What was the U.S. response to the outbreak of World War II, and how did American attitudes change by the early 1940s?
Before the outbreak of WWII, Americans were afraid that the rise of dictators would cause the U.S. to get involved another war
Congress passed a series of Neutrality Acts (1935-1937) that, in case of a war, made it illegal to sell weapons or transport goods to any nation at war
President Franklin Roosevelt wanted a more active response to stop dictators, but failed to convince world leaders to “quarantine” aggressor nations in 1937
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland �and World War II began between the Axis and Allies
How did the USA respond to the start of WWII? �Read and respond to situation #1 (1939)
When the war started, Congress amended the Neutrality Acts and allowed U.S. companies to sell weapons to the Allies on a “cash and carry” basis
The “cash-and-carry” policy allowed the USA to aid the Allies while remaining neutral and avoid the causes of American entry into the First World War
Allied nations could buy U.S.-made war goods but had to pay in cash and had to transport goods on their own ships
Remember Germany’s �unrestricted submarine warfare?
From 1939 to 1940, the German military conquered most of Europe and began bombing Britain
How did the USA respond to Axis victories in 1940? �Read and respond to situation #2 (1940)
In 1940, Franklin Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented third term as president
He campaigned on a platform of neutrality but with “preparedness”
FDR prepared for possible entry into the war by calling for the first peacetime draft
The fall of France in 1940 worried Americans that the Axis Powers might win World War II
German Luftwaffe attacks on Britain meant that England needed U.S. aid more than ever
In December of 1940, FDR gave this speech:
“...all of our present efforts are not enough. We must have more ships, more guns, more planes -- more of everything. And this can be accomplished only if we discard the notion of ‘business as usual.’ ...No pessimistic policy about the future of America shall delay the immediate expansion of those industries essential to defense. We need them.”
“I want to make it clear that it is the purpose of the nation to build now with all possible speed every machine, every arsenal, every factory that we need to manufacture our defense material. We have the men, the skill, the wealth, and above all, the will. ...
So I appeal to the owners of plants, to the managers, to the workers, to our own government employees to put every ounce of effort into producing these munitions swiftly and without stint. With this appeal I give you the pledge that all of us who are officers of your government will devote ourselves to the same whole-hearted extent to the great task that lies ahead.
“As planes and ships and guns and shells are produced, your government, with its defense experts, can then determine how best to use them to defend this hemisphere. ...
“We must be the great arsenal of democracy.”
The Lend-Lease Act allowed the USA to send war supplies to Allied nations and transport war- related goods to Europe on armed ships
The Lend-Lease Act was used throughout WWII, transformed the USA into an “arsenal of democracy,” and helped end the depression in America
The USA responded with the Lend-Lease Act in 1941
By 1941, the USA was entangled in a dangerous war: German submarines patrolled the Atlantic, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, and Japan attacked Pacific islands with little opposition
How did the USA respond to Axis attacks in 1941? �Read and respond to situation #3 (1941)
The success of the Axis Powers in Europe brought the USA closer to an undeclared war on Germany
FDR gave the navy and merchant ships �authority to attack German u-boats
Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill secretly drafted the Atlantic Charter which planned a war strategy if the USA entered the war and a post-war United Nations
ATLANTIC CHARTER
August 14, 1941
The President of the United States of America and the Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, representing His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, being met together, deem it right to make known certain common principles in the national policies of their respective countries on which they base their hopes for a better future for the world.
First, their countries seek no aggrandizement, territorial or other;
Second, they desire to see no territorial changes that do not accord with the freely expressed wishes of the peoples concerned;
Third, they respect the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live; and they wish to see sovereign rights and self government restored to those who have been forcibly deprived of them;
Fourth, they will endeavor, with due respect for their existing obligations, to further the enjoyment by all States, great or small, victor or vanquished, of access, on equal terms, to the trade and to the raw materials of the world which are needed for their economic prosperity;
Fifth, they desire to bring about the fullest collaboration between all nations in the economic field with the object of securing, for all, improved labor standards, economic advancement and social security;
Sixth, after the final destruction of the Nazi tyranny, they hope to see established a peace which will afford to all nations the means of dwelling in safety within their own boundaries, and which will afford assurance that all the men in all lands may live out their lives in freedom from fear and want;
Seventh, such a peace should enable all men to traverse the high seas and oceans without hindrance;
Eighth, they believe that all of the nations of the world, for realistic as well as spiritual reasons must come to the abandonment of the use of force. Since no future peace can be maintained if land, sea or air armaments continue to be employed by nations which threaten, or may threaten, aggression outside of their frontiers, they believe, pending the establishment of a wider and permanent system of general security, that the disarmament of such nations is essential. They will likewise aid and encourage all other practicable measure which will lighten for peace-loving peoples the crushing burden of armaments.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston S. Churchill
The USA tried to stop Japanese aggression in Asia
To protect American territories and allies in the Pacific, FDR ordered an embargo on all iron and oil sales to Japan
Hideki Tojo sent an envoy to negotiate a resolution, but secretly plotted to attack the United States
How did the USA respond to the Pearl Harbor attack? �Read and respond to situation #4 (1941)
On December 7, 1941 the Japanese military led a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
On December 7, 1941 the Japanese military led a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
After the Japanese attacks, Congress declared war on Japan
In addition to Hawaii, the Japanese attacked U.S. naval bases at Guam and Wake Island
When America entered �World War II, the U.S. �had to fight a two-front war in Europe and Asia…
Despite the attack by Japan, FDR viewed Germany as �the immediate threat and began preparing for war
Leading up to the War
1931 September 18 - Japan invades Manchuria, signaling expansionist aggression in Asia
1933 January 30 - Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany. His Nazi Party, or the Third Reich, takes power and Hitler is essentially the dictator of Germany.
1936 October 25 - Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy form the Rome-Berlin Axis treaty.
1936 November 25 - Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact. This was a pact against communism and Russia.
1937 July 7 - Japan invades China.
1938 March 12 - Hitler annexes the country of Austria into Germany. This is also called the Anschluss.
1938 September 29 - Germany and Great Britain sign the Munich agreement which gives the Sudetenland (Czechoslovakian territory) to Germany, in exchange for Germany’s promise to stop aggressive expansion.
1939 March 15 - Germany violates the Munich agreement and annexes all of Czechoslovakia.
1939 August 23 - Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign a nonagression pact promising not to attack each other.
World War II
1939 September 1 - Germany invades Poland. World War II begins.
1939 September 3 - France and Great Britain declare war on Germany.
1940 April 9 to June 9 - Germany invades and takes control of Denmark and Norway.
1940 May 10 to June 22 - Germany uses quick strikes called blitzkrieg, meaning lightning war, to take over much of western Europe including the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern France.
1940 May 30 - Winston Churchill becomes leader of the British government.
1940 June 10 - Italy enters the war as a member of the Axis powers.
1940 July 10 - Germany launches an air attack on Great Britain. These attacks last until the end of October and are known as the Battle of Britain.
1940 September 22 - Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact creating the Axis Alliance.
1941 June 22 - Germany and the Axis Powers attack Russia with a huge force of over four million troops.
1941 December 7 - The Japanese attack the US Navy in Pearl Harbor. The next day the US enters World War II on the side of the Allies.
Closure Activity:
What, if anything, should the United States have done differently in response to growing international threats from 1939 to 1941? �Be ready to explain your answers