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America at War: Crash Course Episode # 35 - World War II Part I 1. Just before WWII, Americans’ ideas about the role the U.S. should play in the world were based on two prior crises: the ______and ______. (1:26) 2. Despite the arms-reduction treaties the U.S. helped to sponsor between the world wars, the era is usually regarded as one of American ______from foreign affairs. (2:07) 3. The U.S. pursued a “______” policy with Latin America at this time; this meant being less insistent on getting our way and sometimes, removing troops. (2:32) 4. Aggressor nations between the wars included ______, which invaded China, and ______, which invaded Ethiopia; meanwhile, fascist dictators took power in several nations including Spain and ______. (3:10) 5. Congress passed a number of Neutrality Acts, which were designed to keep the U.S. out of foreign wars by banning American sales of ______to warring nations. (3:14) 6. FDR was desperate to help ______, particularly after the fall of France meant that they were standing alone against the Nazis. (3:56) 7. In 1940, Congress modified the Neutrality Acts to allow “______” arms sales to Britain. (4:04) 8. Also in 1940, Congress enacted the nation’s very first draft during ______. (4:28) 9. The Nazis invaded the ______in mid-1941. After this, both it and Britain received billions of dollars of war assistance under the “______” Act, which envisioned that countries that borrowed war materials could somehow pay the U.S. back later. (5:00) 10. The reason why the U.S. fully joined the Allied war effort was the ______attack on the ______naval base in Hawaii in December, 1941. (5:11) 11. Early on during the American war in the Pacific, 78,000 troops surrendered to the Japanese at ______in the Philippines. (5:50) 12. At the Battle of the Coral Sea, the U.S. protected ______from Japanese invasion. (6:01) 13. America’s basic strategy in the Pacific was known as “______” because it involved gaining control of just those islands that would be useful for bomber bases that could eventually be used to attack the home islands of Japan. (6:22) 14. In the European theatre, Americans first fought against Nazis in ______. (6:46) 15. The Allies first invaded the European mainland not in France but in ______. Then on D-Day, the Allies invaded France on the coast of ______. (7:26) 16. Germany’s capital city, ______, was captured by the ______, who actually did more fighting in Europe than did the Americans. (8:52) 17. Japan surrendered about three months later, but only after two ______had been dropped on their home islands. These weapons had been developed in a secret program code-named the ______. (9:11 / 9:29) 18. Some historians believe that the real reason President ______attacked Hiroshima was to demonstrate to the ______what a terrible weapon the U.S. had. (10:32) 19. WWII led to about ______million deaths, with about 40% of them ______. (11:32) 20. One reason why the atomic bombing of Japan seems so shocking is because of the ______era which followed, which brought with it fears of total nuclear annihilation. (12:09)

Answer Sheet: Episode #35 1. The War Production Board and the Office of Price Administration are examples of how during WWII, the federal government exercised a huge amount of control over the economy. (1:13) 2. Proof that WWII brought an end to the Great Depression can be found in unemployment rates, which dropped to just 2% by 1943. (1:50) 3. War production went through the roof, with the U.S. making one ship per day and an airplane every five minutes. (2:05) 4. The huge federal spending during the war (more than had been spent in the entire previous history of the nation!) was paid for in two ways: borrowing money and raising taxes. (2:26) 5. To encourage production, the government offered “cost plus” contracts to defense industries. These contracts guaranteed companies a profit. (2:58) 6. Spending patterns meant that the West Coast became a center of industry, with California specifically receiving one-tenth of war spending. (3:18) 7. To keep production flowing, the government forced businesses to allow their workers to unionize. (3:50) 8. By 1944, about 33% of all non-military workers were actually women, with an additional 1/3 million of them serving in the U.S. armed forces. After the war, these workers were generally laid off. (4:28) 9. President Roosevelt wanted to see an America that provided both civil liberties and economic security. (5:39) 10. FDR’s famous “Four Freedoms” speech advocated freedom of speech and worship, along with freedom from want and fear. (5:53) 11. FDR’s vision of an Economic Bill of Rights that would guarantee full employment, housing, and medical benefits to all failed in Congress mainly because of Southern Democrat opposition. (6:25) 12. Returning military men received money for college along with low-cost house loans thanks to the G.I. Bill of Rights / Servicemen’s Readjustment Act. (6:42) 13. Conservative thinking after the war regarded government economic control as both fascist and socialist, thanks in part to thinkers like Friedrich Hayek. (7:37) 14. The U.S. did little to help prevent the Holocaust, admitting only 21,000 Jews during the war years. (8:23) 15. The Bracero Program brought in agricultural workers from Mexico; meanwhile, about half a million Mexican Americans served in the U.S. military, along with 25,000 Native Americans. (8:53) 16. FDR’s Executive Order 9066 ordered people of Japanese descent away from the West Coast and resulted in the imprisonment of more than 100,000 people, many of them American citizens. (9:23) 17. More than one million African Americans served in segregated units in the U.S. military. (9:56) 18. After civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph demanded better treatment for African Americans, FDR issued Executive Order 8802, banning discrimination in defense industries. (10:37) 19. The “Double V” campaign advocated for victory on two fronts: against the Axis overseas, and against racism in America. (11:07) 20. At the Bretton Woods conference, the dollar replaced the pound as the main international currency. (12:02) 21. The United States helped to found a new organization to replace the failed League of Nations: the United Nations, whose main goal would be to promote world peace. (12:26) 22. Back in 1941, the U.S. and Britain had declared in the Atlantic Charter that all people should be free to select their own government. (13:04)