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Japan Invades Manchuria
Japan invaded Manchuria because Japan intended to create a Japanese sphere of economic domination. They had a highly developed industry, but the land was scarce of natural resources, so by trying to solve economic problems they took oil, rubber, and lumber from Manchuria by expanding and controlling territory.
(Japan However never officially declared war on Manchuria) -
Munich Pact
The Munich Pact Was an agreement between Britain and France allowing Hitler to take more land. In exchange for Hitler had to agree not to seek any more territory after that concession. -
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht was a night in which Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, destroyed and vandalized Jewish homes, businesses, and schools. Along with killing close to 100 Jews. -
Germany Invades Poland
Fast forward 6 months later, Germany invades Poland to regain lost territory and ultimately rule their neighbor to the east. This was a primer on how Hitler intended to wage war, this is also when Hitler breaks the Munich Pact, leading to France and Britain declaring war on Germany. -
Neutrality Acts of 1939
In response to German aggression, President Franklin DeLauro Roosevelt sought to have the Neutrality Acts amended, This was an effort to provide aid to the Allies and an attempt to change American policy from isolationism to international. -
Lend-Lease Act
Was an act that set up a system to allow the United States to lend or lease war supplies to any nation deemed "vital to the defense of the United States", without having the US getting involved in the war. -
Executive Order 8022
banned discriminatory employment practices by Federal agencies and all unions and companies engaged in war-related work. -
Atlantic Charter
The Atlantic Charter was a joint statement, that outlined the aims of the United States and the United Kingdom for the postwar world. In this statement, they agreed not to have any territorial aggrandizement or territorial changes made against the wishes of the people (self-determination). And wanted the restoration of self-government to those deprived of it. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
This was a surprise attack launched by Japan against Pearl Harbor naval base & nearby airfields. Due to the US embargoes and the US's Pacific fleet being seen as a threat to Japan's growing empire. -
Executive Order 9066
An order that was authorized due to the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans who were all deemed a threat to national security were evacuated from the West Coast and were relocated to relocation centers further inland. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was won by the U.S.'s strategy of island hopping. The goal was to get close enough to the Japanese home islands to launch air attacks in preparation for an invasion. This victory stopped the Japanese advancements, putting them on the defensive for the rest of the war. -
Operation Torch
An Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Launched to free the Mediterranean Sea from German control and protect the oil fields in the Middle East. -
D-Day
Allied forces invaded northern France by means of beach landings in Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day and was the largest seaborne invasion in history. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a surprise attack by Germany and caught American soldiers and allies off guard. This was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II. And was the last major German offensive campaign. This battle severely depleted Germany's armored forces on the Western Front, and they were largely unable to replace them, Meaning a vitory for the Allies and the race to Berlin begins. -
Korematsu Vs U.S.
This was a court case against a Japanese American who refused to leave his home, as issued by executive order 9066. He took his case to the Supreme Court, arguing that internment violated his Constitutional rights. He later lost the case, resulting in the Supreme Court uphelding Japanese internment as Constitutional. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was a meeting of three World War II allies: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. This conference was held to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. -
The Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
Because Japan refused to surrender, it caused the Pacific War to drag on. So, The U.S offered an unconditional surrender known as the 'Potsdam Declaration' and said if they didn't agree to it, they would face the Alternative of "Prompt and utter destruction" which Japan ignored. Causing the US to drop the bombs (literally). -
Creation of The United Nations
The United Nations was established after World War II. And was aimed to prevent future wars and preserve world peace. This was complicated in its early decades by the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union along with their respective allies. -
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials, held by the Allied forces after World War II. These trials were used to prosecute the important members of the political, military, and economic leadership of Nazi Germany. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a foreign policy created by President Truman, which was used as a pledge to contain communism in Europe. This was applied to the US supplying military and financial aid to Greece and Turkey, who were resisting the communist-backed rebel forces. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was created to aid in the economic recovery of Europe after World War II by offering certain European countries substantial funds to resist communism. -
Israel's Independence
The US supported the self-determination of the Jewish people with the creation of the Jewish state of Israel -
Berlin Airlift
Soviet forces blockaded rail, road, and water access to Allied-controlled areas of Berlin. So, the United States and the United Kingdom responded by supplying the people of Berlin with food, water, and other supplies via airdrops. -
NATO
NATO or North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. It was the first peacetime military alliance the United States entered into, outside of the Western Hemisphere. -
Soviet Union tests Atomic Bomb
After World War II, the former allies were split. The American and British military drew up plans for a possible war against the USSR. They proposed the bombing of major Soviet cities using nuclear weapons. In response, The Soviet Union tested atomic bombs, which led the United States to accelerate the development of the hydrogen bomb, beginning a nuclear arms race. -
Korean War
At the end of WWII, In 1950, communist North Korea invaded US-supported South Korea. This was believed that the invasion had been orchestrated by the Soviet Union and The Truman Administration urged the United Nations to take action, However, The United Nations voted unanimously, ultimately to demand a ceasefire and support a ‘police action’ to defend South Korea. -
launching of Sputnik
The Soviet's launch of Sputnik, which was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the USSR as part of the Soviet space program and orbited for three weeks before its batteries ran out. This launch caused The great space race to take off. -
National Defense Education Act
The US Congress passed the NDEA which promoted science and math skills, lessened the chances of the US to win the arms race, and counteracted the fear that consumerism had made Americans less competitive -
Rise of the Berlin Wall
At the end of WWII Germany was divided along with the city of Berlin, (in Soviet sector). The Soviets controlled East Berlin and the other Allies controlled sections of West Berlin. The Berlin Wall became a symbol of the Cold War and was used to separate East & West Germany, keeping the people of the eastern block from escaping to freedom in the west through Berlin. -
Soviet Union Invades Afghanistan
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan under the pretext of upholding the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty. The treaty was signed in 1978 and the two countries agreed to provide economic and military assistance. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall was considered to be the end of the Cold War. As the Cold War began to thaw across Eastern Europe, the spokesman for East Berlin's Communist Party announced a change in his city's relations with the West. Starting at midnight that day, he said, citizens of the GDR were free to cross the country's borders.