Allies

1. Allies 801

2. The Allies in World War I consisted of Great Britain, France, Italy The Allies were pitted against the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. In 1917, the U.S. joined the war on the Allies’ side as an “associated power.” In World War II, the Allies included Great Britain, the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union, the U.S., and France during the war. 802

3. New Freedom 803

4. “New Freedom” characterized Woodrow Wilson’s approach to foreign relations. Unlike Roosevelt’s big stick policies and Taft’s dollar diplomacy, Wilson’s foreign policy sought to bring morality to foreign relations. Wilson denounced imperialism and economic meddling, and focused instead on spreading democracy. 804

5. National Defense Act 805

6. The National Defense Act, passed in June 1916, called for the buildup of military forces in anticipation of war. The National Defense Act was largely a response to German threats to American neutrality. 806

7. Lusitania 807

8. The Lusitania was a British vessel sunk by a German u-boat in May 1915, killing more than 120 American citizens This event promoted Woodrow Wilson to plan for a military buildup and encouraged American alliance with Britain and France in opposition to Germany. 808

9. Henry Cabot Lodge 809

10. Henry Cabot Lodge led the group of senators known as “reservationists” during the 1919 debate over the League of nations. Lodge and his followers would support U.S. membership in the League of Nations only if major revisions were made to the covenant (part of the Treaty of Versailles). Wilson, however, refused to compromise, and the treaty was rejected. The U.S. never joined the League of Nations. 810

11. Office of War Information 811

12. The Office of War Information employed artists, writers, and advertisers to shape public opinion concerning World War II. The Office publicized reasons for U.S. entry into the war, often portraying the enemy Axis powers as barbaric and cruel. 812

13. Office of Strategic Services (OSS) 813

14. The Office of Strategic Services, or OSS, was established by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1942 to conduct espionage, collect information crucial to strategic planning, and assess the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy. 814

15. Office of Censorship 815

16. The Office of Censorship, created in December 1941, reflected U.S. government worries about information leaks to the enemy during World War II. The office examined all letters sent overseas and worked with media firms to control information broadcast to the people. 816

17. Nuremberg Trials 817

18. The Nuremberg Trials so Nazi war criminals began in November 1945. More than 200 defendants were indicted in the 13 trials. All but 38 of the defendants were convicted of conspiring to wage aggressive war and of mistreating prisoners of war and inhabitants of occupied territories. 818

19. Marshall Plan 819

20. Begun in 1948, the Marshall Plan was a four-year plan of American aid for the economic reconstruction of Europe The U.S. government hoped to prevent further communist expansion by eliminating economic insecurity and political instability in Europe. By 1952, Congress had appropriated some $17 billion for Marshall Plan aid, and the Western European economy had largely recovered. 820

21. Revenue Act of 1942 821

22. The 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. 822

23. Potsdam Conference 823

24. Although relations between Truman, Churchill, and Stalin grew increasingly strained as World War II wound to its close, during the Potsdam Conference (July 17- August 2, 1945) they coordinated the division of Germany into occupation zones and planned for the Nuremberg Trials. Potsdam was the final meeting between the Big Three powers under the pretense of a wartime alliance. 824

25. Pearl Harbor 825

26. On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, the site of an American naval base in Hawaii. The surprise attack resulted in the loss of more than 2,400 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. 826

27. J. Robert Oppenheimer 827

28. Oppenheimer headed the Manhattan Project, the secret American operation to develop the atomic bomb. 828

29. Operation Overload 829

30. Operation Overload refers to the Allied air, land, and sea assault on occupied France. The operation centered on the D-Day invasion (June 6, 1944), in which American, British, and Canadian troops stormed the beaches at Normandy. These Allied forces sustained heavy casualties but eventually took the beach and moved gradually inland. 830

31. Shoot-on-sight order 831

32. A response to German submarine attacks on American ships in the Atlantic, the 1941 shoot-on-sight order authorized naval patrols to fire on any Axis ships found between the U.S, and Iceland. 832

33. Selective Service And Training Act 833

34. Passed September 16, 1940, the Selective Service and Training Act anticipated the war by calling the nation’s first peacetime draft. 834

35. Rosie the Riveter 835

36. A well-muscled woman holding a pneumatic rivet gun, Rosie the Riveter was popular advertising character during World War II. Rosie symbolized the important role American woman played in the war effort at home, and portrayed a vastly different picture of American womanhood than had been seen before. 836

37. Jackie Robinson 837

38. In 1947, Jackie Robinson was the first African- American baseball player to play for the major league. From 1884 to 1947, blacks and whites were completely segregated in baseball. After Robinson played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, other African Americans followed. 838

39. Joseph Stalin 839

40. Stalin was dictator of the Soviet Union from 1928 until 1953. He coordinated Soviet involvement in World War II, at first displaying eagerness to cooperate with U.S. forces but eventually becoming antagonistic. After the war, he oversaw the escalation of Cold War tensions between his country and the U.S. 840

41. Sphere of influence 841

42. The term “sphere of influence” refers to a group of nations or territories in the unofficial economic, political, and social orbit of a greater power. NATO countries were in the U.S. sphere of influence, while the Communist bloc countries of the Warsaw Pact were in the USSR’s sphere of influence. The term is also used to describe European and Russian influence in China at the end of the 19th century. 842

43. Smith-Connolly War Labor Disputes Act 843

44. The generally amiable relationship between the government and organized labor during World War II eroded with the passage of the Smith-Connolly War Labor Disputes Act in June 1943. The act limited the right to strike in key industries and authorized the president to intervene in any strike. 844

45. Smith Act 845

46. The Smith Act of 1940 made it illegal to speak of or advocate overthrowing the U.S. government. During the presidential campaign of 1948, Truman sought to demonstrate his aggressive stance against communism by prosecuting 11 leaders of the Communist Party under the Smith Act. 846

47. Equal Rights Amendment 847

48. Supported by the National Organization for Women, the Equal Rights Amendment, first proposed in 1923, would prevent all gender-based discrimination practices. In the 1970s, the House and Senate passed the amendment, and sent it to the states for ratification. The amendment failed to be approved by ¾ of the states and so was never added. 848

49. Assembly line 849

50. Industrialist Henry Ford installed the first assembly line when developing his Model T car around 1910 and perfected its use in the 1920s. Assembly line manufacturing helped maximize worker output by allowing workers to remain in one place and master one respective action. It became a widespread production method during the 1920s and 1930s/ 850