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Learn about the united StateS
Congress to declare war on Germany. On January 8,
1918, he made a speech to Congress outlining
“Fourteen Points” that justified the war and called
for a plan to maintain peace after the war. President
Wilson said, “We entered this war because violations
of right had occurred which touched us to the quick
and made the life of our own people impossible unless
they were corrected and the world secure once for all
against their recurrence.” The war ended that year and
Wilson traveled to Paris to work out the details of the
surrender by Germany.
80. Who was President during the Great Depression
and World War II?
• (Franklin) Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was president of the
United States from 1933 until 1945. He was elected
during the Great Depression, which was a period of
economic crisis after the stock market crash of 1929.
His program for handling the crisis was called “the
New Deal.” It included programs to create jobs and
provided benefits and financial security for workers
across the country. Under his leadership, the Social
Security Administration (SSA) was established in
1935. Roosevelt led the nation into World War II after
Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. He
gave the country a sense of hope and strength during a
time of great struggle. Roosevelt was elected to office
four times. He died in 1945, early in his fourth term
as president. His wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, was a human
rights leader throughout her lifetime.
81. Who did the United States fight in
World War II?
• Japan, Germany, and Italy
The Japanese bombed U.S. naval bases in a surprise
attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7,
1941. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt,
as commander in chief of the military, obtained an
official declaration of war from Congress. Japan’s
partners in the Axis, Italy and Germany, then declared
war on the United States. The Allies fought against the
German Nazis, the Italian Fascists, and Japan’s military
empire. This was truly a world war, with battles
fought in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Ocean.
82. Before he was President, Eisenhower was a
general. What war was he in?
• World War II
Before becoming the 34th president of the United
States in 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower served as a
major general in World War II. As commander of
U.S. forces and supreme commander of the Allies
in Europe, he led the successful D-Day invasion of
Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. In 1952, he
retired from active service in the military. He was
elected president of the United States later that year.
As president, he established the interstate highway
system and in 1953, the Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare (now known as Health and
Human Services) was created. He oversaw the end of
the Korean War. Eisenhower left the White House in
1961, after serving two terms as president.
83. During the Cold War, what was the main
concern of the United States?
• Communism
The main concern of the United States during the Cold
War was the spread of communism. The Soviet Union
(Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR) was a
powerful nation that operated under the principles of
communism. The United States and its allies believed
that a democratic government and a capitalist economy
were the best ways to preserve individual rights and
freedoms. The United States and its allies feared the
expansion of communism to countries outside the
Soviet Union. The Cold War began shortly after the
end of World War II and lasted for more than 40
years. It ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989,
the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990,
and the breakup of the USSR in 1991.
84. What movement tried to end racial
discrimination?
• civil rights (movement)
The modern civil rights movement in the United
States began in 1954 when the Supreme Court
ruled that racial segregation in public schools
was unconstitutional. The goal of the civil rights
movement was to end racial discrimination against