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Japan Invasion of Manchuria
Japan itself had a time of aggression. The United States tried to stay neutral and not interfere with war. However, they did take action to try and shut down Japan. Like holding embargoes on goods they would usually send to Japan. Japan viewed the embargoes as threats to their goals of taking over. -
Munich Pact
The Munich Pact was created by Britain and France as a form of appeasement. The goal was to try and appeal to Hitler by giving him some land in order for him to leave them alone. He agreed, but he ended up breaking this pact less than 6 months after the fact by taking more territory. -
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Kristillnacht
This was called the "night of broken glass" this is because many storefronts were destroyed. This is when Nazis went on a raid and destroyed anything that symbolized Jewish people or things they did. Things like synagogues, homes, and Jewish schools were destroyed. -
Germany Invades Poland
After Germany had broken the Munich Pact, France and Britain were very angered. Hitler just kept taking more land though. But once Germany had invaded Poland, this led France and Britain to finally declare war on Germany. -
Neutrality Acts of 1939
These acts were introduced once the original ones were amended. Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to change from isolationism to international involvement. This led to more involved policies such as Cash and Carry, Destroyers-for-bases, and then the Lend-Lease Act. -
Lend Lease Act
Congress authorized Roosevelt to "sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of to any such government any defense article" This act was used as a way for the United States to avoid direct war, but give aid to there allies. -
Executive Order 8022
This was an order, that made it illegal to prohibit ethnic or racial discrimination in the Defense industry/Military. -
Atlantic Charter/Conference
The Atlantic Charter; is a document signed by Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt. In relation to supporting self-determination and an international system of general security. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack on a naval base in Pearl Harbor. The attack was led by Japan and was in response to the United States embargoes against Japan. 2400 Americans were killed while 1300 were wounded, 19 US ships either sunk or damaged. This is one of the largest attacks to ever take place on American soil. -
Executive Order 9066
This took place after the attack at Pearl Harbor, this caused people to be fearful of Japanese people, or people of Japanese descent. So this order was put in place in order to "authorize the internment of Americans of Japanese descent and resident aliens from Japan" -
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Battle of Midway
The United States had used a strategy of Island hopping that they used to get closer and closer to Japan. They used this which led to the battle of midway. The battle of Midway was a very crucial way to defeat the Japanese Forces. This victory put the Japanese on the defensive side of the war. -
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Operation Torch
This was an invasion led into North Africa. This was launched to free the Mediterranean Sea from German control, to protect the oil fields in the middle east. -
D-Day; Invasion of Normandy
This battle was long-awaited and finally provided the western front. Germany was now being engaged on 3 fronts and had to divert resources. The 3 were the Soviet Union, Italy, and France. -
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Battle of the Bulge
The last German offensive, as well as the beginning of the end of the Nazis. American, British, and French forces marched to Berlin from the west once the battle was over. -
Korematsu v. United States
Korematsu was a Japanese American who when asked to leave his property to go to an internment camp, refused. He took this to the United States supreme court and argued that the Executive Order 9066 violated his constitutional rights. He ended up losing and was forced into an internment camp. -
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Yalta Conference
This was one of the biggest conferences, as it discussed the final plans to defeat Europe and also discussed "post-war" European Plans. -
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Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were truly the fault of Japan. The United States warned them of a bomb of mass destruction. However, Japan didn't surrender. President Truman decided to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to avoid the actions of landing and fighting on Japan's home islands. -
United Nations is Created
The United Nations was an organization used to communicate through the nations and to promote peace. -
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Nuremburg Trials
The Nuremberg War Trials; were a series of trials in courts to hold Nazis accountable/responsible for their crimes during the war. This included the treatment of jews. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a document that pledged the containment of Communism. This was used as a way to keep people from being fearful of communism. -
Marshall Plan
The US offered financial aid to promote the rebuilding and to prevent the fall of European countries to communism. -
Israel is Established
After the Holocaust Israel was established and was recognized by the United States. The support of a Jewish state was high because of the impact the Holocaust had on people's conscience. -
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Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was a tactic used to distribute goods to Western Germany while the Berlin wall was up. It supplied things like food and medical supplies. -
US Establishes NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization; was an alliance that aimed towards the defeat of the Soviet Union. It promoted the growth of military power. -
Soviets Test A-Bomb
This was a very big threat to the United States. At the time the United States was the only country to know how to create a bomb of such destruction. But the Soviet Union found out how to as well, this showed a threat of nuclear warfare. -
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Korean Conflicts (War)
This happened when communist North Korea invaded South Korea. The Truman administration thought that the invasion was decided by the Soviet Union. Truman urged the United Nations to do something about it, they voted unanimously to declare a ceasefire and support the defense of South Korea. -
Soviets Launch Sputnik 1
The Soviet Union had one of the greatest feats of all time which was to launch a man into space, for him to do one full rotation, and the land safely. This was achieved with Sputnik 1. -
National Defense Education Act
Since the Soviet Union had gotten to space first, this was a threat to the US. It showed that we had been lacking and that the Soviet Union were ahead of us. This is when the NDEA was created. It promoted science and math skills in school, this is so we could catch up and beat the Soviet Union. -
Rise of the Berlin Wall
Germany was divided into Eastern and Western territories. The capital (Berlin) is where the border was created and was where the wall was built to divide to two sides. -
Soviets Invade Afghanistan
The Soviets invaded Afghanistan as a way to try and spread Communism. The United States feared the spread so they supported the Afghan Resistance Movement. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
This marked the end of the war. This was because of changes in the Soviet Union, as well as the strain on the arms race and the Afghan war concluding.