Chapter 36
Japanese Surrender --- "V-J Day" (august 14,1945)
"Victory over Japan day" is the celebration of the Surrender of Japan, which was initially announced on August 15, 1945
Marshal Erwin Rommel
(desert fox) commanded germans at Suez Canal and caused disaster for Allies
Commander Matthew Perry
*Opened up trading ports in the Japan to western influence. *A commodore in the American navy. He forced Japan into opening its doors to trade, thus brining western influence to Japan while showing American might.
Alamogordo test
16 Jul 1945 , experts detonated first atomic weapon here
Japanese Internment
1942: Japanese American's sent to "war relocation camps". in the wake of imperial attack on Pearl Harbor. Court upheld constitutionality. 1088: US apoligized for its actions.
Korematsu v. United States
1944 Supreme Court case where the Supreme Court upheld the order providing for the relocation of Japanese Americans. It was not until 1988 that Congress formally apologized and agreed to pay $20,000 to each survivor.
Battle of Leyte Gulf (1944)
1944 World War II naval battle betweeen the United States and Japan. Largest naval engagement in history. Japaneze navy was defeated.
General George S. Patton
A US general who helped defeat Rommel. He read Rommel's books, and shoved it in Rommel's face when he defeated him in Egypt. Patton thought he was Julius Ceasar in his past life.
Rosie The Riveter
A propaganda character designed to increase production of female workers in the factories. It became a rallying symbol for women to do their part.
War Labor Board
Acted as a supreme court for labor cases. Did more harm than good when it tried to limit wages, which led to strikes.
ABC-1 Agreement
Agreement with Britain that adopted the strategy to defeat Germany before concentrating on Japan
Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey
Allied leader who fought for control of the Solomon islands in the South Pacific
A. Philip Randolph
America's leading black labor leader who called for a march on Washington D.C. to protest factories' refusals to hire African Americans, which eventually led to President Roosevelt issuing an order to end all discrimination in the defense industries.
Bataan Death March (1942)
American soldiers (MacArthur's men) were forced to march 65 miles to prison camps by their Japanese captors. Japanese forced about 60,000 of americans and philippines to march 100 miles with little food and water, most died or were killed on the way
Nissei
American-born children of Japanese immigrants; second generation Japanese Americans.
Deaths of Hitler / Roosevelt (April 1945)
April 30, 1945, after 12 years of rule, knowing Allied forces would soon be upon him (the Soviets are entering Berlin) Hitler commits suicide, Roosevelt in April 12, 1945 ; died of cerebral hemmorhage ; died in mistress's arms
Meiji Government
Around 1900, the Japanese saw what was happening to other Asian nations as European took them over through imperialism. The Japanese transformed their entire society to copy the Europeans under this government. They industrialized, got rid of the samurai, copied European schooling and military, etc.
Liberation of Paris
August 24, 1944; US liberating France from German occupation
General Bernard Montgomery
British general who led a successful counter-campaign against General Rommel in North Africa
Hiroshima (August 6, 1945)
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.
Stalingrad
City in Russia, site of a Red Army victory over the Germany army in 1942-1943. The Battle of Stalingrad was the turning point in the war between Germany and the Soviet Union. Today Volgograd. (p. 793)
Atomic bomb ("Manhattan") project
Code name for the U.S. effort during World War II to produce the atomic bomb. Much of the early research was done in New York City by refugee physicists in the United States.
Potsdam Conference
Conference where Truman, Atlee and Stalin complete post-war agreements. Trinity test is successful during this time
War Production Board
During WWII, FDR established it to allocated scarce materials, limited or stopped the production of civilian goods, and distributed contracts among competing manufacturers
Albert Einstein
Einstein was a Jew who escaped Germany because of the threat of the Holocaust. He was a scientist who told America that he could help build an atomic bomb, but Germany was also in this process.
Elbe River
Eisenhower held Allied troops at this location, allowing the Soviets to reach Berlin first at the close of the war in Europe.
Issei
First generation Japanese immigrants to North America. Noun. The Issei were unable to attain citizenship.
Tehran Conference (1943)
First major meeting between the Big Three (United States, Britain, Russia) at which they planned the 1944 assault on France and agreed to divide Germany into zones of occupation after the war
Battle Of Coral Sea (1942)
Fought on May 7-8 1942; Caused heavy losses on both sides; Japanese won a tactical victory because they sank US carrier Lexington; Americans claimed a strategic victory by stopping Japan's drive towards Australia
Enigma Codes
German codes cracked by the British allowing the Allies to pinpoint the location of U-boats
Henry J. Kaiser
He had supervised the constrution of Boulder Dam and reduced the prodution time to less than two weeks instead of 6 months and then to one ship a day
General Douglas MacArthur
He was one of the most-known American military leaders of WW2(He liberated the Phillipines and made the Japanese surrender at Tokyo in 1945, also he drove back North Korean invaders during the Korean War)
Negro march on Washington
In 1941 Philip Randolph and Baynard Rustin began to organize a march to Washington to protest against discrimination in the defense industries. In May Randolph issued a "Call to Negro America to March on Washington for Jobs and Equal Participation in National Defense on July, 1, 1941".
Office of Price Administration
Instituted in 1942, this agency was in charge of stabilizing prices and rents and preventing speculation, profiteering, hoarding and price administration. The OPA froze wages and prices and initiated a rationing program for items such as gas, oil, butter, meat, sugar, coffee and shoes in order to support the war effort and prevent inflation.
Casablanca Conference
Jan. 14-23, 1943 - FDR and Chruchill met in Morocco to settle the future strategy of the Allies following the success of the North African campaign. They decided to launch an attack on Italy through Sicily before initiating an invasion into France over the English Channel. Also announced that the Allies would accept nothing less than Germany's unconditional surrender to end the war.
Nagasaki (August 9, 1945)
Japanese city in which the second atomic bomb was dropped (August 9, 1945 killing 40,000 +
German Surrender V-E Day
May 8, 1945; victory in Europe Day when the Germans surrendered
Braceros
Mexican workers that were brought to America to work when so many men and women were gone from home during World War II that there weren't enough workers.
Admiral Chester Nimitz
Nimitz served as an Admiral in the Battle of Midway in 1942. He commanded the American fleet in the Pacific Ocean and learned the Japanese plans through "magic" decoding of their radio messages. With this intercepted information, Nimitz headed the Japanese off and defeated them.
Harry S. Truman
President of the US after Roosevelt's death; approved the use of the atomic bomb against Japan
Burma Road
Route by which the US was sending munitions to the Chinese who were resisting the Japanese
The "second front"
Stalin desired for US to create this, would distract Germans from the fighting in Russia, declined by FDR twice before D-Day
Stalin enters war (august 8, 1945)
Stalin invaded the Japanese defenses of Manchuria and Korea
GI
Term used for American soldiers in World War II, derived from the term "Government Issue"
General Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek)
The Nationalist leader of China.
Tokyo fire bombings (March 1945)
The U.S sent napalms out over Tokyo. 1 million people died, this weakened Japanese
Italian Campaign (1943)
The allied campaign to take Italy. It took 18 months, from 1943-1944. Italy surrendered after many beach landings and other dangerous tactics.
Iwo Jima and Okinawa
The last two strategically important islands held by the Japanese in the War in the Pacific. The Japanese lost more than 130,000 men defending the islands they considered as the gateway to their homeland, and the Americans lost more than 19,000 soldiers.
Gross National product
The total value of goods and services, including income received from abroad, produced by the residents of a country within a specific time period, usually one year.
El Alamein
Town in Egypt, site of the victory by Britain's Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery over German forces led by General Erwin Rommel (the 'Desert Fox') in 1942-1943.
Battle of Midway
U.S. naval victory over the Japanese fleet in June 1942, in which the Japanese lost four of their best aircraft carriers. It marked a turning point in World War II.
WACS and WAVES
WACS-women's army corps WAVES-women appointed for volunteer emergency service in navy -250,000 women joined the WACS and WAVES
Island-hopping Strategy
WWII strategy of conquering only certain Pacific islands that were important to the Allied advance toward Japan
Battle of the Bulge
World War II battle in December 1944 between Germany and Allied troops that was the last German offensive in the West.
Kamikazes
a Japanese pilot who carried out suicidal attack on a target
Rationing
a limited portion or allowance of food or goods; limitation of use
Gentleman's agreement
an informal agreement between the United States and the Empire of Japan whereby the U.S. would not impose restriction on Japanese immigration or students, and Japan would not allow further immigration to the U.S.
Fair employment Practices Commision
implemented US Executive Order 8802, requiring that companies with government contracts not to discriminate on the basis of race or religion. It was intended to help African Americans and other minorities obtain jobs in the homefront industry. On June 25, 1941, President Roosevelt created the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) by signing Executive Order 8802, which stated, "there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government because of race, creed, color, or national origin." This was due in large part to the urging of A. Philip Randolph, who had the support of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.
Marianas: Guam and Saipan (1944)
important islands from which B-29 bombers could make round trip bombing raids on Japan
D-Day Invasion (1944)
invasion led Dwight D. Eisenhower, started in Normandy, on june 6th 1944, was a success, turing point of WWII, first time allied forces successfully set foot in europe
General Dwight Eisenhower
led the Allied invasion of North African and planned and executed the D-Day invasion at Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge
Congress of Racial Equality
organized in 1942, mobilized mass popular resistance to discrimination in a way that the older, more conservative organizations had never done, (African American leaders helped organize sit ins and demonstrations in segregated theaters and restaurants).
North African Invasion (1942)
secret attack, largest waterborne effort, axis powers (germans and italians) surrendered
Anzio (1944)
site of an Allied amphibious landing during the invasion of Italy, it was behind the main German defensive line (Gustav Line) and was meant to either capture Rome or draw enough forces off the Gustav Line to allow it to be broken. It did not succeed, except at drawing some force off of the Gustav Line. The Battle of Anzio was several months long and the Allies struggled to maintain their beachhead.
Guadalcanal (1942-1943)
site of the US's first invasion of japanese-held territory. in august 1942, the japaense attacked the american forces with four savage attacks and were repulsed, with horrendous losses on both sides.
Unconditional Surrender
surrendering to your enemies on their terms - no negotiations
Thomas E. Dewey
the Governor of New York (1943-1955) and the unsuccessful Republican candidate for the U.S. Presidency in 1944 and 1948
National Debt
the amount of money a national government owes to other governments or its people