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Action
Reaction
After World War I, the United States sought ways
to preserve a traditional policy of isolationism,
while pursuing international agreements to secure
global peace.
Action
The global depression of the 1930s created
political instability in Europe and Asia.
In the 1920s, the United States supported treaties
promoting disarmament and avoiding war.
Reaction
A number of dictators rose to power in nations like
Germany, Italy, and Japan by promoting
nationalistic policies.
Action
Reaction
The United States and Soviet Union did not join the
League of Nations after the first World War.
The League of Nations was too weak to stop Italian
aggression in Ethiopia, to prevent German military
build-up, or end the Japanese invasion of Chinese
Manchuria.
Action
Reaction
Adolf Hitler promised to restore Germany to its
pre-WWI prestige, and in the late 1930s made
territorial demands for expansion into Austria and
the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia.
Action
In 1939, Germany invaded Poland.
At the Munich Conference (1938), British and
French leaders followed a policy of appeasement,
hoping that conceding territory to Nazi Germany
would avoid war.
Reaction
World War II began after Britain and France
declared war on Germany.
Action
In the 1930s, most Americans believed U.S.
involvement in WWI had been a mistake; the Nye
Committee Report reinforced this view by
suggesting that the arms industries influenced the
decision to go to war.
Action
After WWII broke out in 1939, the United States
hoped to avoid involvement, but did take steps for
military preparedness.
Action
As the only European nation left fighting Hitler in
Europe, Great Britain was in desperate need of war
materials from the United States.
Action
In response to a U.S. embargo on oil supplies,
Japan decided to launch a surprise attack on the
U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii.
Reaction
As tensions in Europe and Asia increased, the
United States passed a series of Neutrality Acts in
the 1930s in the hopes of preserving American
neutrality and avoid the reasons for U.S.
intervention in WWI.
Reaction
Congress passed the first peace-time draft, and
President Roosevelt successfully encouraged an
amendment to the Neutrality Acts which would
allow the Allies to purchase U.S. war supplies on a
“cash-and-carry” basis.
Reaction
President Roosevelt pushed Congress to pass the
Lend-Lease Act, arguing that the defense of Britain
was the best defense for the United States.
Reaction
Public opinion in the United States turned in favor
of U.S. involvement in WWII – the United States
declared war on Japan and the Axis Powers.