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Since first breaking free from British colonial control and becoming an independent nation, the United States
has exercised a wide variety of foreign policies. From war and treaty with our former mother country, to
isolation and neutrality the nation has always focused our relations with other through our needs and wants
at home. These relations can be clearly viewed via the following themes:
Neutrality
Our nation's earliest foreign policy was one of neutrality, as declared by George Washington and echoed by
many presidents to follow. Partial to protect their growing commercial interests and partially due to the
weakness of infancy, the US first chose not to choose in the battles of European forefathers. This left the
fledgling nation to devote attention and resource to the business of nation building.
Imperialism
At the dawn of the 20th century technology was shrinking the globe and expanding the industry of the United
States. Immigrants had fueled the fires of industrial development and pushed the nation westward in a
fulfillment of manifest destiny's call. The markets and resources of lands overseas called to the hearts and
minds of a growing nation sold on social Darwinism and desiring to share her bounty with the world. War
with Spain proved the opening of a fifty-year window during which the US's reach would extend around the
world.
Isolation
Still aching in body, heart and mind following the First World War, the US retreated into fortress America,
cutting ties and obligations with world. Tariffs and quota acts kept out foreign goods and foreign peoples,
while Palmer Raids and red scares prosecuted foreign ideas as well as foreign accents. This period of
isolation persisted until the world called again in WWII for help against the scourge of nazism.
Internationalism
The US learned the lessons of history, and following World War Two, refused to again make the mistakes of
the twenties. Following WWII, the US did not isolate and retrench, instead helping to create the United
Nations and NATO, as well as foster international trade and cooperation.
Cold War
Also on the heels of the Second World War was the start of a nearly five decade war of ideology known as
the Cold War. The politics of the world would be polarized as the USSR and the US pitted communism
versus capitalism for hegemony over the world. The arms race and the space race finally leaving one no
longer able to run and the other unsure about how to continue with no opponent.
New World Order
Having been defined by the cold war for so long, US foreign policy makers were uncertain how to reshape
the American international agenda following the decline of communism. The ensuing "New World Order"
found the US as the sole superpower. The new issues of the new world include terrorism, police actions,
humanitarian aid and rescue as well as checking not one large foe, but many smaller rogue threats. This
chapter in American foreign policy is still being written.
Neutrality
The first established foreign policy of the United States was one of neutrality or noninvolvement. Having just defeated the English and gaining independence, the US faced
the challenging task of creating a new nation. In an effort to guard themselves from
involvement in the wider conflicts of the Europeans and focus on domestic affairs, a
course of neutrality was followed. The roots of this initial policy can be seen as early as
the presidency of George Washington.
Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality
Within weeks of Washington's inauguration in 1789, the French Revolution began. As the revolution
intensified and became more bloody, the English sought to exploit the weakness of the French government.
While conflict between the French and English intensified, America was caught in the middle. American
loyalties were divided between the French who had aided in America's revolution and the English to whom
cultural and economic ties were greatest. Washington decided that neutrality was the best course, thereby
avoiding the war altogether.
Washington's Farewell Address
When he left office in 1796 after serving two terms as president, Washington delivered a farewell address
filled with advice and cautions to the fledgling nation. While he also warned against the divisive problems of
political parties, it was his call for neutrality and avoiding alliances that set the course of US foreign policy.
Washington cautioned the nation to "steer clear of permanent alliances", noting that even temporary treaties
or alliances were acceptable only under "extraordinary emergencies". It was this tone set by Washington's
words and his presidency that established neutrality as the first foreign policy of the United States.
The Monroe Doctrine
It would be President Monroe's 1823 address to Congress that would again mark a major milestone in US
foreign policy. The Monroe Doctrine as it became known was meant as a warning to the nations of Europe
to end the colonization of the Western Hemisphere. The doctrine stated that the establishment of new
colonies or the disruption of newly independent colonies in the Western Hemisphere would be taken as a
direct threat to US interests and "dangerous to our peace and safety". The Monroe Doctrine also promised
that the European non-involvement in the Western Hemisphere would be met by US non-involvement
in European affairs. Essentially it reciprocated European neutrality in the Americas with US neutrality in
Europe. While not well received by the European nations, many ignoring the statement by the then weak
American government, the Monroe Doctrine did establish a key policy in our foreign affairs and reinforce the
message of neutrality established by Washington. This would prove the main US foreign policy up through
the US Civil War.
Imperialism
By the middle of the 1890's the American western frontier was viewed by many as being "closed". This was
seen as the fulfillment of the westward expansions started under the banner of "manifest destiny". The
public perception of the "closing of the west", along with the philosophy of Social Darwinism, contributed to a
desire for continued expansion of American lands and the spreading of American culture. The result was a
shift in US foreign policy at the end of the 19th century from a reserved, homeland concerned republic to an
active imperial power.
The Spanish-American War
The "USS Maine" pictured here in Havana Harbor, Cuba
The Spanish-American war heralded the start of the era of American Imperialism. In the shadow of the
expanding empires of Europe, an America that now stretched from sea to shining sea was desiring to still
grow.
Causes of the Spanish-American War:
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Cuban Revolution - The Spanish suppression of an on-going Cuban
revolution gave the cause of war an air of independence and
freedom. Aiding the Cubans, who's suffering was exaggerated by the
Yellow Press of the day, became a reason for war with the Spanish.
Yellow Press - The newspaper circulation war had already begun
long before a shot was fired in 1898. William Randolph Hearst
(pictured at right) and Joseph Pulitzer used hyperbole, lies and
sensational violence in order to increase sales of their NY papers.
The often times untrue stories of the Spanish brutality in Cuba served
to outrage many Americans and increased the call for war.
Sinking of the USS Maine - The US warship USS Maine was
stationed in the harbor of Havana, Cuba when it exploded, killing over
260 Americans. The Yellow Press ran immediate headlines blaming
the Spanish for the explosion, however a conclusive reason behind the Maine disaster is
still unknown. Regardless, the act was clearly sparked an immediate call for war with the
Spanish.
US Desires to Expand - Many American leaders who wanted the US to expand her reach
across the globe, recognized that defeating a weak Spanish Empire offered an opportunity
to gain territories outside north America. These territories would then provide access to
world markets for growing manufacturing by US industries.
US Imperial Gains, Late 19th to Early 20th Century:
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1898:
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US Annexes Hawaii after a US supported revolution against the Queen.
US acquires control of: Puerto Rico, Guam and The Philippines from Spain in
the 1898 Treaty of Paris.
1899:
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US acquires control of: Samoa and Wake Island in the Pacific for use as military
and trade ship refueling stops
1903:
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Panama Canal Zone is acquired following the US backed Panamanian
Revolution against Columbia.
1917:
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Virgin Islands purchased from Denmark
US Expands Control in Latin America
Following the transformation to a world power, brought about by the events surrounding and following the
Spanish-American War, the US sought to further extend its control over the nearby territories of Latin
America.
This policy expansion was mostly at the urging of President Theodore Roosevelt, who worked to increase
US presence in Latin America via his Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The Corollary
expanded on the statements of President Monroe by stating that not only would Latin America be
considered a vital US interest and European interference there considered a threat to the United States, but
the US would and could actively intervene in Latin America to protect those interests.
World War I
When the First World War broke out it was seen as a European war. Most Americans had not seen it coming
and, like many Europeans, believed it would be a short war when it arrived. They believed US neutrality
would be easy to maintain, and president Wilson had ideas about being the influential arbiter once the peace
talks started. But when the war bogged down in the trenches, and started dragging on and on, it became
clear the United States were not that neutral at all. Massive aid went to France and Great Britain, not to
Germany. Culturally and politically there was much affinity with the cause of the Allied powers. A German
victory would mean a change in the trans-Atlantic trade. Soon Allied purchases were boosting American
production.
Still, this did not mean the US were ready to come in on the Allied side. Wilson was in favour of ‘Peace
without Victory’, and tried to open negotiations between the fighting parties. The Allies refused. Great Britain
was blockading the continent, and the effect was being felt in Germany. The Germans responded to the
naval blockade by declaring submarine warfare on ships bringing goods to Britain. In 1915, after the sinking
of the Lusitania. the American government demanded a promise that sinking ships without warning would
be stopped. The fact that the Lusitania had been carrying munitions as well as passengers was swept aside
by the deaths of 128 Americans. Germany backed down and gave the promise, but after a number of
offensives in 1916 had failed Germany resorted once again to unrestricted submarine warfare in January
1917. In February, the British secret service intercepted a telegram in which the Germans promised Mexico
the states of Texas, Arizona and New Mexico if they entered the war on the German side against the United
States. The plan was hare-brained, but understandably led to indignant protest in the US. Pushed by this
Zimmerman telegram and the unrestricted submarine warfare, Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of
war on April 2nd, 1917.
The Germans had gambled and lost. They had hoped to end the war by starving out the British before the
Americans came over. They made peace with Russia and were actually taking the initiative in France when
they were stopped by the fresh troops and supplies. Looking back, we can say that it was not just one
reason that brought America into the war. British propaganda and the economic collapse that would come
with allied defeat were probably as important as unrestricted submarine warfare and the common interests
with the allies, for instance in Asia, where France and Britain could be relied on to help America against the
‘Yellow Peril’ only if they were not defeated in Europe. Wilson may have recognized the practical reasons for
American entry, but, as was his habit, laid first stress on the moral reasons. True to his Progressive
background he presented the war as a crusade and pointed out how it could be made a great step in the
moral development of humanity. America would be preserving and spreading democratic concepts in
Europe.
When the war was won in 1918, Wilson had a plan ready for the peace conference. He could no longer
uphold his ‘Peace without Victory’ plan, so instead made a ‘Peace with Justice Plan’. His famous 14 points
included a ban on secret diplomacy, freedom of the seas, free trade between nations, disarmament and
gradual decolonization and a plea for a League of Nations in which the smaller countries would have a say
as well as the great ones, and in which the territory and the political independence of all members would be
guaranteed.
However, Wilson’s great plans were hacked to bits in Versailles. Germany was forced to pay an enormous
indemnity and Wilson had to face the fact that his idealistic plans could not solve the enormous national and
political problems of post-war Europe. When he returned, the republican-dominated Senate voted against
his peace plans. Some senators thought the United States should not be involved with the evils of Europe.
Others were afraid the US might be led to military intervention too soon. The US withdrew from world politics
once more.
Isolationism
Following their involvement in World War One, the United States entered a nearly two decade long period of
isolation from world affairs. The result was not only a rejection of leadership and membership in international
organizations, but a restricting of borders and an anti-foreign feeling among society.
Restriction of Immigration - The United States had always been a nation formed by and for immigrants.
The heritage of the nation is one of providing an opportunity for peoples from all over the world to strive for a
better life in America. However, during the isolationist policies that followed the First World War, many called
for a curbing of immigration as a way to reduce foreign influence on the nation.
Laws such as the Immigration Act of 1924 and the Emergency Quota Act severely restricted the numbers
of immigrants allowed into the country.
Protectionist Policies - In an attempt to protect US businesses and curtail economic ties with much of the
world, the US instituted a series of high tariffs in the 20's and 30's that limited imports. The reaction of many
nations was to pass retaliatory tariffs on US products, resulting in a general breakdown of international
trade. This isolation from the world economically would eventually be one of the contributing factors in the
causing the Great Depression of the 1930's.
Foreign policy in the 30s
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s foreign policy had been quite different from Theodore Roosevelt’s. FDR tried to
establish trade agreements with many countries and let it be known that he did not think the US had the right
to armed intervention in Latin America anymore.
Despite the more outward look of the President, the anti-involvement (isolationist) mood in the nation
persisted when the next threat came: in 1936 General Franco rebelled against the legally elected
Republican government of Spain, and was aided by Germany and Italy in his fight against the socialists,
anarchists and communists in that country. France and Great Britain sided with the Republican or Loyalist
Government, but did not send arms or planes. The Loyalists were finally defeated in 1939. The German air
force had given a taste of things to come when they bombed the undefended Basque town of Guernica.
Feelings ran high in the US but Roosevelt voiced the majority attitude when he declared that the US would
continue to shun any entanglement with the policies of the League of Nations.
Helping the allies
In 1938 it became clear that Hitler was threatening peace in Europe. After the Nazi occupation of CzechoSlovakia in January 1939, it was only a question of time before war broke out. Britain and France had
guaranteed the neutrality of Poland, and when the German army attacked that country in September 1939,
World War 2 had begun. Despite his advocacy of neutrality, Roosevelt’s sympathies lay clearly with Britain
and France. He managed to revise the Neutrality Act and so allowed Britain to buy arms in the US on a
‘cash and carry’ basis. When the Germans overran Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium and most of France
in the spring of 1940 Roosevelt asked Congress for an additional billion dollars to spend on arms, and set a
goal of 50.000 new airplanes a year. It was by now clear who the future enemy would be. When the German
army prepared to invade Britain and the Luftwaffe bombed the country daily, Roosevelt gave Britain 50
destroyers (warships) in return for the use of bases in the Caribbean and elsewhere. This was a decidedly
non-neutral act. Meanwhile, he called for conscription into the army.
Roosevelt threw the resources of America as fully behind Britain as Congress would allow him. In March
1940 he pushed through a Lend-Lease Bill. The US had laws prohibiting foreign loans, but by saying it was
goods, not dollars they were giving the British, Roosevelt could turn the US into the ‘arsenal of democracy’.
German submarines were destroying many of the ships carrying the goods to Britain. Roosevelt decided to
extend America’s ‘neutrality zone’ far to the east and to patrol it. The American navy often radioed the
position of German submarines to British warships. In the spring of 1941, British and American officers met
to discuss the American role in the war should the US become actively involved.
In the Atlantic, German submarines had already shot at and sunk American ships, and the American navy
had been instructed to ‘shoot on sight’. American merchant ships were being armed. Roosevelt felt that a
Nazi victory would spell disaster for the US. After the spring attack on Europe, a majority of Americans felt
the same way. Still, as late as November 1941, only 20% favored a declaration of war against Germany. It
has become clear later that the eighteen months between the spring of 1940 and December 1941,
Roosevelt had decided that the US should enter the war, but the American public had not.
Pearl Harbor
The Japanese saw the European war as a great opportunity to expand the empire in the east. They faced
American embargoes on iron, oil, rubber and other raw materials because of their connection with the Axis
(Germany and Italy) and because of the war in China.
They negotiated with the US to resume normal trade and to help he Japanese get raw materials in the Far
East, where the British, French and Dutch had their colonies. When this was refused they decided to move
into French Indochina and Thailand. The Americans knew what this move meant, because they had cracked
a Japanese naval code, and through most of the war they knew what the Japanese were up to. An attack on
Singapore and the Dutch Indies would follow.
In the early morning of December 7, 1941, two waves of Japanese airplanes attacked the naval base at
Pearl Harbor and destroyed most of the American Pacific fleet and many airplanes that never got off their
bases. Pearl Harbor was a severe shock to the nation. Not only did the war start with a great victory for the
Japanese and did the Americans find themselves with little to show in the war zone, it was also, to the
general public, completely unexpected. But it served almost immediately to unite the nation.
A war of production
As early as 1939, the Industrial Mobilization Plan had already stated that war was no longer a question of
I
battle between armed forces in the field, but a struggle of every individual and all material each side could
use. America had already started training 2 million soldiers and arms production had moved up. But it was
nothing compared to what came. Under the War Resources Board and the War Production Board all
building of new industries other than those necessary for war production was suspended. In one year, most
of the war plants and military facilities had been built. Soon America was producing more than Germany and
Japan combined. Special attention was paid to shipbuilding and airplanes. The most famous example was
the Liberty Ship. This was a freighter of a very simple and old-fashioned design, which looked ugly and
sailed slowly, but could be put together in two months instead of a year. The record for building a Liberty
Ship was 14 days.
Because of a Senate War Investigation Committee, headed by the then unknown Harry S. Truman, there
was virtually no waste and little corruption. The new war industries were often placed in areas where a lot of
jobless people could be found, such as Southern California and Virginia. The war industry erased the
unemployment of the Depression and elevated groups that until then had had a minor status in society, such
as women and black people. People who had gone hungry for years could afford sufficient food, had meat
on their tables once again. The rising demand for consumer goods led to inflation.
so the Government tried to control both prices and wages. They managed to keep inflation at half the level
of what it had been during the First World War. To be able to pay for the war, the Government extended
income tax to a far greater group of people than ever before. The national debt rose from $50 billion to $250
billion.
The young and elderly were employed as well. The ‘reshuffling’ of work led to great movements in the
population. More than 27 million people moved during the war. Families were broken up because millions of
soldiers were sent overseas, marriage and birth rates went up steeply because men knew they were going
to leave for a long time. Children missed their parents who were fighting or working. Juvenile crime rose and
many more young people dropped out of school than before the war. Many teachers went into the army as
well, or found better-paying war jobs.
In the South, poor blacks and poor whites moved to industrial areas, stripping the countryside of labor and
forcing many middle-class white families to make do without their colored maids or other servants. Blacks
enjoying their new freedom in the cities of the North were attacked by whites from the South. Blacks
threatened to hold a march on Washington, and a law was passed to protect them from unfair employment
practices. After the war, the old barriers to economic opportunities for blacks had not been broken down, but
at least, for the first time, cracked.
The US won the war of production. Their seemingly limitless supply of munitions helped save lives and their
food and equipment was much better than that of their enemies (and allies).
Japanese Americans
There was very little discrimination of US citizens of German descent. In the First World War this had been
much stronger. Many people had refused to eat sauerkraut or to listen to he music of German composers.
Now people concentrated on those of Japanese descent. The fighting in the Pacific was savage and cruel,
and the fear of the ‘Yellow Peril’ had been hammered into the public by the popular press for most of the
century. Under public pressure, all people of Japanese descent were removed from the West Coast of the
US to camps in the interior. These camps were like prison camps and conditions were bad. Japanese
citizens lost many possessions and job opportunities. It made no difference that Japanese American
regiments fighting in Europe were among the bravest and most decorated units in the army.
Scientific research
Scientists worked together on special programs. One of these was radar, pioneered by the British. Rocket
research was done as well, although this was a field the Germans excelled in. American scientists, alarmed
by the news that the Germans were investigating nuclear fission, worked on a plan for an atom bomb. By
1942, scientists working on the ultra-secret Manhattan Project produced a controlled chain reaction and in
July 1945 they exploded the first atom bomb on a test-site in New Mexico. By then the war in Europe had
ended and the US discovered that the Germans were still far from developing a usable bomb. The weapon
would be used against the Japanese at the end of the war.
Fighting a war on the defensive
When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor the US were still training its army and had shipped most of their supplies
to Britain. It would take a while before they could effectively enter the war. Moreover, they had agreed with
the British that Germany was the more dangerous enemy and should be defeated first. They could not
completely ignore Japan, because its advance in the Pacific was more rapid than anyone could have ever
dreamed. But this part of the war was defensive at first; the war against Germany was to become offensive
as soon as possible. Trying to meet all challenges at the same time could easily lead to scattering of forces.
Because Germany was on the verge of a breakthrough in Africa, pushing the British back towards Cairo and
threatening to break through to the Middle East and meet the Japanese somewhere in India, it was decided
that the first American troops should go to North Africa.
The defensive actions, fought with the British and Dutch in Asia led to a series of defeats. Japan sank the
most important British warships of Malaysia with childish ease, took the British fort Singapore from the land
(all its defenses had been based on an attack from the sea) and cut through Karel Doorman’s combined
fleet in the Java Sea to take the Dutch Indies. Burma and the Philippines fell as well, despite fierce fighting,
and by May the Japanese were threatening Australia. But by now the US had created a carrier force, having
learnt that in this war air power meant all. They fought off a Japanese force in the Coral Sea and booked
their first decisive victory in June near the island Midway, on the route to Hawaii. They used radar and their
knowledge of Japanese codes to send every available ship to the place where it was needed, and turned the
tide in the war. After Midway, the Americans were on the offensive in the Pacific.
The Battle of the Atlantic
Germany tried to stop American shipping from going to Britain and moving American troops anywhere. In
January 1942 there were so many German submarines near the American east coast, picking off tankers,
that they created an oil shortage. They sank more ships in the convoys to Britain than the Allies could build.
It was hard to get help to the Russians and British at a time when the Germans seemed to be winning on all
fronts. The American navy concentrated on building anti-submarine ships, improving radar and other
detecting devices and creating long-range air patrols. Gradually, this approach proved successful.
Battles in North Africa and Italy
The first fighting of American troops was in North Africa. Russia was asking the Allies to invade France, but
a raid on the French town Dieppe had proved the German defenses were too strong and the Allied armies
were not ready yet. Instead, they landed in Morocco and Algeria, where the French collaborated with the
Germans. The French defenses crumbled and surrendered, but soon the Americans met the German ‘Afrika
Korps’. Again, American air power proved vital, and by 1943 the Americans from the west and the British
from the east were squeezing the Germans out of Africa.
Bombing occupied Europe
From 1942 till the end of the war the Allies bombed occupied Europe, mostly Germany itself, almost daily. In
the beginning, the British flew the raids by night (their planes were slower and they had no long-range
fighters to protect them) and the Americans by day. They took heavy losses as many bombers (10,000)
were shot down by German fighters and anti-aircraft guns. But when fast long-range fighters were
developed (Mustangs) and heavily armed bombers introduced the Germans started losing more and more
planes. By 1944, the Luftwaffe was almost powerless to stop the raids. Toward the end of the war they tried
kamikaze rocket-planes and had some success with the first jet-fighters ever to see action, but nothing could
stop the destruction of vital industries, and, to the shame of the Allies, the massacre of many civilians when
lightly defended cities were attacked too. Dresden was attacked with so many fire-bombs that a fire-storm
raged through the city and left hardly anything standing. Some critics say this was a warning to the
advancing Russians of what the Allied forces could do.
The most important effect of the bombing was the Luftwaffe could no longer beat off the allied planes giving
cover for the long-awaited invasion of France.
Liberating Europe
After a long build-up of troops and materials in Britain, leading to complaints of the local population (there
are only three things wrong with the Yanks: they’re overpaid, oversexed and over here) the invasion fleet of
4.000 ships finally sailed for Normandy in the early morning of June 6, 1944. The Germans had expected
the attack near Calais, the narrowest part of the Channel. Still, it was hard to force them out of Normandy,
every mile of fields and hedgerows had to be fought for. Once the Americans had established harbors and
could bring in more supplies and tanks, the invasion speeded up and on August 25, Paris was liberated. In
the next months the Germans were pushed back ever further until the Allies had reached the border country
between Belgium and Germany, the Ardennes Forest. Aided by cold and bad weather (the American
planes could not cover the army because of clouds, mist and snowstorms) the Germans attacked by
surprise and in desperation. They drove the Americans back 55 miles, and locked a great force up around
Bastogne. But the Germans had inadequate supplies and lacked planes. When the weather cleared up
again, the Americans counterattacked and the last great German force in the West was spent.
Other armies (Canadian, Polish and British) had been pushing through Belgium and the Southern
Netherlands, to be stopped at Arnhem. The Rhine proved to be a formidable barrier, which stopped the
allied advance. In March 1945 the American army stumbled on an intact bridge by Remagen (near Cologne)
and could start pouring troops into Germany itself. They concentrated on the south, because they believed
the Nazis would make their last stand there and because of agreements made with the Russians in Yalta
and Teheran earlier in the war. The Russians took Berlin, and Russian and American soldiers met at the
Oder in northern Germany. On May 8, 1945 the Germans surrendered (Victory Europe or VE Day).
The offensive in the Pacific
After VE day all efforts could be concentrated on the Japanese. The offensive took the form of islandhopping. Many islands had been turned into fortresses by the Japanese and were difficult to invade. Still,
they could not be bypassed. As the Americans needed airbases for the final assault on Japan itself. Jungle
warfare in Guadalcanal, The Marshall Islands, The Marianas, Iwo Jima and Okinawa was extremely
bloody. At great expense an overland route from Burma to China was opened. By 1944, Japan was
blockaded from the sea and attacked from the air by new long-range bombers. The Japanese navy had
been decimated and its air-force resorted to kamikaze or suicide attacks. The heavy loss of life when
invading the islands on the way to Japan and the mentality of the kamikaze flyers worried the American
chiefs of staff. They wished to avoid the almost certain heavy losses of American lives during an invasion of
Japan itself and negotiations with Japanese politicians took place. The Japanese army, however, refused to
surrender. President Truman, who had succeeded Roosevelt, and Attlee, who had replaced Churchill,
decided to use the new atomic weapons against Japan. On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb to be
used in warfare was dropped over Hiroshima, a town that had until then suffered very little damage during
the war. The city was completely destroyed and between 80,000 (American estimate) and 200,000
(Japanese estimate) people died. Even after Hiroshima, the Japanese army refused to surrender. Another
bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9. On August 14, 1946 Japan surrendered.
Counting the cost
The Second World War had killed 14 million people. American Losses were comparatively small. The
Americans had lost the leader who had led them through the depression and the war. Roosevelt died on
April 12, 1945, shortly after starting his fourth term as President. Roosevelt had been an idealist and as such
had had too much trust in the Russians during the Yalta and Teheran conferences that were to determine
the fate of Europe after the war. He believed that the Russians would tolerate democracy in the countries
they liberated from Nazi occupation. He overlooked the fact that on the terms agreed, Russia would be the
only remaining big power in Europe after the war. Plans were made to de-industrialize Germany, to turn it
into a harmless pastoral country. The Russians also claimed huge reparations from Germany. Wishing to
avoid a repetition of the 1919 peace, Churchill and Roosevelt pointed out to Stalin that the $ 20 billion he
demanded would leave Germany starved. The issue was not clearly solved, and immediately after VE Day
the Russians began taking goods and food out of Germany faster than the Americans could bring them in,
thereby seriously hampering allied efforts to govern a country that was turning into a huge refugee camp.
Finally, it was decided to divide Germany into four zones of occupation, patrolled by the Russians,
Americans, British and French respectively. Berlin would be patrolled by all four and the British and
Americans assumed they would have free passage to the former capital. Here, too they would prove to have
been too optimistic.
Before entering the war the US had already started looking for a more effective global organization to
supplant the ineffective League of Nations. By autumn 1944 the outlines for a United Nations charter had
been drawn up. In April 1945 the charter could be presented to 50 nations in San Francisco and in June
1945 it was ratified by the Senate. The idea was to have a town meeting for the world’, but the Big Powers
(US, USSR, Britain. France and China) would have the right to veto decisions.