Japan
In 1931, Japan seized this section of territory from China.
Manchuria
Mussolini invaded this nation, conquering it in 1936. The League of Nations failed to take any effective action against Mussolini, and the U.S. just looked on.
Ethipia
Hitler wanted to annex the Sudetenland, a portion of Czechoslovakia whose inhabitants were mostly German-speaking. On Sept. 29, Germany, Italy, France, and Great Britain signed this agreement, which gave Germany the Sudetenland. British Prime Minister Chamberlain justified the pact with the belief that appeasing Germany would prevent war.
Munich Pact
Formed in 1940 by die-hard isolationists who feared the U.S. going to war.
America First Committee
Refers to the process of forcibly removing a certain group from society and locking them up in labor or detention camps. During World War II, Japanese-Americans were kept in the camps in the United States following Japan's surprise attack at Pearl Harbor in December of 1941.
Internment
In 1937 this episode occurred on the Yangtze River in China when a Japanese aircraft sank an American gunboat escorting tankers. The U.S. accepted Japan's apologies.
Panay Incident
This nation had established a leftist, democratic government in the 1930s. In July, 1936, Gen. Fransisco Franco and other army leaders staged a coup and installed a right-wing fascist government, touching off a civil war between loyalist Republican forces (aided by Russia) and Franco's Fascist party (aided by Mussolini and Hitler).
Spain
In 1938 German troops set up a government called the Anschluss, which was a union of Germany and this neighboring nation
Austria
Formed in 1940 the U.S. agreed to temporary give its older ships to Great Britain. This plan signaled the end of U.S. neutrality in the war.
Destroyers for Bases
This was the codename for the secret American project to create the first atomic bomb in the history of the world. Ultimately, the project led to the creation of the two atomic bombs which were used against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Manhattan Project
This weak statement from the United States' Secretary of State enunciated America's rejection of Japan's takeover of Chinese territory
Stimson Doctrine
A system of government dominated by far-right-wing forces and generally commanded by a single dictator. Several of these governments were established in Europe in the early twentieth century, most notably those led by dictators Adolf Hitler of Germany, Benito Mussolini of Italy, and Francisco Franco of Spain.
Fascist
On August 23, 1939 - Germany and this nation agreed not to attack each other, which allowed Hitler to open up a second front in the West without worrying about defending this Eastern European nation
This committee led by Congressman from of North Dakota believed that the U.S. should stay out of foreign wars.
Nye Commitee
Taking items that are in short supply and distributing them according to a system. For instance, during World War II, gas, sugar, and butter were a few of the items that were carefully distributed in the United States.
Rationing
It is a Japanese term often associated with the samurai of Japan's past. In general, it relates to a set of principles that Japanese samurai are expected to adhere to including: 'death before dishonor' and respect for the emperor. In World War II, this code was an important factor in Japan's unwillingness to surrender.
Bushido
The leader of this nation originally agreed to a non-aggression pact with Hitler but would later be allied with the United States
Russia
In September, 1939 - Germany used series of "lightning campaigns" to conquer this nation. The invasion caused Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany.
Poland
Stated the warring nations wishing to trade with the U.S. would have to pay total cost up front and deliver the goods away in their own ships. Benefitted the Allies, since German ships could not reach the U.S. due to the Allied blockades.
Cash and Carry
A propaganda character designed to increase production of female workers in the factories. It became a rallying symbol for women to do their part.
Rosie the Riveter
Japanese suicide pilots who loaded their planes with explosives and crashed them into American ships.
Kamikaze
This is a German word that translates to 'living space'. The concept was discussed by Adolf Hitler in his famous book 'Mein Kampf'. Simply put, Hitler believed that Germany needed more living space to increase farm production, which would result in a higher population.
lebensraum
A series of treaties in 1936 and 37 between Germany, and these two nations created what was called the "Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis." The countries were thereafter referred to as the Axis Powers.
Italy and Japan
This Pact was an agreement to outlaw war signed on August 27, 1928. The pact was one of many international efforts to prevent another World War, but it had little effect in stopping the rising militarism of the 1930s or preventing World War II.
Kellog-Briand Treaty
America's leading black labor leader who called for a march on Washington D.C. to protest factories' refusals to hire African Americans, which eventually led to President Roosevelt issuing an order to end all
discrimination in the defense industries.
A. Philip Randolph