WWII & the Cold War

  • Battle of the Atlantic

    Germany's main goal was to prevent Britain from recieving food and supplies (Lend-Lease Act) from the US
  • Battle of Britain (Blitz)

    Germany bombed Britain daily for a year, killing over 40,000 civilians. The country, however, did survive until the US entered the war.
  • Tripartite Pact, Selective Service Act, & Aid to Britain

    Germany, Italy, and Japan all signed the Tripartite Pact and became allies.During the same time the trio became allies, there was much controversy about isolationists vs. interventionists. Congress decided to pass a Selective Service Act (peacetime draft) and provided for the milittary training and 800,000 reserve troops each year. FDR even furthered his aid to help Britain by giving them battleships without the consent of the Congress.
  • Atlantic Charter

    President FDR and Prime Minister Churchill met in secrecy to discuss Britain's problems but also their hopes for the world after Hitler is defeated. They both signed the Atlantic Charter which deepened the alliance between the US and Great Britain
  • Germany's U-Boats

    Hitler had sent his U-boats to attack U.S. ships including the USS Greer, and killed 100+ sailors. These attacks had enraged Americans which led to the United States almost declaring war on Germany
  • FDR's Speech about Pearl Harbor

    FDR declares war on Japan which ended any continuing political divisions between isolationists and interventionists. After FDR's speech, the House voted 388 to 1 to declare war and the Senate joined unanimously. Due to the trios alliance, Germany and Italy declares war on America.
  • Attack on Pearl Harbor

    The Attack on Pearl Harbor was the main reason to why America joined the Allies in WWII.
  • Battle of Coral Sea

    Helped kindle hope for the US military in the Pacific. It was the first sea fight between the Japanese and US in which enemy warships never sighted one another. The US, instead, attacked Japanese ships and vice versa. It forced Japan to call off their attack on New Guinea.
  • Battle of Midway

    This Battle was THE turning point in WWII. This battle was taken place in the Pacific between the U.S. and Japan
  • Battle of Stalingrad

    This battle was A turning point in WWII. This battle was between the Societ Union and Germany. The German offensive was winning until winter had hit and many people froze to death on both sides.
  • Berlin Blockade

    The Soviet Union decided to close all of the roads and railway lines to Berlin in order to take control over Berlin. President Truman ordered the Berlin Airlift in order to provide food, medicines, coal and gifts. This boosted American prestige around the world and made the Soviet Union look bad. This is when the Soviets lifted the blockade.
  • The Rosenbergs Trial

    Klaus Fuchs confessed that he was a spy for the Soviet Union and gave them information about the bomb that the US created. He did also confess that the Rosenbergs were minor activist in the American Communist Party but they denied those charges. Although there was weak evidence towards the couple, they were sentenced to death for treason..
  • US and Soviet Union Bombs

    The U.S. had tested a hydrogen bomb which was 450x more powerful than the atom bombs. One year later, the Soviet Union creates one as well. Americans feared that the Soviet Union would bomb America so they took action by buying bomb shelters and practice bomb riads at school.
  • Space Race

    The Soviet Union had launch their first satellite Sputnik, into space. This shocked America and started using money for their space program which in three months they launched their satellite into space.
  • U-2 Incident

    Although the Soviet Union had rejected the United States' proposal on the open skies policy, the US secretly used a spy who would fly over Soviets' space taking pictures. One of the U-2's that was flown by Francis Powers was shot down and was captured by the Soviet Union