Modern US History, Quarter 2, Unit 3 of 3

WWII

Overall days: 15

Purpose

This unit explores the rise of totalitarian governments in both Europe and Japan in the 1930s that set the stage

for the most destructive war in human history. The Pearl Harbor attack in December of 1941 transformed the

U.S. from an isolationist nation to a fully mobilized superpower. Students also learn of the horrors of the

Holocaust. They acquire core knowledge about the social changes in the U.S. that established reform agendas

that focused public discourse for the remainder of the twentieth century. The use of the atomic bomb on Japan

both ended the war and raised serious moral questions. Students also learn about the denial of the civil liberties

of interned Japanese Americans and the irony of racial minorities fighting for democratic principles overseas

that were still denied to them at home. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

Learning Objectives Students will be able to:

Summarize the actions taken by aggressive regimes in Europe and Asia (1 Day)

Analyze the response of the United States to these aggressive regimes. (2 Days)

Analyze the effects of the war on civil liberties for Japanese Americans and others. (2 Days)

Examine how the need to support the war effort changed American lives. (2 Days)

Understand how the Allies achieved victory in Europe and Asia (2 Days)

Explore the reasons that President Truman decided to use the bomb against Japan. (2 Days)

Trace the roots and progress of Hitler’s campaign against the Jews and explore “the final solution.” (3 Days)

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Key Vocabulary

Anti-Semitism blitzkrieg appeasement collective security home front internment island hopping isolationism

mobilization totalitarianism

Joseph Stalin Benito Mussolini Adolf Hitler Axis Powers Allies Winston Churchill Neutrality Act of 1939

Lend-Lease Act Pearl Harbor WAC Douglas MacArthur Bataan Death March

________________________________________________________________________________________

Essential questions students should be able to answer by end of unit • What effects did American isolationist views have on U.S. diplomacy in the interwar period?

• What were the major causes and issues of World War II, and how did major events in both European and

Pacific theaters become turning points that led to victory for the Allies?

• What was the response of the U.S. and its allies to the Holocaust as a war crime against humanity?

• How did Japanese Americans cope with their internment?

• How did the mobilization of economic and military resources at home require reform policies that would

continue to affect postwar American society?

• What were the effects of America’s decision to use the atomic bomb to end the war in the Pacific on postwar

world politics? __________________________________________________________________________________________

Homework – Other Assignments TBA

Monday Night

• Section 1 Assessment, Comprehension and Critical Thinking, questions 2 - 6 (Pearson, p.).

Tuesday Night • Section 2 Assessment, Comprehension and Critical Thinking, questions 2–6 (Pearson, p.).

Wednesday Night • The Coming of War German Aggression Map

Name ______________________ Class Date ____________

Focus Question: Why did totalitarian states rise after World War I, and what did they do?

A. As you read, summarize the actions in the 1930s of each of the countries listed in the table below.

Name _____________________ Class ______ ________ Date _________

Focus Question: Why did totalitarian states rise after World War I, and what did they do?

B. Use the concept web below to record the main ideas about the policies of Great Britain, France, and the United States

toward aggressive nations.

Did not want a repeat of

World War I

Appeasement

Name Class Date

Focus Question: How did Americans react to events in Europe and Asia in the early years of World War II?

Sequence the major events described in the section using the timeline below. TIP: Search for dates throughout the

section.

Name _________________________________ Class Date __________

Focus Question: How did the Allies defeat the Axis Powers?

Identify the steps that led to the Allied victory.

Name Class Date

Focus Question: How did the Holocaust develop and what were its

results?

A. As you read, identify the steps that led to Hitler’s attempt to exterminate

European Jews.

The Pacific

Europe

Allies land at Normandy on D-Day.

American forces capture Iwo Jima

and Okinawa near Japan.

Allies advance northward in Italy.

Soviet Union declares war on Japan.

Allies Win World War II

Name __________________________ Class Date __________

Focus Question: How did the Holocaust develop and what were its results?

A. As you read, identify the steps that led to Hitler’s attempt to exterminate European Jews.

1933: Hitler becomes dictator of Germany; begins persecution of Jews.

1933:

1935:

1938: Kristallnacht—Nazi officials order attacks on Jews in Germany.

1933–1945:

1945: Awareness of the Holocaust increases demand and support for an

independent Jewish homeland.

Name __________________________ Class Date __________

Focus Question: How did the Holocaust develop and what were its results?

B. As you read, identify different ways in which the United States and other nations responded to the treatment of Jews

in Nazi Germany before, during, and after the war.

Zionists are interested

in creating a

Jewish homeland.

Response to

the Holocaust

United States

recognizes Israel.

Name ___________________________ Class Date ______

German Aggression

Directions: Shade the land that Germany claimed in 1935–1938, using a different color to represent each of these years:

1935, 1936, 1938. In the blank box, create a color key for your finished map. You may use any map in the textbook

chapter, unit opener, or atlas for reference.

Name ___________________________ Class Date ____________

Franklin Delano Roosevelt used his 1941 State of the Union address to describe four important freedoms. As you read

an excerpt from his speach, think about the stand he was asking Americans to take.

Name Class Date

A. Key Terms and People Directions: Choose the letter of the term or person that best fits each description. You will not

use all the answers. Column I

1. theory of government in which a single

party or leader maintains strict control

2. Russian leader who was known as

the Great Terror

3. Italian leader who founded the

Fascist Party

4. German dictator who wanted to unify

all Germanic people into one state

5. prejudiced against Jewish people

6. policy of granting concessions

B. Key Concepts

Column II

a. antisemitic

b. Adolf Hitler

c. appeasement

d. Benito Mussolini

e. Joseph Stalin

f. totalitarianism

g. Spanish Civil W

Section 1: Practice Quiz

Directions: Write the letter of the best answer or ending in each blank.

_____ 7. After World War I, both Italy and Japan expected more

a. financial assistance from the United States and Britain.

b. guidance in establishing their own democratic governments.

c. territory in exchange for their sacrifices during World War I.

d. representation in the League of Nations.

_____ 8. Which political party rose to power in Germany during the 1930s?

a. the Communist Party c. the Fascist Party

b. the Nazi Party d. the Socialist Party

_____ 9. One of the ways that Mussolini maintained his power in Italy was by

a. allowing freedom of the press. c. supporting strikes.

b. disbanding youth groups. d. outlawing political parties.

_____ 10. The League of Nations did not prevent German and Italian aggression

against other nations because it

a. had no standing army and no real power to enforce its decrees.

b. supported German and Italian aggression.

c. focused only on Japanese aggression.

d. was already involved in the Spanish Civil War.

Name ___________________________ Class Date _______

A. Key Terms

Directions: Choose the term that best completes each sentence. You will not use all the answers. Column I

1. included Britain, France, and eventually

many other nations

2. included a cash-and-carry provision that

aided the Allies

3. ensured that Germany, Italy, and Japan

would fight on the same side

4. allowed President Roosevelt to provide

any type of economic aid to the Allies

5. used their militaries to invade and control other

nations

6. endorsed national self-determination

Column II

a. Allies

b. Atlantic Charter

c. Axis Powers

d. Lend-Lease Act

e. Tripartite Pact

f. Neutrality Act of 1939

g. blitzkrieg

B. Key Concepts Directions: Write the letter of the best answer or ending in each blank.

_____ 7. Roosevelt delivered his "Four Freedoms" speech to a. increase economic support for Britain. b. encourage Congress to support an immediate declaration of war. c. persuade Congress to take a neutral position in the war. d. appease Germany and other Axis Powers.

_____ 8. Interventionists believed that providing aid to Britain would a. draw the United States into war. b. keep the United States out of war. c. provoke attacks on the United States. d. prompt other countries to expect aid.

_____ 9. Who appeared to be winning the war in Europe at the end of 1940? a. Germany and Italy c. Britain and France b. the Soviet Union d. the United States

_____ 10. How did support for the Allies change following Roosevelt's reelection in 1940? a. Support decreased; Congress refused to provide additional aid. b. Support increased; Congress approved the Lend-Lease Act. c. Support increased; Congress urged the President to declare war. d. There was no change; the United States continued its isolationist policy.

Section 2: Practice Quiz

Name Class Date

A. Key Terms and People

Directions: Choose the letter of the term or person that best fits each description.

Column I

1. U.S. navy base in the Pacific

2. a corps of women who provided

support services to the U.S. Army

3. commander of the U.S. Army forces in Asia

4. long-distance relocation of American and

Filipino prisoners by Japanese troops

5. battle that forced Japan to give up its quest

for New Guinea

6. Japanese prime minister

Column II

a. Bataan Death March

b. Battle of Coral Sea

c. Douglas MacArthur

d. Pearl Harbor

e. Hideki Tojo

f. WAC

B. Key Concepts

Directions: Write the letter of the best answer or ending in each blank.

_____ 7. The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor because they wanted to

a. gain control of the Hawaiian Islands.

b. destroy ships and planes that threatened their expansion efforts.

c. provoke the United States into declaring war.

d. demonstrate their support for Germany and Italy.

_____ 8. Which ships survived the attack on Pearl Harbor untouched?

a. battleships c. light cruisers

b. destroyers d. aircraft carriers

_____ 9. After declaring war, the United States government

a. repealed the Neutrality Act of 1939.

b. enacted a draft because few Americans wanted to fight in the war.

c. transformed peacetime industries into war industries.

d. withdrew economic support from Britain.

_____ 10. After the United States declared war, the nation's economic situation

a. improved. c. stalled.

b. worsened. d. remained unchanged.

Section 3: Practice Quiz