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Important Factoids When did WWII begin? Where? Who was involved? What is a blitzkrieg? What was the “Phony War?” How did Hitler beat the French? What was the “Miracle of Dunkirk?” What mistake did Hitler make in the Battle of Britain? What was the US doing while the world was at war? Moving Cautiously Toward War Sept. 1939-Pres. Roosevelt persuaded Congress to pass a “cash & carry” change to the Neutrality Act of 1935 Warring nations could now buy US arms if they paid cash & carried them in their own ships Roosevelt argued the arms sales would help Britain & France defeat Hitler & keep the US out of the war During 6 wks. of debate, isolationists attacked Roosevelt for his actions, but Congress passed the Neutrality Act of 1939 The Axis Threat The “cash & carry” program began to look like too little, too late June, 1940-France had fallen, & Britain was under siege from Nazi bombers Roosevelt scrambled to provide Britain with “all aid short of war” That same month, he sent Britain 500,000 rifles & 80,000 machine guns The Axis Gains a Member Sept. 1940-Roosevelt traded 50 old destroyers to the British for leases on military bases in the Caribbean & Newfoundland, Canada British Prime Minister Winston Churchill recalled this move with affection- “a decidedly un-neutral act” Later that month, Americans were jolted by the news that Germany, Italy, & Japan had signed a mutual defense treaty The 3 nations became known as the Axis powers A Japanese diplomat congratulates Adolph Hitler for becoming Japan’s ally, while Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goering (right) admires the gift of a wagon of flowers. The Purpose of the Tripartite Pact Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo (in military uniform, center) liftss a toast to their new allies, Germany and Italy. By agreeing to help each other if attacked, Germany, Italy, & Japan were trying to keep the US out of the war If the US were to declare war on any of the Axis powers, it would face its worse military nightmare That would be a 2-ocean war, with fighting in both the Atlantic and the Pacific Building US Defenses Roosevelt asked Congress for more money for national defense Despite years of isolationism, Nazi victories in Europe scared Congress into boosting military spending They passed the nation’s first peacetime draft-the Selective Service Act 16-million men between 21-35 were registered-Roosevelt himself drew the first draft numbers 1-million were to be drafted for 1 year, but could only serve in the Western Hemisphere Roosevelt Runs for a Third Term 1940-Roosevelt broke the 2-term tradition set by George Washington by running for re-election Isolationists were disappointed when his GOP opponent Wendell Willkie supported Roosevelt’s policy of aiding Britain Both Willkie & Roosevelt promised to keep the US out of the war Because there was no difference between the candidates, people voted for the man they knew Roosevelt won a 3rd term with 55% of the vote “The Great Arsenal of Democracy” Roosevelt now felt more comfortable taking sides in the war He told a radio audience that it would be impossible to negotiate a peace with Hitler If Britain fell, the Axis powers would be left unchallenged to conquer the world At that point, he said the US would be living at the point of a gun To prevent this, he proposed turning the US into “the great arsenal of democracy” The Lend-Lease Plan Late 1940-Britain had no more cash to buy weapons Roosevelt suggested a lend-lease policy, in which the US would lease arms to Britain & any country whose defense was vital to the US He compared his plan to lending a garden hose to a neighbor whose house was on fire The sensible thing to do was to prevent the fire from spreading to your own property Despite opposition from isolationists, the Lend-Lease Act passed Congress in March, 1941 Supporting Stalin June, 1941-Hitler halted plans to invade Britain, & instead launched a massive invasion of the Soviet Union The attack came despite the Soviet-German nonaggression treaty the 2 nations had signed 8 days before the war began in 1939 “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”-Roosevelt said as he began sending lend-lease supplies to the USSR Winston Churchill approved-”If Hitler invaded hell, Britain would be prepared to work with the devil himself” German Wolf Packs To get supplies to Britain & the USSR, supplies had to safely cross the North Atlantic Ocean Hitler deployed hundreds of German submarines--Uboats—to attack supply ships During 1941, U-boats in groups of up to 40Wolf Packs-sank as much as 350,000 tons of shipments a month June, 1941-Roosevelt gave the US Navy permission to attack German U-boats in self-defense FDR’s Plans for War While the war raged on around the globe, many Americans still remained committed to keeping the US out of the war Aug. 1941-Roosevelt’s proposal to extend the terms of draftees passed the US House by only 1 vote With the army provided for, Roosevelt began planning for a war he was certain would come What Do We Want to Do If War Comes? While Congress voted on the draft, Roosevelt slipped away from Washington to meet with British Prime Minister Churchill They met aboard a US battleship off the Canadian coast to sign the Atlantic Charter Both countries would work for collective security, disarmament, selfdetermination, economic cooperation, & freedom of the seas The Atlantic Charter Meeting Roosevelt told Churchill he couldn’t ask Congress to declare war on Germany However, he promised to do everything he could to provoke an incident that might lead to a German attack on the US The Atlantic Charger became the basis of a new document called “A Declaration of the United Nations The agreement was signed by 26 nations, who became known as the “Allies” Shoot on Sight Sept. 4, 1941-A German sub fired on the US destroyer Greer Roosevelt ordered navy commanders to attack German subs on sight Two weeks later, the Pink Star, a US merchant ship, was sunk off Greenland Moving Toward War With Hitler Mid-October—A U-boat torpedoed the US destroyer Kearney-11 lives were lost A few days later, German subs sank the US destroyer Reuben James-100 sailors died As the death toll mounted, Congress lifted the ban against arming merchant ships A formal declaration of war against Germany seemed inevitable Japan’s Ambitions in the Pacific Since 1931, Japan had controlled Manchuria, a mineral-rich province of northern China July, 1937-Gen. Hideki Tojo invaded China itself French, Dutch, & British colonies lay unprotected in Southeast Asia With the British busy fighting Hitler, & France already under his control, Japan leaped at the chance to unite East Asia under its control Only the US stood in its way Japan Takes Over French Indochina As the French were no longer in control of their colonies in Indochina, the Japanese began pushing south The US protested against this aggression by cutting off all trade with Japan Japan could not function without supplies of oil & scrap iron from the US Japanese military leaders warned that unless the oil embargo ended, Japan would have to invade the oil-rich Dutch East Indies That would mean war with the United States Peace Talks-Or War Prep? Gen. Tojo soon became prime minister of Japan He promised emperor Hirohito his government would try to negotiate with the US Nov. 1941-Japan sent peace commissioners to the US, while preparing an attack on the US Roosevelt sent out a warning in late November to military commanders in Hawaii, Guam, & the Philippines After talks dragging on for a month, Roosevelt received a coded message instructing Japan’s peace envoy to reject all American peace proposals The Attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941-At 7:53 on that Sunday morning, Japanese planes men on US naval vessels in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii saw strange planes swooping down The Japanese had stealthily crept their aircraft carriers to within striking range of Hawaii 353 Japanese warplanes bombed, strafed, & torpedoed US ships & planes, killing 2400 First Japanese bombs fall on battleship row at Pearl Americans http://www.youtube.com/w atch?v=10Nsnoyfn5o Harbor just before 8 AM Dec. 7, 1941. The explosion in the center is a torpedo strike on the USS Oklahoma. Pearl Harbor’s Cost For 90 minutes, Japanese planes were barely disturbed by US antiaircraft weapons Four US battleships, 3 cruisers, 3 destroyers, & 347 US planes were put out of action The American Pacific fleet was largely destroyed, with the exception of its aircraft carriers & supporting vessels, which were at sea The survival of the US depended upon those 3 aircraft carriers Reaction to Pearl Harbor Americans were hopping mad-the Pearl Harbor attack occurred while the peace talks were still technically going on The average American wanted to join up & fight now--”WE’RE GONNA KICK YOUR ____” Pres. Roosevelt addressed Congress on Monday, Dec. 8, to ask for a declaration of war http://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=aRlMASdJdEU Americans rush to recruiting stations for the army, navy, & marines immediately after Pearl Harbor. Isolationism Was Dead The Senate voted 95-1 for war On Dec. 11, the US also declared war on Germany & Japan Isolationist Sen. Burton K. Wheeler now proclaimed, “The only thing now to do is to lick the hell out of them”