Chapter 34World War II

LECTURE 1Events in Foreign

Affairs Priorto World War II

EARLY 1930’SEarly on in the 1930s, FDR and America tried to turn their backs on growing problems in the rest

of the world

FDR only wanted to fight against the Depression

BUT, as war seemed on the horizon in Europe—FDR saw US couldn’t ignore what was

happening!!!

LONDON ECONOMIC CONFERENCEOne of the first global attempts to control the

Depression was the LONDON ECONOMIC CONFERENCE in 1933

FDR at first committed the US to go, then backed out at the last minute

Why? Didn’t want his hands tied by international pressures

Showed we were even isolationist on the economy

TYDINGS-MCDUFFIE ACT

FDR also proposed for the Philippines to be given their independence in 1946

The TYDINGS-MCDUFFIE ACT provided for this to occur

This move made Japan feel the US was no longer interested in Asia (uh oh!!!)

SOVIET RECOGNITIONIn 1933, FDR also formally recognized the

Soviet Union as a nation

Motivated by wanting trade with Soviet Russia

Also motivated by having the Soviets as a protection against German and Japanese

power

GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICY

FDR also began better relations with Latin America

Policy usually called the “GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICY”

THE RISE OF DICTATORSJOSEPH STALIN

ADOLF HITLER

BENITO MUSSOLIN

I

USSR Germany Italy

FACIST

PARTYNAZI

PARTY

ADOLF HITLERAdolf Hitler was clearly the most dangerous dictator of

the bunch

Used the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles to gain German acceptance

Hitler withdrew Germany from the League of Nations and began rearming (illegal)

In 1936, signed an alliance with Italy called the ROME-BERLIN AXIS

Emperor Hirohito Hideki Tojo

JAPANJapan was also increasingly becoming a major problem

Had withdrawn from the Naval Reduction agreements

Quit the League of Nations

Joined with Germany and Italy in the TRIPARTITE PACT (that can’t be good news!!!)

INVASION OF ETHIOPIAThings appeared to be worse when Mussolini and Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935

League of Nations basically did NOTHING

Americans, after the results of WWI, retreated back into isolationism

ISOLATIONISM

Ethiopia

AMERICAN NEUTRALITY

NYE COMMITTEEAs events began to unfold in Europe, the US wanted to remain “neutral” and isolated!!!!!! Why????The Nye Committee made it appear that WWI had been brought about by arms dealers

Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, & 1937

In response to public pressure, the Congress passed the Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, & 1937

These were attempting to keep the events that drew the US into WWI from happening again!!!!!

SPANISH CIVIL WAR

American’s really became worried when war broke out in Spain in the SPANISH CIVIL WAR

Spanish rebels led by GENERAL FRANCISCO FRANCOFranco aided by Hitler and Mussolini

Spanish Civil war was the

“dress rehearsal” for WWII

LECTURE 2Early Events of

World War II

EARLY AMERICAN RESPONSEQUARANTINE SPEECH

In response to much of what was going on in Europe and Asia, FDR delivered his famous QUARANTINE SPEECH

Wanted to seal off the aggressor nations by economic embargo’s

GERMAN ACTIONSAdolf Hitler continued to grow bolder and bolder across Europe!!

RHINELANDIn 1936, he move in and took the RHINELAND which had been taken by the Treaty of Versailles (France and GB do nothing)

AUSTRIAMarch 1938, Hitler takes over German speaking Austria without a shot!

SUDETENDLANDThen he begins making demands for the German occupied SUDETENLAND

“Lebensraum”Hitler claims he just wants to put German’s back into Germany and wanted

“lebensraum” or “living space” for Germans

MUNICH CONFERENCEIn response their great fears of Hitler, the European powers and FDR meet at the

MUNICH CONFERENCE in September 1938

APPEASEMENTThe word to remember is APPEASEMENT—they gave into Hitler’s demands in hopes he would stop!!!!! (He promised too, so we can trust him, right?)They gave him the Sudetenland without asking Czechoslovakia

NEVILLE CHAMBERLAINNEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN, British minister, becomes associated with appeasement!!!! (wimp)

Six months later, Hitler takes all of Czechoslovakia (really, he lied? Your

joking?)

HITLER-STALIN PACTA major world-wide shock came in 1939 when Soviet leader

Stalin announced they had signed a nonaggression treaty with Germany!!!!!

Called the HITLER-STALIN PACTThis would allow Hitler to focus his army on the Western

front, not be divided up like in WWIStalin and Hitler also had secretly made a deal to take

Poland and would divide it up!

THE INVASION OF POLANDWorld War II officially began on September 1,

1939 with the German invasion of Poland

Britain and France honored their agreements with Poland and

declared war tooAmericans wanted to stay neutral,

but many realized the US would have to help

AMERICAN REACTIONSIn order to assist the British, FDR managed

to get the NEUTRALITY ACT OF 1939 passed

Allowed Europe to buy American war goods, but only on a “CASH & CARRY” basis

European war goods demanded

ENDED the GREAT DEPRESSION

“PHONY WAR”?

After the fall of Poland, there was a period of months where Hitler did nothing

Often times referred to as the “Phony War”

The quiet ended when Hitler ran over Denmark and Norway, then went for the Netherlands and Belgium then destroyed France

GET READY AMERICA!!!!

While America may be neutral, FDR saw the need to prepare for war in caseCalled for building huge air fleets and a two-ocean navyCONSCRIPTION LAW —America’s first peacetime draft!!!!!

GREAT BRITAIN AND WW2MAJOR BATTLES

DUNKIRK BATTLE OF BRITAIN

Once Hitler had France under control, Great Britain was next on the list!British forces had barely escaped destruction in European continent at

DUNKIRKHitler launched air attacks on GB known as the BATTLE OF BRITAIN

Britain was in critical condition and needed destroyers

DESTROYER DEALUS made the DESTROYER DEAL in 1940 which gave Britain 50 old destroyers for lease rights to English bases

Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves

that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth

last for a thousand years, men will still say,

"This was their finest hour."

Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves

that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth

last for a thousand years, men will still say,

"This was their finest hour."

Britain

WINSTON CHURCHILLJUNE 18 1940

FROM HIS "FINEST HOUR" SPEECH

‘ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY’

S

FDR related it to giving your neighbor a garden hose if his house was on fireIdea of “Send guns, not Sons”

America was becoming the “ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY”

Lend-Lease Bill really meant the US was no longer neutral!

As Britain continued to be destroyed, FDR moved towards more direct assistance in his famous Lend-Lease Bill.

ELECTION OF 1940

In the middle of all this mess was the presidential election of 1940.FDR did the unthinkable and ran for a third term….why?FDR won and the two-term tradition was broken

NAZI INVASION OF USSRIn June of 1941, Hitler made the ultimate mistake of the war when he invaded the Soviet Union!Both had never really planned to assist each other (can you trust two mad-men?)

THE ATLANTIC CHARTERAs war continued to rage, a secret meeting with held with British PM Winston Churchill and FDR.

CHURCHILL FDR

This secret meeting known as the ATLANTIC CONFERENCEThey issue the ATLANTIC CHARTER —goals for the world when/if they win

Even mentioned something similar to the League of Nations (hmmm, United Nations sounds better, right?)

THE END OF AMERICAN NEUTRALITY

Because the Germans were attacking US goods in the Lend-Lease program ,FDR decided to allow American ships to escort Lend-Lease shipments

Guess What? American ships were “accidentally” hit by Germans

USS Greer, USS Kearney, USS Rueben James all hit

All pretenses of neutrality were over

and it was just a matter of time before

US was involved….BUT IN EUROPE???

PEARL HARBORDECEMBER 7TH, 1941

On December 7th, 1941, the Japanese surprise attacked a US military station at Pearl Harbor, HawaiiUS had embargoed some products from Japan including oilJapanese needed oil and felt their only hope was a sudden and devastating blow on the US in the PacificUS had broken Japanese codes, but didn’t know where they would attackJapanese treachery?????? (Let me explain it to you)

“A day which will live in infamy”

--FDRWar was declared on Japan—soon Germany will make another mistake and declare war on the United States!!!! (woops)