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Japan invades Manchuria
The Japanese Invasion of Manchuria started the Imperialistic lifestyle of Japan against China & Indonesia. Japan was trying to dominate the world economically. They were also trying to solve their economic problems by expanding. This was important because this was the start of Japan being an imperialistic country trying to take over the world. -
Munich Pact
It was where Britain and France allowed Hitler to take more land. But if he did it, he had to have an agreement that he would seek no more land after that agreement line. He broke the agreement not even 6 months later by continuing to gain more land, thus ending the European policy of appeasement. This was important because it gave Britain and France a reason to declare war on Germany soon, but it showed that Germany was not going to let anybody get in the way of their dominance. -
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht is a german word for "night of broken glass." For two days in November, Nazis burned down synagogues, destroyed Jewish homes, schools, and businesses killed almost a hundred Jews. This happened because anti-semitism, discrimination against Jews, was the policy of the Nazis. It was important because it showed how Nazis felt about Jews being in Germany before the Holocaust. -
Germany Invades Poland
When Germany invaded and attacked Poland, they used their strategy of using blitzkrieg. Blitzkrieg was using lightning war or getting so many units to rush a land and conquer it quickly so the enemy never saw what was coming. They also invaded France and made them surrender in less than 3 months. This was important because it was the point at which started WWII when France and Britain declared war on Germany when they invaded Poland. -
Neutral Acts of 1939
These acts were also called the Cash and Carry Act. It was where nations at war were allowed to buy U.S. goods if they paid them upfront and carried their merchandise on their own ships. This was important because it was the start of America leaving Isolationism and soon joining the war. -
Lend-Lease Act
Congress allowed FDR to "sell, transfer, title to, exchange, lease, lend or otherwise dispose of to any such government any defense article." FDR used this to aid the Allies because he thought it was necessary to protect the U.S. This was important because it showed Germany, Italy, and Japan that the U.S. sided with Britain and the Soviet Union. -
Exec Order 8022
This order prohibited any racial or ethnic discrimination in the nation's defense industry. This helped, mostly African-Americans, focus on the war right now without any backlash of their rights. This was important because it led to the process of African-Americans going into the civil rights movement in the post-war period. -
Atlantic Charter & Atlantic Conference
Atlantic conference was Britain and the U.S. first making the alliance. The Atlantic Charter was a statement of U.S. and British war aims. It showed self-determination, general security, and FDR's commitment to oppose the Axis Powers; Germany, Italy, and Japan. This was important because it showed the Allies that the U.S. actually wants to help fight the Axis and will do as much as they can to supply them. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
At 7:55 A.M at Pearl Harbor Base in Hawaii. A Japanese plane led hundreds of others to attack and bomb the important naval base. Japan attacked in response to the bans on trade from the Axis powers. This was important because it marked the date of us declaring war on the Axis powers and it's a date that many of us still know today. -
Exec Order 9066
This order made Americans who were Japanese or has Japanese descent to be in internment camps for the time being. This was made because, after the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan, FDR was threatened with the possibility that there could be Japanese spies in America. This was important because it shows how easily they could do something without thinking it through. I mean that basically all of the Japanese people in America came for a new home, not to help their imperialistic home country. -
Battle of Midway
This was part of the Pacific war between the U.S. and Japan. Japan was advancing onto the U.S. until the Battle of Midway. When Japan lost the battle, they had to fall back and play a defensive role. This was important because it ended the Japanese advance and forced them to go to defense. -
Operation Torch
It started in November but didn't end for a while. It was an invasion in North Africa that was launched to free the Mediterranean sea from German control. This was important because it made Germany fall out of Africa, the Mediterranean sea, and only stay in Europe. -
D-Day (Invasion of Normandy)
This was the western assault that the USSR had been wanting since the Yalta Conference. It made Germany divide into three fronts. It was important because it was the biggest military amphibious assault that forced Germany to try to fight back or fall back to Berlin. -
Battle of the Bulge
This was the last offensive for the Nazis. It forced Germany to fall back to Berlin and just wait until the Allies pushed them and won. This was important because it was the beginning of the end of the Nazis. -
Korematsu v. United States
Fred Korematsu was a Japanese American who refused to leave his home by the Executive order 9066. He took his case to the Supreme Court and argued that it violated his basic rights as an American. He lost & the Supreme Court upheld the internment as Constitutional. This was important because it started a future endeavor to be upheld for the rights of Japanese Americans. -
Yalta Conference
The first conference held with the complete Allied powers. Stalin for the Soviet Union, FDR for the U.S., and Churchill for Great Britain. This was the conference held for making final plans for the defeat of Europe & the discussion of post-war formalities. This was important because it was the first public announcement that these three great armies are making an alliance against the Axis Powers. -
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The Hiroshima bombing, Little Boy, was on August sixth and the Nagasaki bombing, Fat Man, was on August ninth. Truman warned Japan to surrender or else, and when they didn't, he bombed Hiroshima. After the Hiroshima bombing, they still didn't surrender. Then the U.S. dropped an even deadlier atomic onto Nagasaki. This was important because it forced Japan to surrender and brought an end to WWII. -
The United Nations is created
The U.N. was also created after the war. It was an intergovernmental organization tasked to promote international cooperation and to create and maintain international order. It was used to replace the League of Nations by giving it more power to use if necessary. It was important because, like the League of Nations, the U.S. played a key role in starting the U.N. But they actually got to join it after it was created. -
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials started in November 1945 but didn't end till October 1946. The death camps of the Final Solution, the Holocaust, were finally liberated and it was time for Germany to pay. Before he could be persecuted, Hitler and his wife committed suicide. Twelve Nazis were sentenced to death while others served lesser sentences. It was important because it established the precedent that individuals were responsible for their own actions and for future trials on war crimes -
Truman Doctrine
This enacted the foreign policy of containment in Europe. This doctrine pledged to contain communism from spreading in or outside Europe. This was important because it stopped the flow of communism and showed Stalin that Britain and the U.S. aren't going to let him dictate over everything. -
Marshall Plan
This was the policy enacted by George Marshall, the Secretary of State. It implemented and offered financial aid to anyone promoting economic rebuilding and to prevent the fall of Europe to communism. This was important because Britain and the U.S. sent this aid to Greece and Turkey to keep them from enacting communism. -
Israel is established
Israel was established as a nation after the war. The U.S. supported the self-determination of the Jewish natives with the creation of a Jewish nation like Israel. The U.S. promptly recognized & supported Israel. It also demonstrates the influence of German war crimes on the whole world. It was important because the U.S. was the first country ever to grant diplomatic recognition to a nation, and that nation was Israel. -
Berlin Airlift
This was the test of U.S. policy by the Soviet Union came when the Soviets blockaded every entrance to West Berlin. This started in June 1948 but ended in May 1949. The U.S. sent airlifts that supplied the people with food through the airdrops. This was important because if we weren't able to keep West Berlin, then who knows how long the Soviet Union could've been powerful or overtook us. -
U.S. establishes NATO
This established a military alliance aimed against the Soviet Union. Years later, the Soviet Union enacts the Warsaw Pact, a military alliance aimed against NATO. This led to China having different ideologies wanting power. One for NATO and one for the Warsaw Pact. The one for the Warsaw Pact, Mao Zedong, won and made communism be the ideology of China. This was important because it made them enemies with the U.S. but also with the Soviet Union. -
Soviet Union tests Atomic Bomb
The atomic bomb tested by the Soviet Union got the U.S.'s attention. This made the U.S. desperate to fasten their development of the hydrogen bomb they had been working on. This was important because it led to the start of the nuclear arms race between the Soviet Union and the U.S. -
Korean Conflict (War)
North Korea was in control of communism and South Korea was in control of NATO. The United Nations, absent of the Soviet Union, unanimously voted to demand a ceasefire and support "police action" to defend South Korea. Formal Peace negotiations ended with North Korean forces contained above the 38th Parallel, a victory for NATO on July 27, 1953. This was important because it still left to conflict between North and South Korea to this day. -
Soviet Union launches Sputnik
The Soviet Union gets the lead in the Space Race when they launch the first-ever satellite in outer space. America's satellite didn't launch until months later. This started the real start for J.F.K for getting a man on the moon. This was important because it started the fuel that the U.S. had to have a lead in the race. -
National Defense Education Act
This act was passed by Congress. It influenced math and science skills in schools. This was because we're in a Space Race and needed as many people as they can to help them in that department. This was important because it led to many inventions we have today like computers and calculators, stuff we needed to help us win the Space Race. -
Rise of the Berlin Wall(Construction begins...)
This wall was a border between West Berlin and everything else surrounding it. It was a border to keep people from escaping to West Berlin. It became the symbol of the Cold War. The first test of U.S. policy by the Soviet Union came when the Soviets blockaded Berlin. This was important because it showed how dedicated the Soviet Union was to get West Berlin out of NATO's control. -
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
The U.S. supported the Afghanistan resistance movement. The resistance group later evolved into the Taliban. The Taliban were the terrorist group that helped Osama Bin Laden attack the Twin Towers. This was important because it shows that helping a battle that we have no part in can hurt in the end. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The people in Berlin hated the wall the Soviets made, and we more than okay with tearing it down in the late 1980s. This event led to many changes in World History. Changes in the Soviet Union like the arms race and the Afghan war led to a strain on the Soviet economy. This also sparked a movement for liberation in Eastern Europe. All of this led to the collapse of the Soviet Union on Christmas day in 1991. This was important because the fall of the wall was considered the end of the Cold War.