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Manhattan Project
The "Manhattan Project" was the project code name for the successful American effort to build an atomic bomb during WWII. Even so, the complexity of this apparatus led Manhattan Project scientists to insist on a full - scale test. On July 10, 1945, the first atomic bomb was detonated at a remote area near Alamagordo, New Mexico. -
Japan's Expansion
Japanese expansion in East Asia began in 1931 with the invasion of Manchuria and continued in 1937 with a brutal attack on China. On September 27, 1940 Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy, thus entering the military alliance known as the "Axis." Seeking to curb Japanese aggression and force a withdrawal of Japanese forces from Manchuria and China, the United States imposed economic sanctions on Japan. -
Leningrad Siege
It began on September 8, 1941 when German troops completed their enciclement of the city. As his blitzkrieg rushed towards Moscow, Hilter made the strategic decision to bypass Leningrad and strangle the city into submission rather than commit valuable resources to attacking it directly. Hunger and cold became the city's greatest enemies. -
Pearl Harbor
The casues of the attack on Pearl Harbor stemmed from intensifying Japanese-American rivalry in the Pacific. Japan's imperial ambitions had been evident from as early as 1931, when she invaded Manchuria. Japan became seen as a serious threat to the economic interests and infuence of the US and European power in Asia. -
Japanese Americans
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941 changed the lives of Japanese American forever. They were tarred by their own government and the American people with the same brush that was used to condemn the Imperial Japanese. Congress has passed a resolution banning it from use, and we prefer and request that it not be used. -
Death at Bataan
On April 9, 1942American and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula on West Luzon Island in the Philippines decided that they would not survive much longer in their fight against the Japanese. They were low on food, ammunition, and morale, and men were dying from lack of nourishment more than enemy fire. -
Iwo Jima Event
Two U.S. Marines directing flame throwers at Japanese defenses that block the way to Iwo Jim's Mount Suribachi on March 1, 1945 during World War 2. On the left is Pvt. Richard Klatt, of North Fond Dulac, Wis., and on the right is PFC Wilfred Voegeli. (AP Photo/U.S. Marine Corps). -
The Atomic Bomb
In early August 1945, U.S. forces dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing more than 100,000 people and exposing tens of thousands more to deadly radiation. Hiroshima soon became a center for pacifism and anti-nuclear sentiment in Japan. -
Women in WWII
Between 1940 and 1945, the female percentage of the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent, and by 1945 nearly one out of every four married wome worked outside the home. American women entered the workforce in unprecedent numbers during World War II, as widespread male enlistment left gaping holes in the industrial labor foce.
