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AP US History Chapter 38
Foreign Affairs 1933-1941
Roosevelt
London Economic Conference
Set-up. In the summer of 1933, 66 nations attended the London Economic Conference to attack
global depression, stabilize national currencies, and revive international trade.
Roosevelt takes action. Roosevelt feared that this conference would hinder his ability to make
things better within the US, especially in regard to his policy no gold as currency. While
vacationing on a yacht in the North Atlantic, he issued a radio message to London, saying they
should stop trying to stabilize currency and should discuss basic economic ills instead.
Analysis. Roosevelt’s call killed the conference, as foreign delegates saw Roosevelt as ill willed.
The conference couldn’t have magically fixed world’s economic problems anyway. But
Roosevelt’s actions created more isolationism and nationalism among all nations. This helped
foster crazy dictators.
Recognizing the Soviet Union
In late 1933, Roosevelt chose to recognize the Soviet Union. The government was there to
stay, supported by its people, and recognized by other world powers. With 160 million people and
1/6 of the world’s land, the Soviet Union was hard not to recognize. Besides, by not recognizing
them, the Soviet Union wasn’t going to collapse or cause them to abandon their propaganda.
Reason. Roosevelt was the first Democratic president in quite a while, and was the first that could
recognize the Soviet Union with political safeness. Americans hoped that, by recognizing Russia,
it might be confident enough to go to war with Japan. Also, there were hopes of opening trade
with Russia. Finally, Russia promised to refrain from revolutionary propaganda in the US.
Results. The SU promptly broke its pledge by continuing propaganda in the US. Large-scale trade
with the SU didn’t happen. The SU was apparently looking for a huge loan from the US, which it
didn’t get, because the SU had a bad credit record. Even if the agreements failed in these ways, at
least the US was speaking to the SU.
The Philippines
Problem. Former President McKinley was hopeful for the new US possession of the Philippines.
But once the Great Depression hit, Filipinos hoped that the US would give them independence, as
it promised. The US wanted the land in order to have military bases and to take advantage of the
prospective riches it had. But Filipinos worked for low wages and competed with US sugar and
other industries, so Americans wanted to restrict trade with them or let them go.
Independence. Congress passed the Tydings-McDuffie Act. The islands would receive
independence after 12 more years of being taken advantage of. Military bases were to be removed,
but naval bases would remain.
Analysis. Americans didn’t want freedom for the Filipinos; they wanted freedom from them.
Giving them independence was done for US, not Filipino, benefit. The US even threatened the
Filipinos with making them powerless. Anticolonialists in Eastern Asia were happy. Filipino
independence made things easier for Japan.
Relations with Latin America
Previous relations. Military intervention in Latin America didn’t pay off, and when the Great
Depression hit, there were less interests for the US to protect in Latin America.
New relations. In his inauguration speech, Roosevelt declared a Good Neighbor policy with
Latin America. With dictators taking power at other places, it wouldn’t be good to have potential
enemies just south of the US. So Roosevelt was nice to them. He promised to renounce armed
intervention and uphold Theodore Roosevelt’s corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. In 1933,
Roosevelt made this policy official at the Seventh Pan-American Conference.
Haiti, Cuba, and Panama. Marines departed from Haiti in 1934. Also in 1934, the US abandoned
the Platt Amendment, which allowed it to intervene with Cuba. However, the US still kept
Guantanamo Bay. The US left Panama in 1936.
Mexico. In 1938, the Mexican government seized US oil properties in Mexico. American oil
investors wanted war, but Roosevelt calmed the situation in 1941 and maintained good relations
with Mexico, although US oil investors had to make concessions.
Roosevelt’s image. No other American was as loved by Latin Americans as Roosevelt was. When
he went to the Inter-American Conference in 1936, he was greeted with tumultuous enthusiasm.
Tariffs
Hull-Roosevelt. SoS Cordell Hull and Roosevelt both believed that trade is a two-way street (sell
and buy), tariffs choke foreign trade, and trade wars lead to real wars.
Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act. Since Congress still had the Hawley-Smoot Tariff in effect,
the executive branch knew it didn’t know what it was doing. So Congress voted to temporarily
transfer tariff responsibilities to the president by passing the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act
in 1934. It was supposed to save export trade from depression. The President would have the
temporary ability to alter the tariff by as much as 50% as long as the other involved nations
decrease their tariffs as well. This was faster, allowed for better negotiations, and avoided
corruption.
Foreign impact. Hull reached trade pacts with 21 countries by the end of 1939. This created even
better relations with Latin America. Negotiations, even trade agreements, were important as war
loomed.
Analysis. The US had a high-protective-tariff policy since the Civil War, until this agreement.
America led free-trade systems after WWII that revolutionized international trade.
Drifting Toward War
European dictators. After WWI and the Great Depression struck Europe, totalitarianism grew.
The individual wasn’t as important as the state. Joseph Stalin emerged as Communist dictator of
the USSR. Benito Mussolini emerged as Fascist dictator of Italy in 1922. Adolf Hitler became
leader of the Nazi party and emerged as Fascist dictator of Germany in 1933.
Rise of Hitler. Hitler was the most dangerous dictator because he combined tremendous power
with impulsiveness. The Germans saw him as their last hope after the Treaty of Versailles and the
depression. Inflation led to near anarchy in Germany, allowing for Hitler’s rise. He was a
hypnotizing and highly influential speaker who commanded authority. Mussolini and Hitler
formed the Rome-Berlin Axis in 1936.
Japan. Japan fought on the allied side in WWI and thought it deserved more from the Treaty of
Versailles. It also needed more land for its growing population. It was also rapidly increasing in
power after leaving isolationism.
Japan left the Washington Naval Treaty in 1934 (made in 1922). They accelerated
construction of giant battleships.
Italy. Mussolini sought empire and glory when he brutally invaded Ethiopia in 1935 with bombers
and tanks against the Africans’ ancient weapons. Ethiopia was quickly crushed. The League failed
to response (it could have set an oil embargo), and was therefore destined to die.
American isolationism. Americans didn’t like the rising dictators, but they felt too geographically
distant to care much, and continued with their isolationism. They sill couldn’t believe their
participation in WWI that brought little debt payments by Europeans. In 1934, Congress passed
the Johnson Debt Default Act, which said that those European nations that defaulted on their debts
would no longer receive loans from America, even during war.
Americans were less afraid of the dictators than they were afraid of being pulled into a
war. They even called for an amendment that would prohibit war, except in the cases of invasion
or when the people voted for it. Princeton University students in 1936 called for a bonus for the
Veterans of Future Wars (VFWs), fearing an upcoming war.
American Attempts at Neutrality
Profiting from war. Articles in books in the late 1930s started criticizing the “merchants of
death”, those who manufactured weapons and were therefore blamed for instigating war for
profit. North Dakota Senator Gerald Nye was appointed in 1934 to investigate these claims. His
committee, called the Nye committee shifted blame for US entry into WWI from the German subs
to American bankers and arms manufacturers. Americans jumped to the conclusion that the
merchants of death caused the war to make money. They wanted legislation that would prevent
this from happening again.
Legislative response. Congress, fearing war after Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia, legislated
through the Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936 and 1937 that once the president of the US proclaims a
foreign war, it would become illegal for Americans to sail on a ship of a belligerent nation, sell or
transport munitions to a belligerent nation, or give loans to a belligerent nation.
Analysis. The Neutrality Acts went against private Americans’ right to freedom of the seas, which
they fought long and hard for on many occasions. The acts probably would have kept the US from
entering WWI when it did were it to pass earlier.
Americans falsely felt that the US, rather than its enemies, would decide whether to
involve itself in a war or not. Rather than taking control of international events itself, the US left
this to the dictators.
The US sought to make no distinctions between brutal aggressors and innocent victims,
and decided to keep itself total neutral. This would tip the scale in favor of any belligerent, since it
would be guaranteed no US intervention (unless it attacks the US or has an ally that does so, or
course).
Spanish Civil War
In the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939, a kind of rehearsal for the Axis before WWII,
Spanish rebels under Francisco Franco, assisted by Hitler and Mussolini, overthrew the liberal
democratic Loyalist government, which was supported by the USSR and preferred by the US.
American neutrality. The US continued recognizing the Loyalist government. The Loyalists
could have purchased badly needed munitions from the US, but Roosevelt and all but one
Congressman amended the neutrality legislation to include friends, as well as belligerents. Franco
was happy for this, and Roosevelt later regretted it.
America’s neutrality brought added Spain to the list of dictatorships. The US allowed this
if it meant staying neutral.
Slackening military. America was determined to stay out of war, so it didn’t bother increasing its
military strength much. The navy decline in proportion to other nations. Americans felt large
militaries led to large wars. Also, money was saved for the Great Depression rather than war.
When Roosevelt called for preparedness, he was accused of being a warmonger. Too little, too
late, Congress in 1938 finally passed a billion-dollar naval construction act.
Appeasing Japan
China incident. In 1937, Japanese helped open the curtain to WWII by launching a battle at the
Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing (Peking). This event is known as the China incident.
Roosevelt response. Roosevelt could have declared this a foreign war and stopped shipments of
supplies to both China and Japan. But he didn’t think it was a war, and shipments continued.
Quarantine speech. In 1937, Roosevelt delivered his famous “Quarantine” speech in Chicago
(unofficial isolationist capital of America). Alarmed by Italian aggression in Ethiopia and
Japanese aggression in China, Roosevelt called for economic quarantine of the aggressors. This
speech met such protest from isolationist Americans who feared the quarantine would lead to war,
that Roosevelt sought more indirect ways to stop the dictators.
Bombing of the Panay. In December 1937, Japan bombed and sank the American gunboat Panay
off the coast of China, killing 2 and injuries 30. Forty years later, this would have meant war. But
with American being so isolationist and all, Japan simply apologized and paid the proper
indemnity to be forgiven. Meanwhile, Japanese anger against America showed in China, where
they treated Chinese Americans brutally.
Appeasing Germany
Disobeying the Treaty of Versailles. In 1935, Hitler went against the Treaty of Versailles by
introducing compulsory military service to Germany. In 1936, he took the demilitarized
Rhineland, also against the Treaty of Versailles, as France and Britain looked on. Hitler created
the most devastating military machine in world history.
Holocaust. Hitler sought to exterminate the Jewish population under his control, leading to the
death of 6 million Jews, mostly in gas chambers.
Austria. In March 1938, Hitler took his birthplace, German-speaking Austria. Democracies felt
this would satisfy his hunger for conquest.
Sudetenland. Hitler then demanded the Sudetenland, part of Czechoslovakia. Britain, France, and
the US wanted to prevent war.
Munich Conference. In September 1938, the Munich Conference was held in Germany to discuss
Hitler’s desire for the Sudetenland. The democracies promised Czechoslovakia not to let him have
the Sudetenland, which is exactly what they did, in exchange for reassurance from Hitler that this
would be his last territorial claim in Europe. This is called appeasement, like giving a cannibal a
finger to save the rest of the arm.
Rest of Czechoslovakia. In March 1939, Hitler broke his promise by taking the rest of
Czechoslovakia.
Makers of America: Refugees from the Holocaust
Holocaust. As Hitler conquered land, he had more and more access to Jews to exterminate using
his SS, or Schutzstaffel, the elite military and police force. About 150,000 European Jews escaped
the Holocaust for the US between 1935 and 1941.
Notable refugees. Some Holocaust refugees were great scientists, artisans, and intellectuals. Some
examples are: Albert Einstein- Nobel laureate who helped convince Roosevelt to initiate the
atomic-bomb project; Leo Szilard- helped construct the first atomic weapon at Los Alamos;
Edward Teller- creator of the first hydrogen bomb; Hannah Arendt- leading political theorist of
totalitarianism; Erich Fromm- psychoanalyst; Marc Chagall- painter; Kurt Weill- composer.
Before 1920. Jews arrived before 1920 in two stages. The first was from Germany in the mid 19th
century. The second was from Eastern Europe between 1890 and 1920. European Jews migrated
with entire families, without considering return. Jews filled white-collar jobs and founded
numerous institutions.
Jewish efforts in the US. Jews long tried to convince Americans of their loyalty, but now had to
fight for US intervention in Europe while Americans were still isolationists. Anti-Semitic Father
Charles Coughlin scared Jews. The American Jewish Conference, made up mostly of wealthy
German Jews, often quarreled with the more aggressive American Jewish Congress, made up
mostly of European Jews. Such quarrels hindered efforts of Jews to convince Roosevelt to help
Jews.
US rejection of Holocaust survivors. In 1941, Congress rejected a bill that would have allowed
20,000 German-Jewish children into the US. The US refused pleas to accept Jewish refugees into
Alaska. The State Department had early information on the extermination plan, but suppressed it.
When Americans found out about the Holocaust, the US rejected pleas to bomb gas chambers.
Military officials claimed raids on death camps would divert resources from the war. Only a few
Jews escaped the Nazis.
World War II Begins
Hitler-Stalin Nonagression Pact. In the summer of 1939, Britain and France were negotiating
with Stalin for a truce against Hitler. But on August 23, 1939, Stalin signed a pact with Hitler
instead, known as the Hitler-Stalin nonaggression pact. The Allies lost hope that Hitler and
Stalin, both unpopular to them, would bleed each other to death. Stalin was hoping that Hitler and
the Allies would bleed each other to death so that he could control Europe.
Invasion of Poland. Hitler no longer had to worry about possible attacks from Stalin if he took
Poland. He assured this by promising Stalin part of his conquest. Hitler then demanded that Poland
turn over the land it took from Germany in WWI. He was unsatisfied, and on September 1, 1939,
Hitler took Poland.
WWI begins. France and Britain held their promise of declaring war if Hitler took Poland, and the
Second World War thus began. The allies, however, were in geographical location to assist Poland
directly.
American neutrality. Americans all hoped and were confident that the Allies would beat
Germany again as they did in WWI. But the US wanted to do it right this time, without
intervention or loans. Roosevelt recognized this as a foreign war and it became illegal to provide
munitions to either side because of the Neutrality Act of 1937^.
Neutrality Act of 1939. Roosevelt called Congress into special session, and a makeshift law was
introduced after 6 weeks. Unprepared France and Britain desperately needed weapons and planes.
Some problems of providing them with supplies would be that the enemy could attack US ships
carrying the supplies. Also, Americans didn’t want to make the same mistake they did in WWI in
regards to debt. The Neutrality Act of 1939 therefore introduced the principle of “cash-andcarry.” European nations could buy American supplies as long as they paid in cash (so there
wouldn’t be debt) and shipped them in their own ships (so US ships wouldn’t be in harm’s way).
In addition, Roosevelt could declare danger zones where American merchant ships would be
forbidden to enter.
Analysis. The Neutrality Act of 1939 allowed any European nations to purchase American
supplies. However, Americans knew that the Germans and Italians wouldn’t be able to pass
French and British naval blockades to get to the US and ship supplies themselves. In this way, the
US remained neutral while still assisting the democracies. The demand for supplies from the US
ended the “Roosevelt recession” and the unemployment crisis.
Fall of France and After
Phony war. The lack of action in the months following Hitler’s invasion of Poland, while France
and Britain didn’t do anything and Hitler moved his troops westward, is known as the “phony
war.”
Soviet invasion of Finland. Stalin was suspicious of Hitler and wanted to set up a buffer between
the USSR and Germany. He therefore invaded Finland during the phony war. Finland was the only
country honoring its WWI debts to the US. So Congress provided Finland with $30 million to be
used for nonmilitary supplies. Stalin easily won anyway.
German invasion. In April 1940, Hitler invaded Denmark and Norway. In May, he invaded the
Netherlands and Belgium, immediately followed by an invasion of France. By late June, France
surrendered to Germany and Italy.
British evacuation. The French and British noticed that Hitler might attack, so British troops
were placed along the French-German border. However, the response wasn’t great enough, France
and Britain weren’t prepared enough, and they were overrun. British troops evacuated France
during what’s known as the miracle at Dunkirk. As Germany launched air attacks at Britain,
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave speeches to get his people to fight bravely in the
skies.
American fear. Britain was the only nation standing in Hitler’s way now. If Britain were to be
defeated, constitutional democracy would be whipped off the face of Europe. This possibility
frightened Americans.
Roosevelt response. Roosevelt had the already indebted nation build up a two-ocean navy. Within
one year, Congress, previously apathetic toward preparedness, dedicated $37 billion to preparing
for war. This cost was greater than the cost of WWI, and 5 times larger than any New Deal annual
budget.
Draft. Congress approved a conscription law on September 6, 1940, which provided for the
training of 1.2 million troops and 800,000 reserves. These amounts were later increased to meet
the needs when the US entered the war.
Havana Conference. Netherlands, Denmark and France all had colonies in the Western
Hemisphere. America was previous alone in holding the Monroe Doctrine that warned against
European seizure of colonies in the New World. Now, at the Havana Conference of 1940, 20 New
World neighbors agreed to help the US fight against Germany if it were to attack European
possessions in the New World. This wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for Roosevelt’s
Good Neighbor policy toward Latin America.
Bolstering Britain
Battle of Britain
On August 1940, Hitler launched air assaults on Britain, known as the Battle of Britain. He
did this to prepare for a land invasion in September. But the brave Royal Air Force stopped this
plan permanently.
American dilemma
Neutrality seemed less wise now that Britain was the only nation stopping Hitler. The US
debated on which foreign policy to embrace. Nightly British reports of German air raids were
broadcasted into Britain, but got to US homes as well. Sympathy for Britain grew, but not enough
for the US to get involved militarily.
Pro-interventionists. Proponents of aid to Britain formed groups, most notably the Committee to
Defend America by Aiding the Allies. To appeal to interventionists, it suggested military
support. To appeal to isolationists, it suggested economic aid and supplies.
Isolationists. Opponents of aid to Britain formed groups, most notably the American First
Committee. They suggested bolstering a defense around America in preparation for a German
attack after Hitler defeats Britain. A strong isolationist speechmaker was none other than famed
aviator Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh, who crossed the Atlantic in 1927.
Destroyer-Bases Deal
Agreement. Britain needed destroyers. So the US made an agreement known as the Destroyer
Deal or Destroyer-Base Deal, in which 50 old US destroyers left over from WWI would be give to
Britain in exchange for 8 valuable defensive base sites east of the Americas that were to remain in
US possession for 99 years.
Supporters and Critics. Roosevelt had to pay with and interpret legislation in order to make the
Destroyer Deal legal. He didn’t leave it for Congress to debate, because the crisis was imminent.
Applause burst from interventionists. Isolationists and Republicans condemned the deal. Some
liked the idea but didn’t like Roosevelt’s secret tactics, interpretations and hurriedness.
No longer very neutral. By making the destroyer deal, the US blatantly, without a doubt,
disobeyed its neutrality policy. A majority of Americans were now determined to face a risk of
armed conflict and help Britain in every way short of war.
*Election of 1940: Roosevelt (D), Willkie (R)*
Democratic. At the last minute, Roosevelt decided to break tradition and run for his 3rd term. He
admitted that he couldn’t wait to retire, but that he felt the nation and humanity needed his
experience during this difficult time. Democratic delegates unanimously approved him, believing
he’d be the only good bet against Willkie.
Roosevelt made only a few speeches, and promised that he wouldn’t get involved in any
foreign wars (which came back to haunt him). He defended the New Deal and promised to defend
America and aid the British.
Republican. The two leading Republicans were Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft (son of William H.
Taft), and lawyer-prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey. But during the Philadelphia convention, Wendell
L. Willkie made a huge impression that got him nominated. Willkie was actually a former
Democrat, believe it or not, and he was also head of a giant public utilities corporation. He was
also a German-descendent. He had no political experience and came out of nowhere in just a few
weeks.
Willkie was nominated as the only candidate who has the possibility of defeating
Roosevelt. The Republican platform called Roosevelt a dictator and condemned the confusing
New Deal. Willkie liked the new deal, but didn’t like its extravagances and inefficiencies.
Willkie went on a campaign and gave over 500 speeches, which occasionally showed in
his voice. He attacked Roosevelt for his policy of aiding the British. Willkie wanted to intervene
and save democracy, but didn’t like the way Roosevelt was doing so.
Similarities. Both candidates promised to stay out of the war and strengthen national defenses.
Outcome. Roosevelt received 27,307,819 popular votes and 449 electoral votes. Willkie received
22,321,018 popular votes and 82 electoral votes. Congress remained about the same, maintaining a
Democrat majority. This was Roosevelt’s closest presidential election, although the other two
weren’t very close at all.
Analysis. Some felt that the election was a mandate to abolish the two-term tradition. But
Roosevelt won because people wanted experience (which Roosevelt had a lot of) while Willkie
had inexperience (never held political office). People were hesitant to change presidents in the
middle of a crisis. Willkie might have won without the war. On the other hand, Roosevelt would
not have run without the war.
Lend-Lease Law
Idea. British couldn’t keep buying supplies from America. So Roosevelt had an alternative idea,
keeping the WWI debts in mind. The US could lend guns and tanks to the democracies and have
them returned after the war, a process called lend-lease. An analogy would be someone borrowing
a neighbor’s garden hose to take out a fire.
Law. The Lend Lease bill was patriotically numbered 1776 and approved by sweeping majorities
in both the House and Senate in March 1941. It would provide limitless arms to the democracies
to fight aggression so Americans wouldn’t have to. “Send guns, not sons.” After the war, the used
weapons, or equivalent new weapons, could be returned to the US.
Debate. Isolationist Republican Senator Robert Taft argued that this was like lending someone
chewing gum (you don’t want it back). Most opponents of the law were Republicans and
isolationists. It was accused of being a blank-check.
Proponents argued that this would keep the US out of war, defend democracy, and
preserve Britain so the US wouldn’t have to fight the war alone eventually.
Analysis. The Lend Lease Law was one of the most important laws in US history. When it ended
in 1945, America had sent $50 billion worth of arms and equipment, much more than the cost of
WWI.
End of neutrality. Lend-lease was an economic declaration of war and a challenge to the axis
dictators. There was no longer any way of pretending the US was neutral. Everyone across the US
debated the lend-lease. Americans were prepared to take risk of war if it meant helping Britain and
not having to face the dictators alone later.
Unintended preparation. Lend-lease actually prepared US industries and factories for when the
US actually entered the war itself.
Sinking of the Robin Moor. Hitler remembered WWI, when German attack on US ships resulted
in the US entering the war. So Germany refrained from attacking US ships. That is, until the lendlease act, when the US was firmly aiding the Allies. On May 21, 1941, an unarmed American
merchant ship called the Robin Moor was torpedoed and destroyed by a German submarine in the
South Atlantic, outside a war zone. However, the Germans didn’t fully start attacking the US yet.
Hitler Backstabs Stalin
Reason. Stalin and Hitler were both masters of deception. They consistently argued of territorial
control, such as Stalin not wanting Hitler to control the Balkans.
Attack. Hitler finally decided to break the Nazi-Soviet pact of 1939 (also the Hitler-Stalin
nonaggression pact). He planned to invade the USSR and use its oil and other resources to finish
off the British. Hitler expected the USSR would take a few weeks to be defeated. On June 22,
1941 (almost exactly a year after the fall of France), Hitler attacked the USSR. The democracies
were excited to see Germany and the USSR beat each other to death, but instead, as military
analysts predicted, the USSR was rapidly being defeated. However, the USSR did add a new front
to Germany’s war. Germany was eventually stopped by USSR forces and a bitter winter, the same
mistake Napoleon had made.
US aid. Roosevelt promised aid to the USSR and provided some military supplies. Then, the lendlease law, which was supposed to help other nations defend the US, was applied the USSR, and $1
billion (eventually reaching $11 billion) in lend-lease was provided to Stalin.
Atlantic Charter
Atlantic Conference. The Atlantic Conference was held in August 1941 as the possibility of
Soviet surrender loomed. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill^ met with Roosevelt on a
warship off the coast of Newfoundland. This was the first of a series of conferences between the
two leaders. The result of this Atlantic Conference was the Atlantic Charter.
Atlantic Charter. The Atlantic Charter had 8 points, and was adopted by Roosevelt, Churchill,
and (later in that year) Stalin. It outlined what would happen after the war. a.) There would be selfdetermination, inhabitants of a land would choose whether or not to alter the borders that existed
before the war; b.) People would choose their own form of government and have the right to
regain the governments overthrown by the dictators; c.) There would be disarmament and peace,
aided by a new League of Nations.
Analysis. Liberals and subject populations (like the Poles) liked this charter. But isolationists
didn’t want “neutral” America to meddle in foreign affairs. The misunderstanding was that the US
was no longer neutral.
US Destroyers and Hitler’s U-Boats Clash
Convoys
If supplies were to get to Britain and not be sunk by German subs, merchant ships had to
have US destroyer escorts. The concern that this may lead to war was discussed in Congress
before approving lend-lease, but was dismissed.
In July 1941, Roosevelt, as commander in chief, ordered the US navy to escort lend-lease
shipments to Iceland, where Britain would pick them up and complete the shipment.
Clashes
Although Hitler ordered attacks only in self-defense, clashes were inevitable.
Greer. In September 1941, the US destroyer Greer was attacked by the German U-boat it was
following. Neither side was damaged. Roosevelt responded by declaring a shoot-on-sight policy.
Kearny. On October 17, 1941, the escorting destroyer Kearny engaged German U-boats, lost 11
men, and was crippled, although not sunk.
Reuben James. Two weeks after the Kearny attack, the destroyer Reuben James was torpedoed
and sunk off southwestern Ireland, killing over 100 Americans.
US response. Congress voted to fully scrap the Neutrality Act of 1939^. It allowed merchant ships
to be armed and enter combat zones. Americans waited for wholesale attacks by U-boats.
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Hint. Japan was an ally of Hitler since September 1940. This should have been a clue.
Japan’s condition. The China incident wouldn’t bring Japan victory or honor. Japan’s military
depended on US shipments of steel, scrap iron, oil, and aviation gasoline. Such sales were
unpopular among Americans, but Roosevelt refrained from declaring an embargo, fearing
Japanese attack on the oil-rich and weakly defended Dutch East Indies.
US punishment of Japan. Late in 1940, the US imposed embargoes on supplies to Japan. In mid1941, the US froze Japanese assets in the US and further ceased shipments of gas and other war
supplies. The pressure was on Japan, which could either take the punishment or fight back.
Negotiations. Negotiations in November and early December of 1941 offered renewed trade
relations with Japan if it left China. Japan had been in war with China for over 4 years and wasn’t
willing to give up. They could either accept the deal or fight. They chose to fight.
US intelligence. The US knew that Japan had chosen to fight. But a democracy can’t shoot first
without debating and discussing. Roosevelt analyzed ship movements and expected a blow to the
British Malaya or the Philippines. No high authority in the US believed Japan was daring enough
to attack Hawaii.
Attack. Japan asked to prolong negotiations with the US just before it sent bombers from aircraft
carriers to attack Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy,” also
known as “Black Sunday.” About 3,000 Americans lost their lives, many aircraft were destroyed,
the battleship fleet was virtually eliminated when all 8 crafts were sunk or immobilized, and
numerous small vessels were damaged or destroyed. Fortunately, the 3 priceless aircraft carriers
were not present at the time.
Declaring war. On December 8, Congress, only 1 vote short of unanimity, voted to declare war
on Japan. Germany and Italy, both allies of Japan, declared war on the US on December 11. That
same day, Congress unanimously voted to declare war on Germany and Italy.
How the US Entered WWII
Silencing the isolationists. The attacks on Pearl Harbor hurt America in the short-run, but united
Americans more than anything else could have. Intervention or isolation was an issue to debate all
the way up to December 7th. But when 3,000 Americans were killed, the isolationists kept quiet.
Causes of US entering war. Pearl Harbor was the end of a chain reaction of instigators. America
didn’t want Britain to collapse, and therefore provided aid exposed to German subs. Americans
wanted to stop Japan from expanding, and therefore enacted embargos that invited retaliation.
Americans were willing to defend democracy even if it might mean war, which it did.
Analysis. Nobody was safe under international anarchy. Appeasement wouldn’t work. Lying,
indecent dictators had to be stopped. Most Americans were okay with going to war if it became
absolutely necessary. And it was absolutely necessary.
Not included: reciprocity