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Military and Diplomatic
Role of the United States
and Canada in WWII
BY:
LOIS CHYUN
KAYLA PEDRAZA
PERIOD 2
U.S. Isolationism
 American people adopted isolationism so that
the United States would never again be drawn
into a foreign war

disillusioned with the results of World War I
 To ensure that the U.S. policy would be strictly
neutral if war broke out in Europe, Congress
adopted a series of neutrality acts:



The Neutrality Act of 1935-authorized the
president to prohibit all arms shipments and to
forbid U.S. citizens to travel on the ships of
belligerent nations
The Neutrality Act of 1936-forbade the extension
of loans and credits to belligerents
The Neutrality Act of 1937-forbade the shipment
of arms to the opposing sides in the civil war in
France
Changes in the U.S. Policy
 The rapid and sudden German attacks, known as Blitzkreig, posed as a
threat to the U.S.

Britain was now the only free ally after the fall of France
 President Roosevelt believed that British survival was crucial to U.S.
security; he persuaded Congress to adopt a less restrictive act.
 Cash and Carry Act of 1939: allowed a belligerent to buy U.S. arms if it
used its own ships and paid cash.
cont…
 Roosevelt pushed neutrality back further by persuading Congress to
enact their first peacetime draft.


The Selective Service Act provided for the registration of all American men
between the ages 21 and 35
The Selective Training Act called for the training of 1.2 million troops in
just one year.
cont…
 Due to German bombing raids in Britain,
Roosevelt devised a trade with Britain

50 older but still serviceable U.S. destroyers
were given in exchange for offering the United
States the right to build 8 military bases on
British islands in the Caribbean
 Germany’s conquest of most of Europe
threatened both U.S. security as well as the
future of democratic governments
everywhere.

Roosevelt urged the American people that it was
their duty to be the “great arsenal of democracy”
cont…
 Roosevelt addressed the Congress in January 1941 and proposed
ending the cash-and-carry requirement
 Replaced with the Lend-Lease Act, signed into law in March of the
same year


permitted Britain to obtain all the U.S. arms it needed on credit
Provided Britain with munitions (munitions worth $5 billion in 1945)
cont…
 Roosevelt anticipated the possibility
that the United States would soon be
drawn into the war
 Arranged a secret meeting with the
British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill- Atlantic Conference


the two leaders signed the 8-point Atlantic
Charter that affirmed their peace
objectives at the end of the war.
The general principles for peace included
self-determination for all people, free
trade, and no territorial expansion.
cont…
 FDR extended U.S. support for Britain in July 1941:
 U.S. Navy assigned to escort British ships carrying lend-lease materials
from the U.S. shores to destinations as far as Iceland.

protecting its ships from submarine attack.
 German submarines began to sink U.S. ships

After American destroyer Greer was attacked, Roosevelt ordered the Navy to
attack all German ships in sight- known as the “Shoot-on-sight” policy
U.S. Disputes with Japan
 1940-1941: U.S.-Japanese relations were
increasingly strained as a result of Japan’s
invasion of China

blatant violation of the Open Door policy to which
the U.S. was still committed to
 Roosevelt prohibited the export of steel and scrap
iron to all countries except Britain and nations of
the Western Hemisphere
 Japanese credits in the U.S. were frozen
 1940: Embargo on Japan

Japanese access to vital materials, including U.S.
oil, was cut off.
cont…
 The Tripartite Pact, between Germany,
Japan and Italy hardened the American
opposition to all three nations
 Convinced U.S. strategists of the need to
plan for a two‐front, global war against
the three Axis powers
 United States declares war in support of
Allies on Allied
 concentrated its forces to
defeat Germany first while assuming
the strategic defensive against Japan

ABC-1: “getting Germany first”
cont…
 Japan felt that quick action was necessary- launched a surprise attack
on the U.S. fleet in the Pacific anchored at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii


Destroyed U.S. battleship fleet, aircrafts, and other small ships
Thousands of U.S. casualties
 Roosevelt asked Congress to declare a state of war which Congress
immediately consented.
Wartime Conferences
 The Big Three, leaders of the U.S., the Soviet Union, and Great Britain,
arranged secret meetings to coordinate their military strategies and lay the
foundation for peace terms.

Casablanca Conference: involved only Roosevelt and Churchill


agreed to invade Sicily and demand “unconditional surrender” from the Axis powers
Teheran Conference: Big Three agreed that the British and Americans would
begin their drive to liberate France in the spring of 1944 (Operation Overland)

the Soviets would invade Germany and eventually join the war against Japan
cont…

Yalta: the Big Three agreed to the following
• Germany would be divided into occupation zones
• free elections in the liberated countries of Eastern Europe; Poland,
Bulgaria, and Romania
• Soviets would enter the war against Japan, which they did on August
8, 1945
• Soviets would control the southern half of Sakhalin island and the
Kurile Islands in the Pacific and would also have special
concessions in Manchuria
• A new world peace organization would be formed (UN)

Potsdam: Harry Truman (U.S.), Clement Attlee (GB) and Stalin agreed to
• Issue a warning to Japan to surrender unconditionally
• Hold war-crime trials of Nazi leaders

Bretton Woods Conference of 1944
• International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Fighting Germany
 U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower: led
the Allied forces in taking North Africa
and reoccupying the Mediterranean island
of Sicily from the Germans
 U.S. Commander General MacArthur: led
defense in Philippines against Japan
 D-Day: the largest invasion by sea in
history

General Eisenhower led British, Canadian,
and U.S. forces and secured several
beachheads on the Normandy coast
 Allied offensive moved rapidly to push
back German occupying forces in France.

opened the second front for the Soviet
Union to attack Germany
Fighting Japan
 Adopted a strategy called “island hopping” for Pacific War


bypassed strongly held Japanese islands and isolated them with naval and air
power
allowed Allied forces to move rapidly toward Japan.
 U.S. reoccupation of the Philippines in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944
destroyed the Japanese navy
 President Harry Truman called on Japan to surrender unconditionally or
face complete destruction
 Used the atomic bomb on two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.



Japanese agreed to surrender
U.S. General MacArthur allowed the emperor to
remain on the throne, though powerless
canada’s Military role in World War ii
Overview
 Over 1 million Canadians served either in the Army, Air Force, or
Navy


Over 45,00 were killed
55,000 wounded
 Canadian pilots fought alongside the British air force
 Canada played a role in British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
 Main contribution was the training of the aircrew
 58,337 men and women were enlisted in Canadian Armed Force
in September 1939
 Royal Canadian Navy also played a great role in the Battle of the
Atlantic
War Effort
 Initially, Canada not drawn
automatically into the war
 Japan’s entry into the war in Dec.
1941 ended Canadian attempt to limit
its military role in the war
 Canada’s military ill-equipped at
war’s outbreak


Small army
Outdated weaponry
 Thousands of volunteers participated
in overseas campaign
cont…
 Canadians fought war at sea



Battled with German U-Boats
More than 3,000 Canadian Soldiers and merchant seamen died
German boats reached Canadian Waters
 Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence
 Sunk 23 ships
 Raid on Dieppe; August 1942




One of the darkest chapters in Canadian Military History
About 907 Canadians killed
1,946 Canadians became prisoners of war
5,000 soldiers and officers from the 2nd Canadian Division Joined the Fight
cont…
 Italian Campaign
Invasion of Sicily in July 1943
 Largest water invasion in history
 After weeks of fighting, Canadians were able to push German forces back to
the town of Ortona
 End of December 1943, Germans were forced to retreat
 About 1,300 Canadian casualties
 At height of battle, 76,000 Canadian soldiers fighting in Italy
 Canadians played major role in the success of the campaign
 D-Day
 Canadian responsibility focused on Juno beach
 First 6 days of battle 3,000 Canadians killed or wounded
 After the war, Canada would then participate in the newly created United Nations
 Canadian forced proved their courage and determination in the battlefield
 Given expanded place in the new order

canada’s diploMatic role in WW ii
In the Beginning of the War
 Initially, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King
tried to establish and maintain a national unity

Pursued cautious foreign policy which avoided commitments
abroad that might potentially create controversy in Canada and
divide Canadians
 September 1939, Canada entered World War II
 Canada not automatically at war
 Formally declared war September 10, 1939
During the War
 Canada not making the same level of contribution in WWII as
Sir Robert Borden had done in WWI (previous prime minister)


King feared that by cooperating too intimately with Britain, it would
roll back the constitutional developments of the interwar years
Because of national unity, Canadian’s fought under the policy of
“limited liability”
Diplomatic War Effort
 Canada not making the same level of contribution in WWII as Sir Robert
Borden had done in WWI (previous prime minister)



King feared that by cooperating too intimately with Britain, it would roll back
the constitutional developments of the interwar years
Initially, because of national unity, Canadian’s fought under the policy of
“limited liability”
King did not want to participate in the higher direction of the war
 Canadian prime minister concerned with fate of the Canadian nation in case
Britain fall to Hitler’s power

July 1940; Preliminary military discussions with Americas were held in
Washington
 Ogdensburg Agreement

August 16,1940 Roosevelt invited King to meet him in border town of
Ogdensburg, New York
cont…
 Roosevelt wished to establish joint board to oversee defense of
North America
 War had positive effect because it allowed Canada to emerge from the
Great Depression
 Hyde Park Declaration

U.S. increased defense purchases in Canada
 Hume Wrong of Department of External Affairs

Pushed for the argument of greater Canadian role in WWII
 King was then later forced to increase range of Canadian diplomatic
activity because of rapid expansion of Department of External Affairs

Canada now making maximum contribution to war effort instead of “limited
liability”
Canadian Propaganda Posters
How does this
propaganda poster
evoke emotion to
encourage action in
the home front for the
war effort?
cont…
How does this appeal to
the Canadian
nationalism encourage
women to take action
during WWII?
Works Cited
Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History. Amsco School Publications, Inc., 2010. 522-35.
Print.
"A Brief History of the U.S. Army in World War II." World War II History Info. U.S. Army Center for Military
History, 2010. Web. 1 Nov. 2012.
"Canada and the World: A History 1939 - 1945: The World at War." Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Canada. Web. 31 Oct. 2012.
"Canada's Involvement in World War II." Web. 31 Oct. 2012.
CANADIAN WWII PROPAGANDA POSTERS ." Web. 1 Nov. 2012.
"MILESTONES: 1945-1952 Atomic Diplomacy." Office of the Historian. United States Department of State, 3 Dec.
2010. U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian. Web. 30 Oct. 2012.
"SECOND WORLD WAR Remembering Canada's role in WW II." CBC News. 29 Apr. 2010. Web. 31 Oct. 2012.
"World War II." All Posters. AllPosters.com, Web. 31 Oct. 2012.