America Moves Toward War

Chapter 24 Section 4

Objective/Do NowObjective:

identify specific instances in the shift away from isolationist policies.

Do Now:Do isolationist policies (US staying out of affairs

that does not directly affect us) benefit the country?

I the United States Musters it Forces

• As Germans enter Poland, FDR issues official proclamation of neutrality• Required by the Neutrality acts passed by Congress

• While doing this he prepares for a war he knew would eventually come

A. Moving Cautiously Away from Neutrality

• FDR calls special session of Congress to revise Neutrality Acts• FDR asks for “cash & Carry”

provision• Allow nations to buy Amer. Arms as

long as they paid in cash and carried goods on their own ships

• Argued it would help GB & France while keeping US out of war• Cash and carry was voted into

effect

B. The Axis Threat• Cash & Carry policy was too little too late• France and GB fell under siege

• Japan, Italy, & Germany sign the Tripartite Pact• Pledge that if one nation came under

attack the other would help3 countries become known as Axis powers

• Aimed to keep US out of war because declaring war on 1 meant declaring war on all 3• US begins to ship thousands of battle

ships & ammo to allied powers

C. Building Americas Defense•Years of isolationism left US militarily weakFDR asks for increase of national defense budget•Passes the nation’s 1st peacetime mil. Draft• Selective training and

Service Act

D. Roosevelt's Re-election

• FDR breaks 2 term tradition set by GW and runs for re-election• FDR and opponent bot

agree to send aid to GB but stay out of war• Ppl stay with the familiar

and what they knowFDR wins

II “The Great Arsenal of Democracy”•FDR, via fireside chat, states that the US must help defeat the Axis powers because if GB falls, US would be only democracy left living “at the point of a gun”• Says that the US must

turn itself into the “great arsenal of democracy”

A. The Lend-Lease Plan• GB runs out of $$ to spend in

arsenal of Dem. So FDR proposes the “lend-Lease” policy to replace the “cash & carry”• Pres. Would lend or lease arms and

other supplies to any country whose defense was vital to the US

• Hitler ignores his pact w/ Stalin and invades SU• Soviets retreat and institute a

scorched earth policy (burn anything left behind)

• FDR sends Lend-lease aid to the Soviets

B. German Wolf Packs• Hitler deploys U-boats (German subs) to

prevents Lend-lease aid from helping GB and Soviets• Wolf Packs= groups of 15-20 subs that

patrolled shipping lanes to destroy cargo• German U-boats successfulsinl for GB

boats then they could replace• FDR orders navy to protect lend-lease

shipments to prevent loss/waste of US $$• US warships now have permission to

attack German U-boats in defense

III Planning for WarA. Atlantic Charter

• FDR & Churchill secretly meet• Churchill hopes for mil. Commitment from

US but FDR issues Atlantic charter• Atlantic Charter spells out causes for

WWII • Becomes basis for “a Declaration by the

United Nations”• Allies= those who joined together to

fight against the Axis Powers• UN charter signed by 26 nations

including SU and China

B. Shooting Begins

•U-Boats fire torpedoes at US destroyer•2 weeks later a merchant ship is sunk and US

destroyer torpedoed• FDR states “history has recorded who fired the first

shot”•As Amer. Death toll rose, Congress lifts ban on arming merchant ships

IV Japan Attacks the United StatesA. Japan’s Ambitions• Japanese expansionists begin to take over colonial

empires but the US and its pacific island possessions stand in the way• Take over French Mil. Base in French Indochina

(Vietnam/Cambodia)• US responds by cutting off trade w/ Japan and instituting

an oil embargo• Japan could not fuel its war machine w/o oil• Japan sends “peace” envoy to convince Us to lift embargo

while simultaneously planning for an attack against the US

• US has broken Japans secret com. Codes and new a strike was imminent but did not know where• Although we knew it was coming FDR insisted that Japan needed to strike first

B. The Attack on Pearl Harbor• Japan dive bombers fly low over PH, the US’ largest naval base in the

Pacific• Stuns peace Fleet because it was thought the waters were too shallow for

torpedo attacks & too far from Japans mainland

• Attack on PH was victory for Japanese • Crippled the US pacific fleet in one blow (more damage than in all of WWII)

• Japan afraid it has “awaken a sleeping giant”• Dec. 7th, 1941 “a date that will live in infamy” war declaration by

Congressend of isolationist policy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VqQAf74fsE