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The Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japan sent hundreds of planes to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in hopes of crippling the American navy in the Pacific. 2000 Americans were killed, and three days later Congress declared war on Japan.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Executive Order 9066 and Korematsu v. United States
Executive Order 9066 was passed on Feb. 19, 1942. It authorized removing anybody living in a military zone. Many Japanese immigrants were moved to internment camps because of this. Fred Korematsu, an American-born Japanese-American, refused to leave his home, appealed his case, and in 1944 everyone was allowed to go back to their homes.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/roosevelt-signs-executive-order-9066
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/personality/landmark_korematsu.html -
The Doolittle Raid
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Lt. Colonel James Doolittle wanted to bomb Japanese cities in retaliation. The plan was carried out with bombers taking off from carriers. It showed Japan that they were not untouchable.
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/doolittle.htm -
The Island Hopping Strategy
Island hopping was the strategy used by the United States in order to get close enough to Japan to launch a land attack. They would gain control of islands, slowly moving west.
http://america-at-war-wwii.weebly.com/island-hopping.html -
The Battle of Midway
Japan planned to ambush the American forces, but thanks to codebreaking, the United States were able to ambush the Japanese. This was a major American victory.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
Battle of Guadalcanal
The United States attacked Japanese troops in Guadalcanal province, Solomon Islands. There were many casualties, but the Japanese lost more than the U.S. so they had to flee after 6 months of fighting.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-guadalcanal -
MacArthur Returns to the Philippines
General Douglas MacArthur returned to the Philippines after 2 years. He originally had to leave after Japan invaded the islands. Over the next few months, he and his forces pushed the Japanese out of the Philippines -
The Battle of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, an island, was controlled by 23,000 Japanese soldiers. The United States spent a month invading the island and finally gained complete control of it.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
Atomic Bombs Dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On August 6th and 9th, atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 120,000 people were killed directly by the bombs and 100,000 died from its effects in later years. The bombs were dropped in lieu of an invasion that would likely have caused 250,000 American deaths and even more Japanese.
http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/atomic-bomb
