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Presidential Election of 1940
In the election of 1940 Franklin Roosevelt ran against Wendel Willkie. This election was unusual in that the sitting president was running for a third term (and would win). The main argument against Roosevelt came from isolationists who were afraid FDR would enter the war in Europe. He got around this by telling them that he would not enter a war unless the U.S. was attacked. -
Lend-Lease Act
Through this act the United States provided allies in the war with materials. This act ended the U.S.'s neutrality in the war and caused Germany to attack U.S. ships. The Lend-Lease Act was a key factor in the Allies victory in the war. It also brought the U.S. into international involvement. -
Executive Order 8802
Also know as the Fair Employment Act, 8802 was caused by pressure from A. Philip Randolph purposed march on Washington D.C. The Order's main goal was to lessen discrimination based on "race, creed, color or national origin". It created the Fair Employment Practice Committee, which would investigate complaints of discrimination that violated the Act. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
A surprise attack from the Japanese causes 2,402 American men to be killed and 1,282 to be wounded. The attack caught Americans off guard and led directly to entry into WWII. The support for isolationism dwindled and there was an increase in support for entering war. Roosevelt said that this was "a date which will live in infamy." -
Beginning of the Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project began mainly because of a letter from Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard to F.D. Roosevelt, in 1939, that warned the United States of possible German efforts to produce nuclear weapons and of how powerful a nuclear weapon would be. Lead by scientific director, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the project ended with the production of three nuclear bombs. The first was a test bomb set off in New Mexico during the Trinity Test. The second, “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima and the thir -
Executive Order 9066
Executive Order 9066 gave the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander authorization to designate military areas in the United States and to exclude any person from that area. It also gave the Secretary of War the power to limit the movement of any person in or out of the area for any reason. Because of this, about one third of United States became a military zone and Japanese people were sent to internment camps. About 120,000 Japanese people were interned until January 2, 1945. -
Battle of the Midway
This Japanese attack on Midway Atoll is often considered one of the most important events in the war against the Japanese. American codebreakers were able to discover the time and location of the attack allowing for preparation. The battle delivered a crushing blow to the Japanese forces, contributing greatly to their eventual defeat. -
Bracero Program
Set up by President F.D. Roosevelt and Mexican President Manuel Camacho, this program got Mexican workers to come and work on farms during World War II, and led to a large increase in the Mexican-American population. The Bracero Program indirectly led to the Zoot Suit Riots later, as many of the young Hispanics came because of this program. -
Race Riots in Harlem and Detroit
The new availability of industrial work from the war brought many people into the cities. The riot in Detroit spawned from a fist fight between two boys. The riot in Harlem started when a black woman was attacked by a police officer. These events demonstrate the continued clash between the races which would result in pushes for desegregation and equal rights. -
D-Day (Invasion of Normandy)
United States, United Kingdom, French and Canadian troops landed on the beaches of Normandy France as apart of Operation Overlord. About 2500 United States troops were killed. With this strike and Russian victories the fall of Germany was marked. -
Presidential Election of 1944
In this election FDR ran against Republican candidate Thomas Dewey. The election was reletively uneventful because the country was in the middle of fighting in WWII. There was very little opposition to FDR's reelection into his 4th term. An important note about this election was FDR's choice to make Harry Truman his running-mate. This led to Truman's presidency after FDR's death. -
John L. Lewis Coal Strikes
John Lewis failed to end a coal strike in 1945 and was seen as hurting the war effort. The mines were seized and regulated by the government and the general public hated Lewis. This also helped get people interest in oil over coal. -
Potsdam Conference Begins
After Germany's surrender from the war, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union convened to decide on peace agreements and punishments for Germany. Large amounts of land were taken away from Germany and German war criminals were punished. On the 26th the "Potsdam Declaration" promised utter destruction for Japan if they did not surrender. Japan of course decided to ignore the invitation. -
Atomic Bomb is Dropped on Hiroshima
The Atomic Attack on Hiroshima was the first of two nuclear attacks on Japan. Hiroshima was chosen as a target because of it was fairly untouched by previous bombings and because it was believed at there were several weapon strong holds were located there. The bomb had a one-mile radius of total destruction and about five miles of severe damage. -
ENIAC is Revealed to the Public
ENIAC the world's first general purpose computer is revealed. The University of Pennsylvania had been working on the project since June of 1943. Although the computer was nowhere close to the power of today's technology, it was still the first step toward the modern age of computers. -
Truman Doctrine is put in place
The Truman Doctrine was a US policy stating that the United States would prevent Greece and Turkey from falling into the Soviet Union. He said in front of congress "It must be the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." This starts the United States' International effort to limit Communism and starts the policy of containment. -
Jackie Robinson Plays His First Major League Game
Robinson was the first black man to openly play baseball in the major leagues. Some disputes arose over this leading one of Robinson's teammates to say "You can hate a man for many reasons. Color is not one of them." This was a major milestone in black equality. Allowing a black man to play in one of America's most popular past-times was powerful in integrating blacks into mainstream culture. -
The Marshall Plan is Announced
Led to the Economic Cooperation Act of 1948. After visiting Europe, George Marshall spoke with Truman about funding the rebuilding of Europe to keep more nations from going Communist. Truman asked for 17 billion dollars from Congress and got 13 billion to distribute across Europe. The Soviet Union banned any country inside its influence from receiving aid. -
Berlin Airlift Begins
After WWII Berlin was split up between Soviet Russia, the U.S., France, and the U.K. The Soviet Union attempted to take the rest of Berlin for itself by cutting off ground and water transportation to Berlin, forcing the other powers out. The Berlin Airlift, led by General Clay, brought supplies to Western Berlin successfully overthrowing the Soviets' plan. This furtured the friction between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. -
Executive Order 9981
Executive Order 9981 made equal treatment of persons in the armed forces required and made it that no serviceman could be poorly treated based on their race, religion or national origin. It created the Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services Committee. -
Presidential Election of 1948
The election of 1948 ended up being a huge upset. The current president Truman unexpectedly defeated the Republican candidate Dewey. The Democratic party was split three ways between the Dixiecrats: Strom Thurmond, New Progressive Party: Henry Wallace, and the Democrats: Harry Truman. -
Truman's State of the Union Address
This introduced the Fair Deal, which was the idea that every person in the United States should be given a fair deal by the government. This is going to be supported by future legislation involving general health, housing (Housing Act 1949), labor and education. -
North Atlantic Treaty is signed
The formation of NATO created an alliance between several countries including most of Western Europe and North America. The main purpose was simply to create a pact between the nations so there was support if one country were to be attacked, particularly by the USSR. -
Soviet Union has an Atomic Bomb
USA is not the only one with atomic weapons. Having Russia as a potential war enemy became much more dangerous.
