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War Bonds
Also called Liberty Bonds, these were sold by the United States government in World War II and used by the government to finance the war effort. A person purchasing a war bond can me money if he or she cashes it in after 5 or 10 years. In the meantime, the government can use the money to help pay its bills. Movie stars and other celebrities encouraged Americans to purchase war bonds. -
Lend-Lease Act
Passed in March 1941. The act allowed the president to lend or lease supplies to any nation deemed vital to the defense of the United States, such as Britain, and was a key move in support of the Allied cause before the U.S. formally entered World War II. Lend-lease was extended to Russia in November 1941 after Germany invaded Russia. -
Pearl Harbor
An American naval base in Hawaii that was bombed by Japan on December 7, 1941. The surprise attack resulted in the loss of more than 2,300 American lives, as well as many aircraft and sea vessels. The following day the U.S. declared war against Japan, officially entering World War II. -
Internment Camps
Controversial decision was made after the bombing of Pearl Harbor to place Japenese-Americans living on the West Coast in these camps. President Roosevelt authorized this by Executive Order #9066. This order was validated by the Supreme Court. In 1988 the U.S. government paid compensation to surviving detainees. -
Final Solution
The plan of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany to eliminate Jewish civilization from Europe. By the end of the war in 1945, nearly 6 million Jews had been executed. The full extent of Germany's atrocities was not known in Europe and the United States until near the end of WWII. -
Manhattan Project
A secret American scientific initiative to develop the atomic bomb. Scientists worked for almost three years in Los Alamos, New Mexico, and on July 16, 1945 succeeded in detonating the first atomic blast. The bombs produced by the Manhattan Project were subsequently dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II -
Revenue Act of 1942
Raised taxes to help finance the war effort. The act hiked rates for the wealthiest Americans and included new middle and lower income tax brackets, vastly increasing the number of Americans responsible for paying taxes. -
Rosie the Riveter
A popular advertising character during World War II. Rosie the Riveter, a well-muscled woman, symbolized the important role American women played in the war effort at home. Rosie represented the new, hard-working, independent woman. -
Battle of the Bulge
The final German offensive in Western Europe, lasting from December 16, 1944, to January 16, 1945. Hitler amassed his last reserves against Allied troops in France. Germany made a substantial dent in theAllied front line, but the Allies recovered and repelled the Germans, clearing the way for a march toward Berlin. -
Yalta Conference
A meeting between the Big Three (FDR, Churchill, and Stalin) from February 4 to February 11, 1945. Although FDR and Churchill’s bargaining power with Stalin was severely hindered by the presence of Soviet troops in Poland and Eastern Europe, Stalin did agree to declare war on Japan soon after Germany surrendered. Plans for a United Nations conference in April 1945 were also approved.
