Week of March 14-18

Monday- Continued taking notes on the US from where we left off 

Tuesday- Continued talking about US 

Wednesday- Continued presenting over US

Thursday-  Continued presenting on US

Friday-  Finished presenting over US

United States vs Japan

Backdoor to War Conspiracy 

  • Pushed Japan into a corner so they would attack us
  • Only way to get into war would be for someone to attack us 

Bataan Death March- Philippines- 1942 

  • Up to 10,000 Filipino and 60 American POW's died during the march 

Doolittle's Raid- April, 1942 

  • Bomb Tokyo after Pearl Harbor 
  • First "Victory" 

Battle of Coral Sea 

  • Seen as victory for U.S.
  • Neither side had a decisive victory- since Japan did not win- we saw it as a victory
  • "Stalemate"

Battle of Midway- Major turning point in Pacific 

  • Airplanes were important in this battle 
  • Wanted airstrips to take off of the islands to get closer to other countries
  • U.S. won because of "magic"-code name for breaking Japanese code 

Island Hopping 

  • Hopping from one island to the next 

Kamikazes 

  • Aircraft carriers would dive down into battleships and make them blow up
  • Strapped explosives onto the planes and then dove down
  • Killed their own pilots 
  • Used by Japan 

Battle of Iwo Jima 

  • US won after island hopping
  • Just under 7,000 deaths


Summer 1945-Preparing for the Invasion of Japan 

  • Code name- Operation Downfall
  • Planned for October 1945
  • Estimated to have over 1 million casualties for the US
  • Estimated to have 267,000 deaths for the US
  • Did not ever invade Japan because of the atomic bombs 

The Manhattan Project 

  • 1939-1945 
  • plan for the atomic bomb 

Hiroshima Bombing 

  • "Little boy"
  • Aiming at T-shaped bridge on the river 

Nagasaki Bombing 

  • "Fat Man"
  • Bockscar 

VJ Day 

  • When Japan officially signed on USS Missouri 
  • September 2, 1945

Potsdam Conference- July, 1945 

  • On July 26, the United States, Great Britain, and China issued the Potsdam Declaration
  • Announced the terms for Japan's surrender
  • "We will not deviate from them. There are no alternatives."

Potsdam Declaration- July, 1945 

  • Dismantle the current government of Japan (excluding Emperor Hirohito)
  • The Allies (US) will occupy Japan
  • Japan will consist only of the major islands- lose territory gained in WWII
  • Japanese military forces will be disarmed and allowed to return home
  • There will be war crimes trials for the atrocities committed by Japan throughout WWII
  • Japan will be allowed to have industry so they can make money to pay for reparations
  • World trade will be enable at some point
  • Allied (US) occupation of Japan will end 
  • Democracy will be promoted, as well as Freedom of speech, religion, and of thought, as well as respect for fundamental human rights 

US Vs Germany

Germany U-boats 

  • After repeated attacks by German U-boats, FDR ordered US Navy to attack German and Italian war ships 

Convoy System 

  • US strategy of fighting off U-boats
  • Traveled in big groups 

D-day Operation Overlord- June 6, 1944 

  • Major Generals
    • Ike- Eisenhower
    • Patton
    • Bradley
  • The "D" in D-Day stands for day since the final invasion date was unknown
  • 5,000 ships and landing craft
  • 50,000 vehicles
  • 11,000 planes
  • Casualties
    • US- 6,603 (1,465 killed)
  • Beachheads were firmly secured within 5 days
  • Germany surrendered

Battle of the Bulge 

  • Hitler last battle of the war
  • Worst battle for the US in WWII- as far as losses
  • Malmedy Massacre
    • 86 US soldier were shot and killed by Germans

Yalta Conference- February 1945 

  • Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt met at Yalta, USSR to plan what should happen when the war ended
  • They agreed the following:
    • The establishment of the United Nations
    • Germany to be divided into four zones
    • Free elections allowed in the states of eastern Europe
    • USSR promised to join the war against Japan

FDR died, Harry Truman took over - April 12, 1945

Women in WWII 

  • Rosie the Riveter
    • Represented women workers in WWII
  • Jobs
    • Stayed home and did housework
    • Grow your own food
    • Nurses
    • Secretaries
    • Farm workers
    • Typist
    • Waitresses
    • Bus Drivers
    • Taxi Drivers
    • Messengers
    • Teachers
    • Conductors
    • Women's army corp
    • WAVES- Women's Navy
    • WASP- Women's Army Service Pilots
  • "Tokyo Rose"
    • Forced to broadcast propaganda to Allied troops for Japan
    • Taunted the troops and played music from home to make them homesick
    • US citizen in Japan

Native Americans- Navajo Code Talkers 

  • Used their language to make our codes
  • Japan couldn't break our code
  • Extremely important role in WWII

African Americans in WWII 

  • Blacks and whites were separated
  • Blacks did fight 

Asian Americans in WWII 

  • Played every role in WWII
  • Helped at home
  • Fought in war

OPA and Rationing 

  • The office of Price Administration was established in 1941 
  • Food rationing included restrictions on sugar and meat
  • Gasoline rationing limited use to 5 gallons per week

War Finance Committee and War Bonds 

  • Over the course of the war 85 million Americans purchased bonds totaling approx. $185 billion
  • Helped pay for the war
  • It was an investment for US citizens
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