-
Executive Order 9066
This order authorized the removal of any person from certain "exclusion zones." These zones covered almost a third of the country. The act was designed to remove or relocate Japanese citizens. -
The Battle of Midway
The United States won a decisive victory against the Imperial Japanese Navy in early June 1942, at Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean. The US cracked the Japanese code and discovered an incoming surprise attack, destroying several Japanese aircraft carriers and crippling Japan for the rest of the war. -
The GI Bill
The GI Bill was designed to offer benefits to returning veterans. It provided for many a chance at a secondary education and encouraged home ownership. -
D-Day
D-Day was the largest amphibious invasion in history. Following months of preparation, a coalition of American and British troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, to begin the invasion and liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe. The operation was successful in establishing an Allied foothold, forcing Germany to fight a two-front war once again. -
Death of Franklin D. Roosevelt
After the longest presidential tenure in American history, Franklin D. Roosevelt died suddenly from a stroke on April 12, 1945. Vice President Harry S. Truman assumed the presidency. -
Surrender of Germany
Nazi Germany, surrounded on all sides and now without its leader or capital city, surrendered to the Allies on May 8, 1945, ending the War in Europe and Nazi rule in Germany. Germany was subsequently divided into four zones between the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. The Soviet zone later became East Germany, while the other zones became West Germany. -
The First Atomic Bomb
The first atomic bomb to be dropped on a civilian city hit Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, a second was dropped on Nagasaki. -
Surrender of Japan
Devastated by two atomic bombs and facing a new invasion by the Soviet Union, the Empire of Japan finally surrendered to the United States and formally signed the terms aboard the USS Missouri. Japan was occupied for American forces for several years, and transformed into a liberal democracy. -
Period: to
The Korean War
After World War II, Korea was divided into North Korea and South Korea. North Korea was supported by the Soviet Union and China, while South Korea was supported by the United States and its Western Allies. North Korea, claiming to seek reunification, invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950. The momentum in the war shifted back and forth, with each side cornering the other at different points, but eventually settled into a bloody stalemate and ended with a ceasefire on July 27, 1953. -
Conviction of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Husband and wife Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, members of the U.S. Communist party in the 1930's, were accused of giving bomb-related documents to the Soviet Union. They stood trial and were eventually executed.