Download Ch. 35 PPT

3/15/15
Road to War
Chapter 34
London Conference
•  During the 1930s we were really only
worried about the U.S. & ourselves
•  London Economic Conference (1933)
–  Hoped to form a global plan to fight the
Depression
–  Wanted to stabilize exchange rates
–  FDR initially supportive, but changed his
tune
–  The conference collapsed and anger was
directed at the U.S.
Philippines & Foreign Policy
•  Cost a lot of $ to maintain overseas possessions
•  Tydings-McDuffie Act (1934)
–  Would give the Philippines independence after
a 12-yr. period of political tutoring
–  The U.S. would keep its naval bases there
•  1933 - FDR also formally recognized the Soviet
Union
–  Hoped for trade and an ally against Japan and
Germany
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Good Neighbor Policy
•  Armed intervention in Latin America not making
any friends
•  Decided to just line up support for the US
•  Withdrew US troops from Haiti
•  Withdrew Platt amendment from Cuba- kept
Guantanamo
•  1938- Mexico nationalized its oil fields
–  Many in the U.S. demanded armed intervention
–  Mex. eventually paid the former owners in the
US
Trade in the 1930s
•  Cordell Hull- Sec. of State- trade is a 2-way
street
•  Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act (1934)
– Lowered tariff to increase trade
– Only if other country agreed to lower
theirs (21 did by 1939)
•  Led to free trade atmosphere after WW II
Rise of Dictators Worldwide
•  USSR- Joseph Stalin- Communist
•  Italy- Benito Mussolini- Fascist
–  Mussolini- attacked Ethiopia in 1935
•  Oil and to restore national pride
–  League of Nations didn't act
•  Germany- Adolf Hitler- Fascist
•  Japan- Military Govt.-
–  terminated naval treaty, built a big navy
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Isolationism Still Alive
•  As 1930's went on blame for WWI was put
on arms & munitions manufacturers &
bankers
–  "Merchants of Death"
–  Investigated by the Nye Committee
•  Said if the U.S. got out of the arms traffic
business, would avoid war
–  Our trade in these areas always got us into
trouble
How to Maintain Neutrality
What steps would need to be taken
by the U.S. to stay neutral in an
upcoming war?
Neutrality Acts
•  The sentiment in the U.S. was still towards
isolationism
•  Neutrality Acts (1935, 1936, 1937)
–  When President said a state of war existed
between 2 countries (open to presidential
interpretation)
–  Couldn't sail on belligerent ship, sell munitions
or make loans to a country at war
–  No distinction between aggressor and victim
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Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939
•  Spanish rebels led by Francisco Franco
started a civil war – aided by Germany & Italy
•  Able to test new military tactics and
machinery
– Spanish Govt. aided by Soviets
– US refused to help the govt. of Spain
•  All the while the US military was sagging
Japanese Aggression
•  1937- Japan started a war with China, already
invaded Manchuria
•  Quarantine Speech
–  economic embargoes on aggressor nations (like
Japan), not supported by many
•  Panay Incident (1937) –  A clearly marked U.S. naval vessel (U.S.S. Panay)
was attacked in China by Japanese planes
–  2 dead, 30 wounded
–  Japan apologized & paid quickly
Hitler & German Aggression
•  1935- Hitler began violating the Versailles
Treaty
–  Compulsory military service in Germany
–  Moved German troops troops into the
Rhineland
–  Began persecution of Jews
–  Built a huge military
•  1938- took over Austria peacefully –  The “Anschluss”
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Reaction to Hitler
•  How do you think the rest of Europe will
react to the actions of Germany?
–  Violations of the Versailles Treaty
•  Rebuilding the German military
•  Stopped making WWI reparation payments
•  Moving the German Army in the the Rhineland
•  Annexing Austria
•  Why do you think they would react that
way?
Appeasement
•  Moved into the northwest corner of
Czechoslovakia - Sudetenland- –  Something needed to be done to stop him
•  Munich Conference-
–  Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain (G.B.), Daladier
(France)
–  Policy of appeasement - let him have it as long
as he promises to do no more
•  6 months later, Hitler took all of Czechoslovakia
Map of the Sudetenland
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Start of WWII
•  After Hitler took all of Czechoslovkia, France
& G.B. told him any more would mean war
–  Next would be an attack on Poland and no one
thought Hitler would do that
–  Attacking Poland would mean a two front war
(Soviets on the east)
•  How did Hitler avoid this?
•  Sept. 1, 1939 - Germany invades Poland
•  Sept. 3, 1939 - WWII officially underway
U.S. Neutrality
•  FDR declared U.S. neutrality
•  Neutrality Act of 1939
–  “cash & carry” law
–  We would sell arms to democracies in
Europe
–  They need to pay cash and come get them
•  Was great for the U.S. economy
Are We Neutral?
Given the changes to the
Neutrality Laws can the U.S.
truthfully say we were neutral
at this point?
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World War II in Europe
•  Soviets took Finland as a buffer
•  April, 1940
–  Hitler took Denmark and Norway
•  Late June - France surrendered
•  “Miracle at Dunkirk”
•  Soon after, Winston Churchill
named P.M of Great Britain
U.S. Reaction
•  We begin a naval build up just in case
–  Is the start of a two-ocean navy
•  1940 - Selective Service & Training Act
–  U.S.’s first peacetime draft
•  U.S. and Latin America agreed to
uphold the Monroe Doctrine
–  Still clinging to isolationsim
Battle of Britain
•  An air war for control of the British Isles
–  German Luftwaffe vs. the British RAF
–  The Royal Air Force won and stopped an
attack of the British mainland
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1940 Election
•  Dems nominate FDR again (3rd term)
•  GOP nominates Wendell Willkie
Neutral Any More?
•  G.B. was running out of $
•  Lend-Lease Bill
–  U.S. would give equipment to the Allies
which would be returned or paid for later
–  An economic declaration of war
•  Got U.S. factories going for later war
production
•  Germany began sinking U.S. ships
Two-Front War
•  Hitler planned on defeating France and
G.B. and then attacking the U.S.S.R.
–  Lost his patience and invade the Soviet
Union (oil & other resources)
–  Soviets now got Lend-Lease aid
•  The German invasion of the Soviet
Union stalled when winter hit
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World War II - Late 1941
Atlantic Conference
•  FDR & Churchill met off Newfoundland
•  Atlantic Charter
–  Opposed territorial gains
–  No territorial changes
unless the people affected
wanted them
–  Self-determination
–  Set the groundwork for the
U.N.
U.S. Entering WWII
Would the U.S. have entered
World War II if the story
stopped here?
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Pearl Harbor
•  Japan was allied with Germany and needed
resources
•  U.S. froze all Japanese assets in the U.S. b/c
of their aggression in the Pacific
•  We knew an attack was coming somewhere most thought the Philippines
–  WRONG!
•  Attack came Dec. 7, 1941
–  Over 2,400 killed
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