WWII and Cold War (including Korea and Vietnam)

Salerno

The Allied Invasion of Italy was the Allied landing on mainland Italy on 3 September 1943, by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group (comprising Lieutenant General Mark Clark's U.S. Fifth Army and General Bernard Montgomery's British Eighth Army) during the Second World War. The operation followed the successful invasion of Sicily during the Italian Campaign. The main invasion force landed around Salerno on the western coast in Operation Avalanche, while two supporting operations took place in Calabria (Operation Baytown) and Taranto (Operation Slapstick).

Island Hopping

The American navy attacked islands held by the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean. The capture of each successive island from the Japanese brought the American navy closer to an invasion of Japan.

V-J Day

The celebration of the Surrender of Japan, which was initially announced on August 15, 1945

Potsdam Conference

The final wartime meeting of the leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union in July, 1945. Truman, Churchill, and Stalin discussed the future of Europe but their failure to reach meaningful agreements soon led to the onset of the Cold War.

Domino Theory

The idea that if a nation falls under communist control, nearby nations will also fall under communist control

Atlantic Charter

The joint declaration, in August 1941, by Roosevelt and Churchill, stating common principles for the free world; self-determination, free choice of government, equal opportunities for all nations for trade, permanent system of general security and disarmament

Panmunjom

The site where the armistice was signed during the Korean War. It ended hostilities of the Korean conflict.

McCarthyism

The term associated with Senator Joseph McCarthy who led the search for communists in America during the early 1950s through his leadership in the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Atomic Weapons

These were developed during World War II as a result of the Manhattan Project. Two of these would be used on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Berlin Airlifts

US response to Stalin's decision to blockade West Berlin to gain conrtol of whole city; they worked and he quit the blockade

Mary McLeod Bethune

United States educator who worked to improve race relations and educational opportunities for Black Americans (1875-1955)

Gary Powers

Was the U-2 Spy Plane pilot that was captured by the Soviet Union

Arms Race

a competition between nations for superiority in the development and accumulation of weapons, especially between the US and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Indochina

a peninsula of southeastern Asia that includes Myanmar and Cambodia and Laos and Malaysia and Thailand and Vietnam

Big Three

allies during WWII; Soviet Union - Stalin, United Kingdom - Churchill, United States - Roosevelt

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEAT)

an international organization for collective defense to block further communist gains is Southeast Asia - 1954

Second Red Scare

caused by rise of "Red China" and the Shocks of 1949; Origins from formation of HUAC who made accusations about "subversives" (traitors/Communists) in government. Included FELP, blacklist, Alger Hiss Case, Rosenberg Case, and Joe McCarthy (rise of McCarthyism); deportations; escalated by Korean War

Equal Rights Amendment

constitutional amendment passed by Congress but never ratified that would have banned discrimination on the basis of gender

Cash and Carry

countries such as Britain and France would have to pay for American goods in cash and provide transportation for them. This would keep US ships out of the war zone and eliminate the need for war loans

Loyalty Review Board

effort to control possible communist influence in US gov: boards to investigate "security risks" working for gov- some employees released for affiliation with unacceptable political organizations/ sexual orientation

Nazi Party

the political party founded in Germany in 1919 and brought to power by Hitler in 1933

Douglas MacArthur

(1880-1964), U.S. general. Commander of U.S. (later Allied) forces in the southwestern Pacific during World War II, he accepted Japan's surrender in 1945 and administered the ensuing Allied occupation. He was in charge of UN forces in Korea 1950-51, before being forced to relinquish command by President Truman.

Korean War

(1950-3) A conflict between UN forces (primarily US and S Korea) against North Korea, and later China; Gen. Douglas Macarthur led UN forces and was later replaced by Gen. Ridgeway; Resulted in Korea remaining divided at the 38th parallel.

D-Day

175000 Allied troops invading the beaches of Normandy; Also called Operation Overload. The early hours of the day were spent with airborne attacks to break up the German resistance. The beaches of Normandy (which were broken into 5 groups) were stormed by US, British, Canadian, Free French, and Polish forces.

Pearl Harbor

1941 United States military base on Hawaii that was bombed by Japan, bringing the United States into World War II. It was attacked on December 7, 1941.

Truman Doctrine

1947, President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology, mainly helped Greece and Turkey

McCarran Act

1950 - Required Communists to register and prohibited them from working for the government. Truman described it as a long step toward totalitarianism. Was a response to the onset of the Korean war.

Neutrality Acts

4 laws passed in the late 1930s that were designed to keep the US out of international incidents

Battle of the Bulge

A 1944-1945 battle in which Allied forces turned back the last major German offensive of World War II.

Baby Boom

A cohort of individuals born in the United States between 1946 and 1964, which was just after World War II in a time of relative peace and prosperity. These conditions allowed for better education and job opportunities, encouraging high rates of both marriage and fertility.

Cold War

A conflict that was between the US and the Soviet Union. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats went on for years.

House Un-American Activities Committee

A congressional committee created to search out disloyal Americans & Communists.

Midway

A famous battle which was turning point where American naval forces defeated Japanese naval forces.

Berlin Wall

A fortified wall surrounding West Berlin, Germany, built in 1961 to prevent East German citizens from traveling to the West. Its demolition in 1989 symbolized the end of the Cold War. This wall was both a deterrent to individuals trying to escape and a symbol of repression to the free world.

War Powers Act

A law passed in 1973 after Vietnam fiasco requiring (1) president to notify Congress within 48 hours of sending troops into combat and (2) begin to remove troops after 60 days unless Congress approves of the action. Limited effort to reverse erosion of Congress' war powers since World War II

Holocaust

A methodical plan orchestrated by Hitler to ensure German supremacy. It called for the elimination of Jews, non-conformists, homosexuals, non-Aryans, and mentally and physically disabled.

Coral Sea

A naval battle in the Pacific against the Japanese that protected the security of Australia

Neutrality

A policy of supporting neither side in a war

Vietnam War

A prolonged war (1954-1975) between the communist armies of North Vietnam who were supported by the Chinese and the non-communist armies of South Vietnam who were supported by the United States.

Interstate Highway System

A system of limited access roadways that connects all major cities in the US. The system was designed to give troops faster routes to get to destinations across the US in the event of an attack on the US. The system's main purpose now is travel by civilians.

DMZ (Demilitarized Zone)

A zone from which military forces or operations or installations are prohibited

U-2

American reconnaissance aircraft shot down over the Soviet Union in May 1960. President Eisenhower refused to acknowledge that this was a spy flight; this incident increased Cold War tensions

Warsaw Pact

An alliance between the Soviet Union and other Eastern European nations. This was in response to the NATO

Lend Lease Act

Approve by Congress in March 1941; The act allowed America to sell, lend or lease arms or other supplies to nations considered "vital to the defense of the United States."

Suburbs

Areas of living outside the cities where middle-class families went to live to escape the polarities of the city

Cease Fire

Armistice Stop fighting

Normandy

Beach in France Allies Invaded,Codenamed Operation Overlord, it was the long awaited Allied invasion of France and the opening of the Second Front during World War II. The initial invasion began on June 6, 1944.

Double V Campaign

Black-Americans' campaign to earn victory in the home front (fight discrimination at home) and victory overseas (fighting the enemy Axis powers)

Hiroshima

City in Japan, the first to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, on August 6, 1945. The bombing hastened the end of World War II.

Manhattan Project

Code name for the secret United States project set up in 1942 to develop atomic bombs for use in World War II

Tehran Conference

Conference between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin where they decided to launch an invasion of Western Europe.

38th Parallel

Dividing line between Communist North Korea and Democratic South Korea

Nuremburg Trials

During 1945 and 1946 an International Military Tribunal representing 23 nations that put Nazi War criminals on trial. 22 Nazi leaders were charged with waging a war of aggression, and committing "crimes against humanity"-the murder of 11 million people. Only 1 found not guilty

Yalta Conference

FDR, Churchill and Stalin met.. Russia agreed to declare war on Japan after the surrender of Germany and in return FDR and Churchill promised the USSR concession in Manchuria and the territories that it had lost in the Russo-Japanese War

Sputnik

First artificial Earth satellite, it was launched by Moscow in 1957 and sparked U.S. fears of Soviet dominance in technology and outer space. It led to the creation of NASA and the space race.

Final Solution

Hitler's program of systematically killing the entire Jewish people

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

In 1949, the United States, Canada, and ten European nations formed this military mutual-defense pact. In 1955

Bay of Pigs

In April 1961, a group of Cuban exiles organized and supported by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency landed on the southern coast of Cuba in an effort to overthrow Fidel Castro. When the invasion ended in disaster, President Kennedy took full responsibility for the failure.

Dumbarton Oaks Conference

In a meeting near Washington, D.C., held from August 21 to October 7, 1944, U.S., Great Britain, U.S.S.R. and China met to draft the constitution of the United Nations.

Nagasaki

Japanese city in which the second atomic bomb was dropped.

GI Bill of Rights

Law Passed in 1944 to help returning veterans buy homes and pay for higher education

Space Race

Many scientists and military leaders believed that control of space would be very important. Consequently, the USA and USSR invested billions of dollars in developing satellites, space stations, rockets, etc. This investment led to great scientific advances, but also caused friction and insecurities.

V-E Day

May 8, 1945; victory in Europe Day when the Germans surrendered

Japanese-American Internment

Roosevelt signed a document Feb. 19,1942 stating that all people of Japanese ancestry from California and parts of Washington, Oregon, and Arizona, needed to be removed. Put them in internment camps because of their fear for another attack by the Japanese.