Unit 5: World War II and the Cold War

Assignments

Name: _____________________________

The Beginning of World War II

Name: ____________________________________ Date: _____________ Period: _________

1. Name the three totalitarian dictators we have talked about in class.

2. How did the Nazi’s grow in popularity during the time?

3. What did Adolf Hitler attribute much of Germany’s problems to?

4. In what book did he talk about Germany’s problems and Anti-Semitism

5. What happened in Spain and Japan that would have made Britain, France, and the US uncomfortable?

6. How did Britain and France try to maintain peace?

7. “When an epidemic of physical disease starts to spread, the community approves and joins in a quarantine of the patients in order to protect the health of the community against the spread of disease… War is a contagion, whether it be declared or undeclared. It can engulf states and peoples remote from the original scene of hostilities. We are determined to keep out of war, yet we cannot insure ourselves against the disastrous effects of war and the dangers of involvement.”

-FDR, Quarantine Speech, October 5, 1937

How did FDR think the US should respond to the outbreak of war in Europe?

8. What do you think this political cartoon is saying about appeasement? Do you agree?

9. What do you think this cartoon is suggesting the US do in response to the outbreak of war in Europe?

10. How does this differ from FDR’s stance?

To Join or Not to Join?

Name: __________________________________ Date: ____________ Period: ___________

After the outbreak of war in Europe, there was much debate about how the US should respond. President FDR hated the idea of the spread of Nazi Germany and wanted to do whatever he could to help aid Britain and France defend against the Nazi threat. But like any president, you must have the approval of the American people. For many, the idea of entering war meant needlessly sacrificing many lives and resources. Below read the two quotes and tell me how you feel the US should have responded during this period.

“We must band together to prevent the loss of more Americans lives in these internal struggles of Europe… Modern war with all its consequences is too tragic and too devastating to be approached from anything but a purely American standpoint. We should never enter a war unless it is absolutely essential to the future welfare of our nation… Our safety does not lie in fighting European wars. It lies in our own strength, in the character of the American people and of American institutions.”

-Charles Lindbergh, radio address, September 15, 1939

1. According to Lindbergh, what should the US do in response to the outbreak of war?

2. Why should the US respond this way?

3. Under what condition should require the US to fight in war?

“I address you, the members of the 77th Congress, at a moment unprecedented in the history of the Union. I use the word “unprecedented” because at no previous time has American security been as seriously threatened from without as it is today…

Therefore, as your President, performing my constitutional duty to "give to the Congress information of the state of the Union," I find it, unhappily, necessary to report that the future and the safety of our country and of our democracy are overwhelmingly involved in events far beyond our borders.

No realistic American can expect from a dictator's peace international generosity, or return of true independence, or world disarmament, or freedom of expression, or freedom of religion –or even good business. We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American eagle in order to feather their own nests.

This nation has placed its destiny in the hands and hearts of millions of free men and women… Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights and keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose. To that concept there can be no end except victory.”

-Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “Four Freedoms” Speech, January 6, 1941

1. What is unprecedented about what is happening to the US?

2. Where is the future of American safety and democracy involved?

3. Why can’t we trust any dictator? What might they do to the US?

4. What should the US do? Why?

Now that you have read two different viewpoints as to whether the US should join WWII, it is now time for you to decide what you would have supported. Should the US have gone to war? Keep in mind, the US has NOT been attacked yet and this is only a war that involves European nations. In the space provided below write an ACES paragraph responding to the following question:

Should the US join Britain and France and enter World War II? Why or why not?

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America Enters the War

Name:_____________________________ Date: _____________ Period: ____________

1. How did America respond after war broke in in Europe? What was the first act that they passed which expressed their position?

2. What act moved the US closer to war?

3. What event brought the US into World War II?

4. What did the US do with Japanese Americans? What court case supported this decision?

“The resettlement center is actually like jail- armed guards in towers with spotlights and deadly tommy guns, fifteen feet of barbed-wire fences, everyone confined to quarters at nine… What really hurts was being called ‘Japs’. ‘Japs’ are who we are fighting.”

-Ted Nakashima, The New Republic, June 5, 1942

Korematsu vs. The US

The Facts The Issue The Decision In 1942, President

Roosevelt ordered that select people could be banned from war zones.

The army relocated Japanese Americans on the West Coast to internment camps

Fred Korematsu was arrested for resisting the army’s order

Korematsu argued that he was denied equal protection under the law simply because he was a Japanese American

The Court held that the military order was justified for security reasons. Three judges dissented (disagreed). Justice Frank Murphy wrote that internment “falls into the ugly abyss of racism.”

5. Why do you think the Supreme Court would have supported the Korematsu vs. US decision? Why was Justice Frank Murphy against it?

6. What were some turning points of WWII?

7. What strategy did General Douglas MacArthur use in the Pacific to fight the Japanese?

8. What happened on June 6, 1944? Where did it happen? What was the result?

9. Which battle was the last major offensive conducted by the Nazi’s? What was the result?

10. Do you feel that the placement of Japanese Americans in internments camps was justified? In other words, was it the right thing to do? Please write an ACES paragraph explaining your stance on the issue.

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Should the United States Drop the Atomic Bomb?

Name: _____________________________ Date: ____________ Period: __________

“I asked General Marshall what it would cost in lives to land… in japan. It was his opinion that ¼ million casualties would be the minimum cost… I asked Secretary Stimson which cities in Japan were devoted exclusively to production… he named Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We sent the ultimatum to Japan. It was ignored. I ordered atomic bombs dropped on the two cities… dropping bombs ended the war, saved lives, and gave the free nations a chance to face the facts.”

- President Harry S. Truman

“We the undersigned scientists… believe that the US ought not to resort to the use of atomic bombs in the present phase of the war, at least not unless… Japan is given the opportunity to surrender… A nation which sets the precedent of using these newly liberated forces of nature purposes of destruction may have to bear the responsibility of opening the door of an era of devastation of an imaginable scale.”

- Scientist Leo Szilard1. Why did Truman decide to drop the bomb?

2. Why did he decide to drop them on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

3. What course of action did Leo Szilard favor?

4. What warning did Szilard give if the President used the atomic bomb?

In in ACES Paragraph, respond to the following question:

Would you have dropped the atomic bomb on Japan? Why or Why not? Be sure you give at least one reason to support your answer.

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Post-War News Report

Now that World War II has ended, a new world is taking shape. Newspapers all over the world were covering what was unfolding in both Europe and the United States in the aftermath of the deadliest conflict in human history. Write a news report describe what is happening in Europe after the end of WWII in relation to the United States. You are writing this report as if you are an American newspaper journalist. Please include the following in your article:

A headline, name, dateline, and location Describe a brief summary of how WWII ended Describe what is happening to Europe since WWII has ended Analyze how this may impact the US Your final article should answer the who (who is involved: countries, leaders, etc.), what (what is

happening), where (location of events: countries and continents), when, why (Explain why it is happening), and how of Post-war Europe

An illustration

Warsaw Pact or NATO Advertisement

During the Cold War, Harry S. Truman’s main policy was to contain and prevent the spread of Communism to other parts of the world. In this attempt, NATO was established in hopes of creating a unified front to combat this spread. In response, the USSR and its satellite states created the Warsaw Pact to provide military protection to nations who were already communist. On a blank sheet of paper, create an advertisement for either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. Your advertisement should be directed at countries around the world. Your advertisement should include the following:

At least two reasons why that country should join your organization An illustration Color

Cold War Freestyle Battle

After World War II, the Soviet Union and the US were at odds with one another over political ideologies. The beef between these two countries started as soon as the last bullets were fired of WWII and last 46 long years. I want to pretend that the US and the USSR are battle MC’s and they are going to have a freestyle battle to settle the beef between the two nations. For this assignment, I would like for you to write an 4-bar freestyle for EACH country. The lines in your freestyle must have the following qualities:

They must rhyme They must either attack the opponent or boost themselves Each MC must have a name (Example: Killa Eagle for the US) The freestyle must include 5 the following vocab words: NATO, Warsaw Pact,

Truman, Stalin, Iron Curtain, democracy, communism, Marshall plan, containment

US AKA _______________________________

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Russia AKA ___________________________

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Communism in the US

Name: ____________________________________ Date: _____________ Period: __________

After World War II, the United States was consumed by the Cold War and the fear that communism would spread throughout the US. To combat the spread, the American government supported the production of Anti-Communist propaganda. In the space provided below, draw an Anti-Communism propaganda poster in which you strike fear into Americans about the negative impact Communism would have on the United States. Be sure you include a message about communism, a picture, and color in your poster. Your poster must also include at least ONE of the following vocab words: Red Scare, Smith Act, Alger Hiss, The Rosenbergs, HUAC, Hollywood Ten, or Joseph McCarthy

Korean War and Cold War Relationship Chart

Name: ___________________________________ Date: ___________ Period: _____________

For the following chart, define each term and then provide the relationship in the middle column

Chiang Kai-Shek Mao Zedong

NATO SEATO

38th parallel Stalemate/Ceasefire

Joseph McCarthy Red Scare

Marshall Plan Truman Plan

Iron Curtain Satellite States

The Cold War, The Korean War, and the 1950’s

Name: _________________________________ Date: _____________ Period: ____________

1. Why did the Cold War begin?

2. What were countries that became part of the Soviet Union called? (Hint: Space object)

3. What divided Communist East Europe and Democratic West Europe? (Not the Berlin Wall)

4. What was the policy of containment?

5. How did the Truman Doctrine attempt to contain communism?

6. What problem did the Marshall Plan help solve?

7. Why was NATO created?

8. How did the Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs impact the Red Scare?

9. What organization was created to investigate possible communist activity in the US?

“The reason why we find ourselves in a position of weakness is not because the enemy has sent men to our shores, but rather because of the traitorous actions of those who have had all the benefits in the wealthiest nation on earth has to offer- the finest homes, the finest college educations, the finest jobs in Government we can give… I have here in my hand a list of 205 individuals that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the policy of the State Department.”

10. Who do you think said this quote?

11. How does this person believe the US is being attacked?

“To choose one’s victims, to prepare one’s plan minutely, to slake an implacable vengeance, and then go to bed… there is nothing sweeter in the world.”

-Joseph Stalin

“This war is different from all other earlier ones; the conqueror of a region imposes his own social system on it.”

-Joseph Stalin

“I would rather have peace in the world than be President”-Harry S. Truman

“The American people desire, and are determined to work for, a world in which all nations and all peoples are free to govern themselves as they see fit, and to achieve a decent and satisfying life.”

Harry S. Truman

12. How did Truman’s views on power differ from Stalin’s?

13. How did the two leaders disagree on the issue of self-government in Eastern Europe?

“I made it clear that if not permitted to destroy the enemy built-up bases north of the Yalu, if not permitted to utilize the friendly Chinese force of some 600,000 men on Taiwan, if not permitted to blockade the China coast… the position of the command from the military standpoint forbade victory.”

-General Douglas MacArthur

“We do not want to the conflict in Korea extended. We are trying to prevent a World War- not to start one… Why can’t we take other steps to punish the aggressor? Why don’t we bomb Manchuria and China itself? Why don’t we assist Chinese Nationalist troops to land on mainland China? If we were to do these things we would become entangled in a vast conflict on the continent of Asia.”

-Harry S. Truman

14. Why did MacArthur want to invade China during the Korean War?

15. Why did Truman oppose invasion of China during the Korean War?