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Geneva Naval Conference
The Geneva Naval Conference was a gathering of the United States, Great Britain, and Japan, to discuss making limitations to their naval capacity. The conference failed because the parties did not reach an agreement. After World War 1, many nations were concerned about the threat of another war and the possibility of an arms race. Even though this conference failed, a Naval Conference held a year later settled on limitations. -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930
President Herbert Hoover signed a tariff to tax over 20,000 imported goods. In an effort to help farmers he raised tariff levels on agricultural products. He did this so that the American jobs would be preserved and no one would lose their jobs. The end result of the Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930 was the loss of American jobs and the decline of world trade. Farmers were also unable to payback their loans to the bank. -
Young Plan
After World War 1 Germany was in a lot of debt. Their reparations were unreasonable since they got all the blame. The treaty of Versailles was created to introduce mandatory reparation payments. The committee that assessed the reparations issue was Owen Young – hence. Eventually, they came up with the Young Plan. Before the Young Plan Germany had to pay about $157 billion dollars in reparations, but after they only had to pay about $8 billion. -
Neutrality Act of 1937
The Spanish Civil War and fascism in Europe was the reason for expanding the Neutrality Act of 1937. The Neutrality Act prohibited U.S. ships from transporting passengers and articles to countries in conflict, and it forbid U.S. citizens from traveling on ships of nations in conflict. A cash-and-carry term was made which stated countries in war could obtain any items except weapons from the United States, as long as they immediately paid for the items & carried them on non-American ships. -
Quarantine Speech
The Quarantine Speech was given by FDR. The significance of the speech was to isolate the United States from aggressor nations. Although FDR didn’t specifically name certain countries, but you could assume he was referring to Japan, Italy, and Germany. Quarantining these countries ensured that there was peace and freedom throughout the United States. -
FDR declaration of war
Japanese fighter planes attacked the U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, taking the Americans completely by surprise. The first wave targeted airfields and battleships. Then the next wave targeted other ships and shipyard facilities. The raid lasted until 9:45 a.m. Eight battleships were damaged, with five sunk. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was a meeting between Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The leaders made the decision to demand Germany’s surrender. Some major decisions were made during the Yalta Conference. The decision about how Europe will be divided up after the war was made during this conference. Also, the countries that were able to join the United Nations was decided. -
United Nations Charter
The United Nations Charter is the treaty of the United Nations. There are a total of 51 countries who are apart of this charter. At first only one country didn’t sign, but within 2 months signed it. The purpose of the United Nations Charter is to maintain international peace and security; to help in solving international economic, social, and cultural problems. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was the last of the Big Three meetings during World War 2. It was continuing the discussions that took place in the Yalta Conference. The Big Three included President Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin. The leaders discussed Germany’s economy, punishment for war criminals, land boundaries and reparations. -
The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
In hopes of ending World War 2, the American bomber B-29 dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. President Truman first heard about the atomic bomb at the beginning of his Presidency. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed since they weren't major cities. The use of the atomic bomb ended World War 2. -
Truman Doctrine
The British government told the US that they weren't providing the economic & military assistance it had been to Greece & Turkey since the end of WW2. Truman thought it was important that aid got sent to these 2 countries because they were threatened by communism and the Soviet Union. This led Truman to ask Congress for $400 million in military and economic assistance for Turkey and Greece. The Truman Doctrine built up the United States allies which then gave the U.S. free military aid and NATO. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the aid given to Western Europe after World War 2. The United States gave over $12 billion in economic support to help rebuild Western Europe’s economies. The goals that the United States were hoping to accomplish were rebuilding war-devastated regions, modernizing industry, making Europe prosperous again, and preventing the spread of communism. By helping aid Western Europe, the United States ensured that people weren’t turning to communism. -
Berlin Airlift
At the end of WW2, the US, British, and Soviets divided and took over Germany. Berlin was located within the Soviets controlled part of Germany. The first crisis was about whether Berlin would remain under Western Allied control or the city would be taken over by Soviet control in eastern Germany. The Soviets forced blockades on rails, roads, and water access to Berlin. The US and UK responded by airlifting food and fuel to Berlin. This was important bc Berlin didn't fall under the Soviets. -
Berlin Blockade
At the start of the Cold War, the Soviets cut off all land routes to Berlin. Berlin had a huge population and relied to the Soviets for food, fuel and other important things. Since Berlin wasn’t getting the necessities they need, western powers created an airlift that lasted about a year and delivered a lot of the supplies Berlin needed. The blockade on Berlin foreshadowed later conflict that would involve them. -
NATO- North American Treaty Organization
NATO was formed to stop the spread of communism and the Soviet Union. Another main reason NATO was formed was to unify the West and prevent another world war. During the Cold War, NATO served as the national security and defense alliance. The North Atlantic Treaty states that if any NATO member were to be attacked, then its NATO allies would come to its aid. Nowadays, NATO focuses on terrorism more than enemy nations.
