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Mussolini Rises to Power
Beniot Mussolini of Italy creates the Fascist Party. He later becomes the leader of Italy and outlaws political parties, organized youth groups to indoctrinate the young, and suppressed strikes. Mussolini opposed liberalism and socialism. -
Stalin Takes Control
Lenin dies of a heart attack and Stalin becomes the new leader of the communist party. He transforms the Soviet Union into an industrial power and farms become state-run. -
Kellogg-Briand Pact
Germany, France, and America sign a pact which outlaws war as a tool for international policy. More nations sign the pact, however it turns out to be useless because it cannot be enforced. -
Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich
Adolf Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany and is part of the Nazi Party. Soon he becomes president of the nation and his reign becomes known as the Third Reich. -
Neutrality Acts
The leaders of America pass the Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937 to prevent the nation from going to war with Germany. The acts also prevent the nation from participating in the war in any way. This includes selling weapons and giving loans. -
Quarantine Speech
President Frankiling D. Roosevelt gives a speech in Chicao, IL. He calls for a "quarantine of aggressor nations" and reinforces isolationism in America. -
Munich Pact
European natons practice appeasment towards Germany. Italy, France, and England allow Germany to take Sudentenland so that Czechoslovakia would be kept out of Germany's reach. -
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Non-Aggression Pact
Germany and the Soviet Union make a pact in which they state they will not attack the other nation. This was because the two nations decided to take Poland and share it between themselves. -
Blitzkrieg
German blitzkkrieg hit Poland from three directions. Blitzkrieg is a type of warfare where speed and fiirepower are used in order to penetrate deep into enemy terrain. -
Winston Churchill
Britain declare war on Germany due to its attack on Poland. Winston Churchill becomes First Lord of the Admirality and a member of the War Cabinet. -
Neutrality Act of 1939
Nations at war can now buy goods and arms from America because the cash-and-carry provision has been renewed. These nations must pay America in cash and transport their goods on their own cargo ships. -
Battle of Britain
Germany bombs Britain for months using saturation bombing. This becomes known as "the Blitz" and the "Air Battle for England." -
Selective Service Act
Men between the ages of 21 and 35 are required to register for the draft. At the beginning of WWII, all men between the age range changes from 18 to 65 with only those ages 18 to 45 required in the military. -
Women's Army Corps
Women become workers, truck drivers, instructors, and lab technicians for the United States army. They do many other things as well but were not allowed to participate in direct combat. -
Four Freedoms
President Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses the nation in his Four Freedoms Speech. He gains war support by bringing up the "four freedoms" everyone in the world should have. These include freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. -
Lend-Lease Act
The Lend-Lease Act, approved by Franklin D. Roosevelt, allowed for the United States to "sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of, to any such government any defense article". Essentially, nations who the United States considered as allies were supplied by the United States. -
Battle of Stalingrad
German troops were sent to Stalingrad in an attempt to invade the Soviet Union and control the Caucaus oil fields. However, it was an ultimate failure for the Nazis and caused the Soviet Union to break its alliance with the nation. -
Pearl Harbor
Emperor Hirohito of Japan and Hideki Tojo send forces to drop bombs on Pearl Harbor, an American naval base in Hawaii.This prompts the United States to enter WWII after many of their men were killed. -
War Production Board
Because of the massive need for war materials, the WPD was established to oversee the transition between wartime and peacetime industry. People began to be rationed for their goods and were encourage to buy war bonds in order to support the war effort. -
Rosie the Riveter
In order to encourage women to persevere in the war effort, marketers created Rosie the Riveter, a muscular and "tough" looking woman. She became the symbol of women in the wartime industry of America. -
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The Great Migration
A large number of African Americans migrated to the North due to the openings in industrial jobs since most white men had gone off to war. -
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Manhattan Project
(Disregard dates, other than the year, because I couldn't choose to include only the year.)
The Atomic Bomb was built by those in the Manhattan Project, one of whom was a physicist named J. Robert Oppenheimer. -
Internment
Japanese Americans were considered a threat to national security after the attack on Pearl Harbor. President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which allowed camps for Japanese internment. Japanese Americans lost their homes, jobs, and other material posessions and were forced to relocate to the camps. -
Battle of Midway
Yanagimoto led Japanese forces to Midway. However, Admiral Chester Nimitz broke the Japanese code and alerted American forces. When the Japanese arrived, American troops defeated them and this became known as the turning point of the war. The United States then practiced island hopping in order to gain control of the Pacific. -
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Casablanca Conference
President Roosevelt met with Winston Churchill in Casablanca, Morocco. They decided to increase the bombing of Germany and that the Allies would only accept unconditional surrender from the Axis Powers. -
The Taking of North Africa
George S. Patton Jr., also known as "Blood & Guts", was given command of allied troops in Northern Africa. He then took control back from Germany and completely removed the Germans from the continent. -
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Tehran Conference
FDR, Churchill, and Stalin met and the decision to invade Normandy was made. This invasion was named Operation Overlord and was created in order to push Axis forces back towards Germany. -
Korematsu v. United States
Fred Korematsu was arrested for resisting relocation to an internment camp despite his citizenship. The court ruled in favor of the United States and solidified the lack of rights for people during wartime in the United States. -
Dooms Day
On June 6th of 1944, allied troops invade the beach of Normandy in France. Men were dropped out of planes and boats. Many lives were diminished but the invasion was successful. -
G.I. Bill
FDR writes a bill which provides benefits to men returning from service in the United States forces. Low-cost mortgages, low-interest loans to start a business or farm, cash payments of tuition and living expenses to attend college, high school or vocational education, and a one year unemployment compensation were given to veterans. The only requirements were that veterans must have fought for a minimum of ninety days and not been dishonorably discharged. This led to the 1950's middle class. -
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Battle of the Buldge
A counterattack was ordered by Hitler and it would be the last offensive move from the Axis Powers during WWII. Germans surprised American troops and pushed them back which created a "buldge" in American defenses lines. However, reinoforcements for the allied forces arrived and they gained control over the Axis forces. This last counerattack weakened German forces and used up their reserves, -
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Battle of Iwo Jima
The island of Iwo Jima was taken by American forces in order to provide a staging area for attacks on the mainland of Japan. Both sides suffered casualties with America losing more than 23,000 men. -
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Battle of Okinawa
This battle was one of the largest battles fought in both land and on water. It is nicknamed the "typhoon of steel" due to the large number of Japanese kamikazes and American ships and armoured vehicles. -
V-E Day
V-E Day stands for Victory in Europe Day and is the day which Allied forces accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. It is the day which marks the end of Hitler's Third Reich due to his suicide on April 30th. His successer authorized the surrender on May 7th in France and May 8th in Germany. The formal surrender of German forceswas on May 9th. -
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Potsdam Conference
Truman, Churchill, and Stalin convene in Cecilienhof, Poland in order to discuss what would be done with Nazi Germany. The three leaders sought to establish post-war order, address peace treatie issues, and to counter the negative effects of the war. -
Nagasaki
Because Japan refused to surrender, the United States drops another atomic bomb, this time on the city of Nagasaki. 35,000 residents are killed by the bombing. -
V-J Day
Victory in Japan Day marks the surrender of Japanase emperor, Hirohito after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as the invasion of Manchuria. The surrender was then official on September 2, 1945 and ended WWII. -
Baby Boomers
WWII officially ends and troops are sent back home. This marks the beginning of the Baby Boomer era. Veterans were able to obtain educations because of the G.I. Bill and the economy grew. Couples strived for nuclear families and gave their children all which they never had. This would lead to the creation of Levittowns, uniform housing communities now known as suburbs. -
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Nuremberg Trials
A series of military tribunals were held by the Allied forces in order to try prominent members of the Axis Powers in Nuremberg. -
Hiroshima
President Truman bombs the city of Hiroshimain Japan with an atomic bomb. More than 60,000 civilians are killed or missing but Japan refuses to surrender. Manchuria is invaded by the Soviet Union after a declaration of war.
