Download FOREIGN POLICY: THE FICTION OF ISOLATION (pg. 483

Sara Jackson MacManus
UNIT 14 NOTES
Pages 482-483:
FOREIGN POLICY: THE FICTION OF ISOLATION (pg. 483-484)
● Postwar US foreign policy was not actually isolationist
○ Disillusionment w/ WWI, Eur’s problems, communism made Ams fearful of another war
■ Still were not isolationist like in the Gilded Age
■ Pursued arrangements that advanced Am interests while keeping peace
Disarmament and Peace (482):
● Rep pres of 1920s promoted peace/reduced spending on defense through disarmament
○ Washington Confer 1921​ naval disarmament,stabilize navy power,solve pacific
conflicts
■ Belgium, China, Fr, GBr, Ita, Jap, Netherlands, Portugal
■ Five-Power Treaty​ Est ratio b/w five largest navies
● US 5, GBr 5, Jap 3, Fr 1.67, Ita 1.67
● GBr and US agreed to not fortify Pacific possessions (Jap did not agree)
■ Four-Power Treaty ​US, Fr, GBr, Jap respect one another’s Pacific territory
■ Nine-Power Treaty ​All agreed to respect Open Door Policy
○ Kellogg-Briand Pact ​renounced use of agressive force to achieve nat ends
■ Permitted defensive wars, failed to provide for actions against violators
Business and Diplomacy (483):
● Rep supported pro-biz policy to bring prosperity, strengthened US dealing w/ other nations
○ Advanced Am biz interests in other regions
○ In ​Latin America​ Mexico, Nicaragua...
■ 1927 agreement w/ Mex to protect US investors’ oil from govt ownership
■ US troops withdrawn from DR, stayed in Haiti, Nicaragua
■ Am investments in LA doubled 1919-29
○ Middle East​’s oil source of wealth, won oil drilling rights for US companies
○ 1922 ​Fordney-McCumber Tariff ​+25% tariff on foreign manuf goods, bad in long run
■ Eur nations slower to recov from WWI, could not pay war debts to US
● Responded w/ tariffs on Am goods
● Weakened world trade/econ, helped cause Gr Dep
War Debts and Reparations (483-484):
● WWI made US creditor nation, lent $ to Eur, insisted they pay debts back
○ Eur nations objected, had suffered huge losses, US tariffs made diff to pay back $
■ Could not collect debt from Ger (bankrupt, inflation…)
○ Dawes Plan​ 1924 compromise on the issue, est payments from US to Ger to Allies
■ US lends $ to Ger to rebuild econ/pay $ to Allies, Allies pay war debts to US
● Helped stop financial problems
● Ended when Gr Dep started
○ Finland only country to pay back $
■
Left resentments on both sides, increased US isolationism
Chapter 25
● FDR wanted peace
○ US responsible for Kellogg-Briand Pact 1920
■ countries promised to not use military aggressively
○ LoN at Geneva helped maintain this peace
○ Most Ams did not want to send troops despite concerns about second world war
● Us foreign policy switched from disengagement to neutrality to total involvement
HERBERT HOOVER’S FOREIGN POLICY (pg. 518-520)
● Believed US should not enter commitments to preserve security of other nations
○ Known as​ isolationism
■ Peace conference/treaties seem as moral efforts
■ opposed econ sanction on aggressors bc thought it would lead to mil involvement
Japanese Aggression in Manchuria (519-520):
● Early 1930s Japan biggest threat to world peace
○ Defied Open Door and LoN by taking over Manchuria Sept 1931
■ Est puppet govt, called region Manchukuo
○ LoN simply passed resolution condemning Jap
■ Jap walked out of the League
■ Shows inability of LoN to keep peace, warnings not taken seriously
● US responded w/ the ​Stimson Doctrine​, stronger but not effective than the LoN’s
○ 1932 US would honor obligations under 9-power treaty, refused to recognize Manchukuo
■ LoN endorsed, issued similar dec
Latin America (520):
● Hoover pursued good relations w/ L Am
○ 1929 tour of goodwill through L Am
○ Ended interventionist policies of Taft and Wilson
■ 1933 removed troops from Nicaragua, 1934 from Haiti
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT’S POLICIES 1933-1938 (pg. 520-525)
Good Neighbour Policy (520-521):
● 1933 started non-interventionist policy w/ L Am countries, called good neighbor policy
○ Interventionism did not support $ in Gr Dep, not enough foreign investment
○ Rise of Ger/It militarist regimes, US wanted help in defending from potential danger
○ Acted on this policy through ​Pan-Am Conferences
■ 1933 pledged to not interfere in internal affairs of L Am
● Repudiated Roosevelt Corollary
■ 1936 pledged to submit disputes to arbitration
● If Ger acted aggressively, West Hem would join together
○ 1934 nullified Cuba’s ​Platt Amendment​ (had made foreign pol subject to US approval)
■ US could keep Guantanamo Bay naval base
○ 1938 ​Mexico ​seized US corps’oil
■ FDR did not intervene, encouraged Am comps to negotiate instead
Economic Diplomacy (521):
●
FDR’s goal in foreign pol was help econ
○ London Econ Conf 1933​ org by LoN, Hoover accepted to go, as well as FDR
■ Withdrew after proposals to stabilize currencies, would hurt US recov
○ Recognition of Soviet Union ​1933 to increase US trade and boost econ
○ Tydings-McDuffie Act ​1934 granted Philippines indep 1946 bc v expensive to govern
■ 1935 Philipp elected pres under new const
○ Reciprocal Trade Agreements 1934 l​ owered taxes to increase trade (Dem view)
■ Would reduce tariffs 50% if country reciprocated w/ reductions for US imports
Events Abroad: Fascism and Aggressive Militarism (521-522):
● Nationalist resentment after WWI w/ econ dep created mil dictators in It, Ger, Jap.
○ 1944, signed alliance treaty forming the ​Axis Powers
○ Italy ​fascist regime 1922 under Mussolini (It’s Fascist party)
■ Attracted war vets, nationalists, people afraid of communism
■ Fascism, glorifying nation/race through force, became dom in Eur dictatorships
○ Germany​’s​ ​Nazi Party rose in 1920s due to bad econ after war and resentment over ToV
■ Hitler used tactics against Jews and Fascism to gain pop w/ Ger (unemp) workers
■ Anti-Semitism/depression allowed him to gain control of Ger legislature 1933
○ Japan​’s nationalists/militarists gained power 1920-30s during bad econ conditions
■ Persuaded emperor to invade China/SE Asia to gain access to raw materials
● Gained control of so-called ​Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
American Isolationists (522-523):
● US nationalistic, but isolationist, wanted to avoid war (pop in Midwest and republicans)
○ Increased by Jap aggression and Ger/It fascism
○ 1930s belief that US in WWI was mistake
■ Nye Committee in Congress upheld this belief w/ ​revisionist history of WWI
● US part in WWI was to serve greed of bankers/arms manuf
● Influenced isolationist legislation
○ Isol held major in Congress 1938, adopted​ neutrality acts​ to ensue neutral if war in Eur
■ Neutrality Act 1935 ​pres could prohibit arms shipments
● Also forbid US travel on ships of warring nations
■ Neutrality Act 1936 ​no loans/credit to warring nations
■ Neutrality Act 1937 ​no arms shipments to opposing sides in Spanish Civil War
○ Spanish Civil War 1936 ​seen as struggle b/w Fascism (Franco)/republicanism (loyalists)
■ Most Ams supported Loyalists, neutrality acts stopped support
● 1939 Franco’s fascist regime est mil dictatorship
○ Am First Committee ​to mobilize Am opinion against WWII in 1940
■ Bc isolationists alarmed by FDR’s pro-British policies
■ Engaged speakers to warn against war
Prelude to War (523-525):
● 1935-38 aggressive actions by fascists
○ Hitler creating strong air force, dem powers could not compete
○ Adopted policy of ​appeasement
■ Hitler got away w/ small acts of aggression and expansion
■
■
Shows dems were unprepared for fascist challenge
Ethiopia 1935​ Mussolini invaded to demonstrate military power
● LoN and US objected, did nothing to stop it
● Italy conquered Ethiopia after a year
■ Rhineland 1936​ ToV says area must be demilitarized
● Hitler openly defied, marches troops into Rhineland
■ China 1937 J​ ap invaded China, started full-scale war
● US boat bombed by Jap, Jap apology quickly accepted
■ Sudetenland 1938 ​Hitler claimed Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia
● FDR told Chamberlain/Daladier (Fr) to meet Hitler/Mussolini in Munich
● Sept 1938 leaders allowed Hitler to take Sudetenland
○ US response​ FDR recognized fascist aggression, limited by isolationism
■ 1937 gave speech when Jap invaded China, negative public rxn
■ Still increased ​preparedness ​for war
● 1938 Congress agreed to increase military/naval budgets
● Some isolationists accepted this, thought it would be used for defense
FROM NEUTRALITY TO WAR 1939-1941 (pg. 525-529)
● Mar 1939 Hitler broke Munich agreement by occupying Czechoslovakia
○ War was unavoidable
Outbreak of War in Europe (525):
● GBr and Fr pledged to fight if Poland was attacked
○ Assumed Stalin opposed Ger, Aug 1939 Stalin and Hitler signed nonaggression pact
■ Agreed to divide Poland b/w them
● Sept 1 1939​ Poland invaded b​ y Ger, beginning WWII
○ GBr/Fr declared war against Ger, soon also w/ the Axis allies
○ Ger conquered Pol using ​blitzkrieg ​warfare w/ airpower and fast tanks
○ Spring 1940 Ger attacked Denmark/Norway and France, surrendered in only a week
■ June 1940 only GBr free from Ger troops
Changing US Policy (525-526):
● Ams alarmed by Nazi invasions, opposed Hitler but did not want war
○ FDR believed US security was based on GBr’ survival
■ Weakened neutrality laws, so he could give mass aid to GBr
■ 1940 most Ams supported strengthening US defense, aid to GBr more debated
○ “Cash and carry” ​1939 belligerent could buy US arms if used own ships and paid cash
■ Technically neutral, favored GBr bc GBr navy still controlled seas
● Ending arms embargo meant US would only be able to sell to GBr
○ Selective Service Act 1940 ​all men 21-35 had to register for compulsory military service
■ 1.2 million troops trained each year
■ Isolationists opposed peacetime draft
● Outnumbered as public opinion shifted away from neutrality
■ Destroyers-for-bases deal ​1940 GBr assaulted by bombing raids and submarines
● FDR gave GBr 50 older destroyers in return for right to build militarly
bases in Caribbean
○
He could not directly sell them US destroyers bc isolationists
The Election of 1940 (526-527):
● Uncertainty over FDR running for pres or not, at last said he would run again
○ Rep nominee was ​Wendell Willkie, ​never before run for office, lawyer/utility executive
■ Agreed w/ FDR on preparedness/aiding GBr, criticized New Deal/ 2+ terms
○ FDR won election thanks to several factors
■ Strong econ recov based on purchases
■ Fear of war, so voters stayed w/ more experienced leader
Arsenal of Democracy (527-528):
● FDR saw Nazi Eur and threat to US security and democracy
○ After reelection in strong position to end US neutrality/aid GBr
○ Fireside chat said US must be “great arsenal of democracy”
○ Four Freedoms ​1941 speech proposed lending $ to GBr for war to defend four freedoms
■ Speech, religion, freedom from want and fear
○ Lend-Lease Act​ 1941 ended cash-and-carry, allowed GBr to but arms on credit
■ Isolationists campaigned against it, but public had shifted towards aiding GBr
○ Atlantic Charter ​document declaring US and GBr’s peace objectives once war ended
■ FDR believed US would be drawn into war
■ Secret meeting w/ Churchill to confirm peace objectives once war ended
● Self-determination for all people, no territorial expansion, free trade
○ Shoot-on-sight ​1941 US protection for GBR ships from submarines
■ US navy would escort GBr lend-lease materials ships to Iceland
■ Sept 4 Am destroyer Greer attacked by Ger subm
● FDR ordered navy to attack all Ger ships on sight
● Fighting undeclared naval war against Ger
Disputes with Japan (528):
● 1940-41 relations w/ Jap strained bc China invasion and attempts to conquer SE Asia
○ 1940 became Axis power, Hitler’s success gave Jap opp to invade colonies of Eur nations
○ US econ action​ in response to Jap’s actions
■ 1940 prohibited export steel/iron to all countries except GBr/West hemisphere
● After Jap became Axis, aimed at Jap
■ 1941 froze Jap credits in US, cut off access to materials such as US oil
● After Jap invaded French Indochina
○ Negotiations ​bc Jap needed oil for army, would have to take oil in Dutch East Indies
■ Jap in china violate Open Door, FDR insisted they remove troops, Jap refused
● Agreement on oil and china was impossible
■ Jap saw that quick military action was necessary bc of limited oil supplies
● US hoped to delay confrontation
Pearl Harbor (528-529):
● Dec 7 1941 Jap bombed US fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
○ 2k dead, 20 warships, 150 planes
○ Am people stunned, only ​partial surprise​ for high govt officials bc had broken Jap codes
■ Did not know date or where
Dec 8 Congress issued ​declaration of war​ on Jap
■ Ger and Ita declared war on US bc treaty w/ Jap
WORLD WAR II: THE HOME FRONT (pg. 529-532):
● Dec 1941 battlefront in eur shifted to east when Ger invaded Soviet Union
○ 1942-45 GBr, US and Sov Union were principal Allies fighting
■ Concentrated on Eur before fighting Jap
Industrial Production (529-530):
● Agencies mobilizing econ/mil resources for war
○ 1942 ​War Production Board e​ st, managed war industries
○ Office of War mobilization​ set prod priorities, controlled raw materials
■ Used cost-plus system, paid war contractors prod costs plus % for profit
○ US ind boomed, stimulated by wartime demand/govt contracts
■ Ended depression and unemployment, high prod and profits
■ War-related ind​ output was huge, double that of all Axis powers combined
○ Office of Price Admin ​regulated civilians’ lives
■ Froze prices, wages, rents, ​rationing ​meat/sugar/gas/tires
○ Unions​ and corps suspended strikes durkng war
■ Workers mad bc wages frozen while corps made big $
● John Lewis called strikes in coal unions
■ Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act ​1943, passed FDR’s veto
● Govt could take over biz threatened by strikes
○ 1944 govt took over RR for a brief period
○ Govt ​financing the war ​through increase in income tax and selling war bonds
■ 1944 began deducting tax automatically from paychecks, 315 bill $ in war bonds
● Also few consumer goods meant people could easily save
The War’s Impact on Society (530-531):
● Every group adjusted diff to wartime conditions
○ Increase in factory jobs caused migration from rural areas to Midwest/Pacific for ind jobs
■ New communities around factories and mil bases
○ New defense installations in South
○ Af-Ams ​left South for jobs in North/West or to serve in the army
■ Continued discrim and segregation
● Race riots 1943 in NY and Detroit
● “Double V” slogan ​adopt, victory over fascism/victory for equality
■ NAACP membership increased
■ Congress of Racial Equality​ formed 1942
● Smith v Allwright unconst to deny participation in pol parties to Af-Ams
○ Mex-Ams ​worked in defense ind or served in army
■ 1942 Mex ​braceros could enter US during harvest season w/o imm procedures
● Influx in Mex imm, led to zoot suit riots summer 1943
○ NA ​also served in mil or worked in defense ind
■ Many let reservations and did not return
○ Jap-Ams ​suffered during wartime
○
■
■
Some served in military for US
Suspected of spy/sabotage, Jap invasion of West coast feared
● 1942 US govt made Japs on West Coast reside in internment camps
○ Korematsu v US ruled const during wartime
○ Women​’s lives changed by war
■ served in military non combat roles
■ Labor shortage meant women took jobs vacated by men
● Many in ind jobs in shipyards/defense plants
○ Still received lower pay than male factory workers
○ Govt ​propaganda w
​ as everywhere
■ Keep public morale, encourage sacrifice to conserve resources, increase war prod
■ Office of War Info c​ ontrolled news about troops/battles
● Movies, radio, music supported cheerful/patriotic view of war
The Election of 1944 (531-532):
● War consuming attention, election not that interesting
○ FDR nominated by Dems again
■ Vice-pres changed to Harry S. Truman
■ FDR’s health uncertain
○ Thomas Dewey ​was Rep nominee
■ Unable to offer alternative to FDR’s leadership/generate enthusiasm for change
○ FDR easily won, serving unprecedented 4th term
■ Died 3 months after inauguration, Truman served most of term
WORLD WAR II: THE BATTLEFRONTS (pg. 532-534):
● Waged on two fronts:
○ Pacific w/ Jap 1942 occupied Phil, Dutch East Indies, S Pac islands…
○ East Eur b/w Ger and Sov Union
Fighting Germany (532-533):
● Ger advance ended 1942 bc US entered war and Soviet victory at Stalingrad
○ GBr/Am strategy was ​defense at sea, attacking by air
■ Overcoming Ger submarines, known as Battle of Atlantic
● Contained sub menace w/ radar, sonar, bombing Ger naval bases
■ Started bombing raids on Ger cities
○ Allies had to drive Ger forces out of​ North Africa and Mediterranean
■ N-Af campaign ​Operation Torch​ started Nov 1942, drove Ger forces out 1943
■ Occupied Sicily 1943, prepared invasion of ​Italy
● Mussolini fell from power, Hitler have him nominal control over N Ita
● Ger controlled much of Ita, resisted until surrender 1945
○ Allies started to liberate Fr June 1944, ​D Day i​ nvasion on Normandy beaches successful
■ By Aug Paris liberated, Sept Allies crossed Ger border towards Berlin
● Ger last attack Dec 1944 In Belgium, Battle of the Bulge
● Am resumed their advance after this
○ Since 1942 Am bombing reduced Ger’s ind and ability to fight
■ Hitler killed himself April 1945, ​surrender ​of Nazi armies may 7 1945
US troops on Ger discovered the ​Holocaust
● 6 million Jews systematically murdered by Nazis, concentration camps...
Fighting Japan (533-534):
● Mainly US forces fighting Jap, dom by naval battling
○ 1942 Jap had E/SE Asia: Korea, E Chi, Phil, Burma/Malaya, Fr Ind, Indies, Pac Islands…
○ 1942 turning point​ two naval battles 1942 halted Jap advance
■ May Battle of Coral Sea stopped invasion of Aus
■ June Battle of Midway destroyed Jap planes/carriers after decoding messages
○ Am forces used ​“island-hopping”​ to get close to Jap
■ Isolated Jap strongholds w/ naval/air power
■ Allied forces moved rapidly toward Jap
○ Battle of leyte Gulf Oct 1944 reoccupied Philippines
■ Destr Jap navy, used ​kamikaze ​pilots for the first time
○ Battle of Okinawa Apr-Jun 1945, took island near japan
■ Huge casualties, mainly due to kamikaze pilots again
■ Now ready to invade Japan, feared heavy casualties
○ Manhattan Project 1942 developed the ​atomic bombs
■ Told Jap unconditional surrender or utter destruction, no response
■ Aug 6 a-bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Aug 9 second on Nagasaki
● Killed 250k Japanese
○ Sept 2 1945 ​Japan surrenders
WARTIME CONFERENCES (pg. 534-535)
● During war, Big Three (US, Sov Union, GBr leaders) secret confers for mil strategies/peace terms
○ Casablanca ​jan 1943 only FDR/Churchill
■ Agreed to invade Sicily, demand surrender from Axis Powers
○ Teheran ​nov 1943 first Big 3 meeting
■ GBr/Am would drive to free Fr 1944, Sov would invade Ger,join war against Jap
○ Yalta​ Feb 1945, long-term significance, agreed peace terms for after victory in Eur
■ Ger would be divided into occupation zones
■ Free elections in freed E Eur countries (under Sov control)
■ Sov enter war against Jap (entered Aug 8 1945)
■ Sov would control Sakhalin/Kurile Pac islands, special concessions in Manchuria
■ New world peace org (future United Nations)
○ After Yalta Confer, Apr 1945​ death of FDR
■ Truman assumed presidency in unfinished war
○ Potsdam ​after Ger surrender, only Stalin remained of Big 3
■ Issued unconditional surrender warning to Jap
■ Hold war-crime trials for Nazi leaders
THE WAR’S LEGACY (pg. 535-536)
Costs (536):
● 300k Ams died, 800k wounded
● Cost $320 billion, 10x more than WWI, huge deficit spending
○ Fed spending increased 1000% 1939-45
■
○ Nat debt was $250 bill
The United Nations (536):
● Congress readily accepted and put it in place
○ 1944 Allied reps proposed internat org called United Nations
○ UN drafted in San Fran 1945 w/ delegates from 50 nations
■ Oct 1945 UN ratified by majority of member nations
Expectations (536):
● Hopes about better/more prosperous life after war
○ US cities not damaged by war, became most prosperous/powerful nation in the world
■ Looked forward to more peaceful and democratic world
■