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in february 1945, the "big three" allied leaders — roosevelt, churchill, and stalin — met at yalta on the black sea. there they agreed that, when the war in europe was over, germany would be divided into four occupation zones, to be controlled by american, british, french, and soviet forces. they also made plans for a united nations organization, as a successor to the failed league of nations, this time with the united states as a founding member. stalin was promised pieces of japan's empire in exchange for soviet help against japan after germany's surrender. unlike the treaty of versailles, which punished germany harshly after world war 1, this agreement emphasized rebuilding postwar europe.

during world war 1, great britain took control of palestine from turkey, which was fighting with germany against the british. at the end of the war, the league of nations assigned the governing of palestine to great britain, but also entrusted to the british the establishment within palestine of "a national home for the jewish people." both arabs and jews lived in this largely desert land, and neither group was willing to form a government with the other.

during hitler's dictatorship, thousands of european jews fled to palestine. in 1947, the un proposed that separate arab and jewish states be created out of palestine. the jews living in palestine immediately accepted and announced the formation of the state of israel on may 14, 1948.

in july 1945, at a meeting of the allied leaders in potsdam, germany, president truman received word that the world's first atomic bomb had been tested in the new mexico desert. the bomb was the result of the top-secret manhattan project, started by roosevelt in 1942 after learning that german scientists were working on such a bomb.

truman faced one of history's most difficult decisions: to invade japan, the allies would need soviet help, but truman did not trust the soviet union. additionally, america's victories in the pacific had involved so many casualties that u.s. military leaders were concerned about the loss of life that would come with a full-scale invasion. if america used this terrifying new weapon, it might force japan to surrender without an invasion. however, it would mean a tremendous loss of life and property for the japanese. with great britain's support, truman decided to use the bomb.

the japanese surrender – august-september 1945

on august 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on the japanese city of hiroshima by the enola gay, a b-29 bomber. a four-square-mile area of the city was destroyed, killing 80.000 people. the japanese military leaders refused to surrender. on august 8, the soviet union declared war on japan. on august 9, the united states dropped a second bomb on nagasaki, killing 35,000. the japanese finally surrendered. august 15 was v-j day –victory over japan– and world war 2 was over.

aka d-day. by the spring of 1944, the countryside of great britain had been transformed into a gigantic armed camp and supply depot. the allies were now prepared for operation overlord. allied troops would cross the english channel and invade occupied france. this would force hitler to fight a two-front war, since the russian allied force was keeping most of the german army busy in eastern europe. over the previous year, the americans and british had gained the upper hand over german u-boats in the atlantic, and their planes had destroyed much of hitler's air force. now the allies faced their greatest challenge – cracking hitler's land defenses in europe.

operation overlord required incredibly detailed planning, as well as perfect coordination and timing. the final decisions were made by american general dwight d. eisenhower, nicknamed "ike." he was the supreme commander of the allied expeditionary force (aef). weather was ike's biggest headache. there were only a few days each month when the tides were right for the invasion, and, as june approached, storms howled out of the north sea and into the english channel.

secrecy was also vital. hitler's forces had built a wall of concrete bunkers and gun emplacements along the french coast, and had lain tank traps, mines, and miles of barbed wire. through a variety of deceptions, the allies convinced hitler that the landing target was not normandy, but farther north where the channel narrowed.

in 1936, the olympic summer games were held in germany, and adolf hitler wanted it to be a great showcase of german-or aryan-racial superiority. but jesse owens, an african american track and field star, stole the show, setting records and winning four gold medals.

the kkk, which had terrorized southern blacks after the civil war, was reestablished in georgia in 1915. the new klan claimed it was protecting america's "pioneer heritage" from not only blacks but also radicals, foreigners, jews, and catholics. membership soared following a series of antiblack riots in 1919, when white mobs rampaged through black neighborhoods in chicago and washington, d.c., killing at least 100 african americans.

money poured into the ku klux klan treasury, and its membership swelled to more than four million. for a few years the klan was a political force in small towns in the south, midwest, and southwest, helping elect senators and governors in several states. by 1925, economic prosperity and full employment reduced fear of radicals, and the popularity of the klan went into a steep decline. by 1930, membership had dropped below 10,000.

a nation devoid of art and artists cannot have a full existence.

robert m. la follette was the most famous progressive in state government. he fought to overcome the all-powerful political party machines in wisconsin before being elected governor in 1900. his nickname was "battling bob." la follette's goal was to give the people more control over government. wisconsin became one of the first states to use a direct primary, where voters rather than political parties choose candidates to run for office. "battling bob" also passed a law requiring that civil-service workers take exams to qualify for jobs. that way, party bosses couldn't hire their friends in exchange for political favors.

to reduce the power of utility companies, la follette established commissions to watch the cost and the quality of service. professors from the university of wisconsin served on the commissions, and he worked with the university's president to make sure powerful lumber companies did not overuse the state's forests. la follette's reforms became known as the wisconsin idea.

known for their service on the western frontier, buffalo soldiers were segregated regiments of african american soldiers in the u.s. army. historians disagree on the origin of their nickname, with some suggesting it was given by native americans who compared their hair to that of buffaloes, while others suggest it reflected their fierce fighting skills. several generations of buffalo soldiers fought bravely for the united states across nearly 200 engagements from 1866 to 1951. they were the only african american soldiers to fight in cuba during the spanish american war, earning five medals of honor among them. image

most polarizing us president.

the federal government owns around 81% of nevada's total land, 56m acres out of 70m total acres.