Post WWII

Vocabulary

1. “Baby Boom”

• A marked increase in the

birthrate, especially in

the US following

WWII.

2. Universal Declaration of Human

Rights• Eleanor Roosevelt was the first

woman to represent a country when she was sent to represent the United States at the newly

created United Nations following WWII. Eleanor played a vital role in expanding the rights of people

all around the world when she was given the position of

“Chairman” over a committee that would write this important U.N. document still cited today.

3. G.I. Bill of Rights• As soldiers returned home

following WWII, the government began discussing

ways to help them. First known as the servicemen’s

Readjustment Act of 1944, this bill offered money for college

or job training, low or no interest loans to buy homes or

businesses, and unemployment benefits to

military veterans.

4. Capitalism

• An economic system based

on private property and

free enterprise.

5. Communism• An economic system in

which all goods are owned jointly; in the Soviet

Union, this developed into a government in which all social and economic policy decisions were made by a single party. Free speech

was not allowed.

6. PartitionTo divide or

separate into portions.

* After WWII, Germany was partitioned into zones which were occupied in the West by democratic and capitalist nations and in the East by the communist Soviet Union. Berlin was also partitioned into like zones.

Berlin

7. United Nations• On June 26, 1945 in San

Francisco, California 50 Nations, including the Soviet

Union, signed a charter creating this organization.

• It was hoped this organization would settle disputes

between nations and prevent future wars through

negotiations and by use of “peace keeping” forces.

8. George Marshall

• This man was an important WWII general from 1939 to

1945, building and directing the largest army

in history. He acted as secretary of state from

1947 to 1949, formulating the Marshall Plan and

earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.

9. Marshall Plan• The United States instituted this man’s plan, The Marshall

Plan, after WWII. It provided for massive

financial aid to rebuild European economies

and prevent the spread of communism.

10. Eleanor Roosevelt

• Her life reflected her commitment to public service in our country and throughout the

world. Married to FDR, she became known as the First Lady

of the World. She served a delegate to the United Nations

and kept on with her humanitarian work; always

fighting racial injustice, women’s equality, and working

tirelessly for social reform.