American History: A Survey (Brinkley), 13th Edition

Chapter 26: AMERICA IN A WORLD AT WAR

Study Questions

1
What were the two broad offensives that the U.S. planned to turn the tide against the Japanese?
2
What two American naval and air victories in mid-1942 stemmed the Japanese tide? What island victory early in 1943 ended Japanese chances at an offensive toward the south?
3
Explain the difference between General Marshall's plan for European offensive with the British approach. Which option did Roosevelt select?
4
What did the North African and Italian offensives accomplish? How did the Soviet Union regard these efforts?
5
How did the United States react to the Holocaust? Why did the United States not do more to save the Jews from the Nazi extermination campaign?
6
Describe how the coming of World War II ended the Great Depression. What region of the nation benefited most spectacularly?
7
How did the work force expand to make up for the labor shortage due to the growth of the armed forces?
8
What gains did labor unions make during the war? What concessions did labor promise in return? How effective was the agreement?
9
What efforts did the national government make to regulate production, labor, and prices during the war? How effective were these actions?
10
How was World War II principally financed?
11
In what ways was World War II "a watershed for technological and scientific innovation"? How did American mass-production capability complement the technical advances?
12
In what weaponry and related military techniques did the Anglo-American forces have distinct technological advantages?
13
How did code breaking contribute to future computer technology?
14
What pressures led to the establishment of the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC)?
15
What were the patterns of wartime migration and employment of African Americans? What tensions resulted?
16
Describe the role of blacks in the military. What tensions resulted?
17
Describe the contributions American Indians made to the war effort. What impact did the war have on federal Indian policy?
18
How did the war effort affect Mexican Americans?
19
How were Japanese Americans treated during the war? What was done to atone for the treatment?
20
What impact did the war have on the legal and social status of Chinese Americans?
21
How were the women who filled war jobs treated? What obstacles did they face?
22
What was the impact of war on family life?
23
How did the war spark a wave of consumerism reminiscent of the 1920s? How did rationing affect consumption?
24
What was the most popular music of the war era? How did this new sound challenge racial taboos?
25
Compare and contrast the military's attitude toward heterosexual and homosexual activity. Why was the treatment different?
26
What did President Roosevelt mean by the shift from "Dr. New Deal" to "Dr. Win-the-War"?
27
Describe the candidates and issues of the election of 1944. Why did Roosevelt win reelection?
28
Describe the Normandy invasion and the liberation of France. What role did air power play in preparing for the assault?
29
What role did Soviet forces play in the final defeat of Germany?
30
Describe the steady progression of American forces through the islands of the Pacific culminating at Okinawa. What did this experience seem to presage about the planned invasion of Japan?
31
Why did the United States decide to use the atomic bomb against Japan? Was it a wise decision? What have historians found?
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