border crossings.

Harry S. Truman

Vice president under FDR in 1945, he assumed the office of the presidency in April of that year, when FDR died froma brain hemorrhage while vacationing in WArm Springs, Georgia. He won another term in his own right in a historically close election in 1948 against Republican Thomas Dewey. As president, he chose to use nuclear weapons against Japan at Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Navajo code talkers (1940s)

Native American men who served in the military by transmitting radio messages in their native languages, which were undecipherable by German and Japanese spies

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) (1942)

Nonviolent civil rights organization founded in 1942 and committed to the "Double V"—victory over fascism abroad and racism at home. After World War II, CORE would become a major force in the civil rights movement.

Chester Nimitz

U.S. navy admiral who was commander-in-chief of the Pacific Naval Forces for the United STates and its allies during WWII. He strategized the important victories in the Battle of Midway and the Coral Sea

V-E (Victory in Europe) Day (1945)

May 8, 1945, marked the official end of the war in Europe, following the unconditional surrender of what remained of the German government.

WAACs (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps), WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), and SPARs (U.S. Coast Guard Women's Reserve (1940s)

The women's branches of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Coast Guard, established during World War II to employ women in noncombatant jobs. Women now participated in the armed services in ways that went beyond their traditional roles as nurses

Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC) (1941)

Threatened with a massive "Negro March on Washington" to demand equal job opportunities in war jobs and in the military, Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration issued an executive order forbidding racial discrimination in all defense plants operating under contract with the federal government. The FEPC was intended to monitor compliance with the Executive Order.