Chapter #35: America in World War II – Big Picture Themes
1. The first goal of the U.S. in the war was to mobilize. This meant signing up thousands of troops, and switching the American economy over to war. For example, it was time to stop making sedans, and start building bombers.
2. The war affected all Americans. Men (of all races) went to war and women took the jobs the men had left.
3. In the Pacific, the U.S. “island hopped” over four years from Hawaii all the way to Okinawa and were “knocking on Japan’s door.” Finally, the atomic bomb drove Japan to surrender.
4. In Europe, the U.S. and her allies worked from North Africa up through Italy and toward the “soft underbelly” of Germany. Then, the massive D-Day invasion drove the Nazis back to Germany where Hitler committed suicide and his generals surrendered.
Chapter #35: IDENTIFICATIONS
A. Philip Randolph
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George S. Patton
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Albert Einstein
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Office of Price Administration
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Fair Employment Practice Commission
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D-Day
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V-E Day
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Manhattan Project
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Braceros
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Chapter #35: Guided Reading Questions
The Allies Trade Space for Time
Know: Germany First
1. "America's task was far more complex and back-breaking [in World War II] than in World War I." Explain.
The Shock of War
Know: Axis Powers, Internment Camps, Korematsu v. U.S.
2. How did the war affect liberal ideals and goals at home?
Building the War Machine
Know: War Production Board, War Labor Board
3. What effects did the war have on manufacturing, agriculture and labor?
Makers of America: The Japanese
Know: Matthew Perry, Meiji Government, Picture Brides, Gentleman's Agreement, Issei, Nissei
4. In what way can it be said that the reason's for Japanese immigrants' success also caused them trouble?
Manpower and Womanpower
Know: WAACS, WAVES, SPARS, GI, Braceros, Rosie the Riveter
5. What opportunities were opened to women as a result of the war?
Wartime Migrations
Know: A. Philip Randolph, Fair Employment Practices Commission, Double V, CORE, Code Talkers, Zoot Suit Riots
6. What effect did the war have on the nation's minorities?
Holding the Homefront
7. What economic effects resulted from American participation in the war?
The Rising Sun in the Pacific
Know: Douglas MacArthur, Bataan Death March
8. Describe Japanese victories in the Pacific in the months following Pearl Harbor.
Japan's High Tide at Midway
Know: Battle of the Coral Sea, Midway, Chester Nimitz
9. Why was Midway an important battle?
American Leapfrogging Toward Tokyo
Know: Guadalcanal, Island Hopping, Guam
10. What strategy did the United States use to defeat the Japanese?
The Allied Halting of Hitler
Know: Wolf Packs, Enigma, Erwin Rommel, Bernard Montgomery, El Alamein, Battle of Stalingrad
11. "The war against Hitler looked much better at the end of 1942 than it had in the beginning." Explain.
A Second Front from North Africa to Rome
Know: Soft Underbelly of Europe, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Casablanca, Sicily
12. Describe the purpose and outcome of the Invasion of North Africa.
D-Day: June 6, 1944
Know: Teheran, D-Day, Normandy, George Patton
13. Why could June 6, 1944 be considered THE turning point of the war?
FDR: The Fourth-Termite of 1944
Know: Thomas Dewey, Henry Wallace, Harry S Truman
14. Why was the choice of a vice-presidential candidate important and difficult for the democrats in 1944?
Roosevelt Defeats Dewey
Know: Fala
15. What factors led to Roosevelt's victory over Dewey?
The Last Days of Hitler
Know: Battle of the Bulge, "Nuts," Elbe River, Holocaust, V-E Day
16. Describe the last six months of war in Europe.
Japan Dies Hard
Know: Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Kamikazes
17. Explain the meaning of the title of this section.
The Atomic Bombs
Know: Potsdam, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Hirohito
18. What was the military impact of the atomic bomb?
The Allies Triumphant
Know: George Marshall
19. "This complex conflict was the best fought war in America's history." Explain
Varying Viewpoints: The Atomic Bombs: Were They Justified?
20. What questions concerning WWII have historians attempted to answer?
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