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German annexation of Bohemia and Moravia (Appeasement)
Instituted in the hope of avoiding war, appeasement was the name given to Britain's policy in the 1930s of allowing Hitler to expand German territory unchecked. -
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Interwar Foreign Policy
Prior to US direct involvement in the War. -
Start of World War II
The beginning of World War 2. -
Germany Invades Poland
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. To justify the action, Nazi propagandists accused Poland of persecuting ethnic Germans living in Poland. They also falsely claimed that Poland was planning, with its allies Great Britain and France, to encircle and dismember Germany. -
U.S Isolationism
Isolationists believed that World War II was ultimately a dispute between foreign nations and that the United States had no good reason to get involved. The best policy, they claimed, was for the United States to build up its own defenses and avoid antagonizing either side. -
Pearl Harbor
At about 8 a.m., Japanese planes filled the sky over Pearl Harbor. Bombs and bullets rained onto the vessels moored below. At 8:10, a 1,800-pound bomb smashed through the deck of the battleship USS Arizona and landed in her forward ammunition magazine. The ship exploded and sank with more than 1,000 men trapped inside -
Period: to
Mobilization
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The Federal Reserve Act
US funded its World War II effort largely by raising taxes and tapping into Americans' personal savings.The Federal Reserve was used to fund the war -
Executive order 9066
authorized the evacuation of all persons deemed a threat to national security from the West Coast to relocation centers further inland. -
Propaganda poster
Propoganda was used on the US citizens in order to convince them that fighting in the war was an honor. For example this one depicts a man being loved because of him enlisting. -
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Military Action
The US begins attacking the Axis powers in both the Pacific and Western Front. -
American motivations for war
The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor.
Japanese Control of China and Asia.
Germany's Aggression and Unrestricted Submarine Warfare Sinking U.S. Ships.
Fear of German Expansion and Invasion. -
US Economy
American factories were retooled to produce goods to support the war effort and almost overnight the unemployment rate dropped to around 10%. Women went to work to fill jobs that were traditionally held by men. -
D-day
On June 6, 1944 the Allied Forces of Britain, America, Canada, and France attacked German forces on the coast of Normandy, France. With a huge force of over 150,000 soldiers, the Allies attacked and gained a victory that became the turning point for World War II in Europe. -
Island Hopping
The US “island hopping” strategy targeted key islands and atolls to capture and equip with airstrips, bringing B-29 bombers within range of the enemy homeland, while hopping over strongly defended islands, cutting off supply lanes and leaving them to wither. -
Manhatten Project
The first atomic bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945, in New Mexico as part of the U.S. government program called the Manhattan Project. The United States then used atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan on August 6 and 9, respectively, killing about 210,000 people. -
End of World War II