Download The Global Crisis, 1921 1941

Chapter 27:
The Global Crisis, 19211941
The AP instructional strategies discussed below for Chapter 27 of American
History: A Survey focus especially, but not exclusively, on the following themes
developed by the AP U.S. History Development Committee: American Identity,
Economic Transformations, Globalization, Politics and Citizenship, and War and
Diplomacy. This chapter, as well as the primary documents selected below, follow the
content guidelines suggested for the twenty-seventh unit in the AP Topic Outline 
Diplomacy in the 1930s.
Top-Ten Analytical Journal.
Defining the chapter terms in their journals will help students better understand:
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The new directions American foreign policy took in the 1920s.
The Great Depression’s effects on foreign relations.
The pattern of Japanese, Italian, and German aggression that eventually led to
World War II.
The factors that led to the passage of neutrality legislation in the 1930s.
The specific sequence of events that brought the United States into the war.
Each of the terms below contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the global
crisis that was brewing between 19211941. As your students define these terms,
encourage them to demonstrate why each person, event, concept, or issue is important to
a thorough understanding of this chapter.
Isolationism
Internationalism
Washington Conference of 1921
Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928
Circular loans
Benito Mussolini’s Fascist Party
Adolph Hitler’s National Socialist
Party
Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act of
1934
Good Neighbor Policy
Neutrality Acts
Sino-Japanese War
Munich Conference of 1938
Appeasement
War of the Worlds
Cash-and-Carry
America First Committee
Election of 1940
Wendell Willkie
Lend-Lease
German U-boat warfare
Atlantic Charter
Tripartite Pact
Henry Stimson
Pearl Harbor
Getting students started on their journals. Remind students that they must analyze
and synthesize their understanding of these terms in two ways:
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by creating “Top-Ten” lists of their own within their journals at the end of
each chapter; and
by justifying in their journal why their terms are essential to an understanding
of “The Global Crisis.”
Journal entry example. Following is an example of how students might describe the
“Good Neighbor Policy” and its importance to an overall understanding of “The
Global Crisis.”
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Good Neighbor Policy. The Roosevelt Administration signed a formal
convention in December 1933 that declared that no state could intervene in the
external or internal affairs of another state. In reality, this meant that the U.S.
government could no longer use military might to compel Latin American
governments to pay their debts and respect American investments. Instead, the
U.S. government used economic pressure to back up its growing domination over
Latin American economies.
Free-Response Questions.
1. Assess the extent to which the United States adopted an isolationist policy in the
1920s and 1930s. (Adapted from the 1998 AP United Stated History free-response
question.)
Some things to look for in the student response.
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Possible thesis statement: During the period between the two world wars,
American leaders followed a cautious foreign policy. The goal was to protect
American interests and American citizens first and foremost, which meant that
the U.S. should try to avoid global commitments that would decrease its
ability to meet that goal. Such a policy was not isolationist, but rather what
Dr. Brinkley calls “limited American internationalism.”
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Diplomacy reflecting internationalism. As early as 1921, the U.S. was
involved in efforts to prevent a naval armaments race. The Washington
Conference produced three treaties that illustrated America’s deep
involvement in world affairs: the Five-Power Pact, the Nine-Power Pact, and
the Four-Power Pact. The Kellogg-Briand Pact sealed the American decision
to protect international peace without accepting international duties. The U.S.
also participated in the less-than-successful arms control talks in Geneva in
1933 and at the London Naval Conference.
While the U.S. had been involved in Latin American foreign affairs for
decades, the 1920s and 1930s witnessed further economic expansion and
American domination of Latin American economies.
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U.S. interpretations of diplomacy. In addition to preventing a dangerous
armaments race and another war, the U.S. believed its major diplomatic goals
were to ensure that American overseas trade could expand, and to improve the
flow of war debt repayment to the U.S. After Hoover’s efforts in this area,
President Roosevelt strengthened American interest in world trade. The
Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act of 1934 authorized treaties that would lower
tariffs by as much as 50 percent in return for reciprocal reductions by other
nations.
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Diplomacy reflecting isolationism. There was some strong support for
militant isolationism beginning in the mid-1930s as the possibility of another
European war loomed ahead: In 1935, the Senate refused to admit the U.S. to
the World Court; the Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937 attempted to
keep America out of war; and the public reacted negatively to FDR’s
“Quarantine” speech. But once war broke out in Europe, FDR expressed the
difficulty of avoiding involvement by saying that while the U.S. would remain
neutral, he could not ask all Americans to “remain neutral in thought.”
Thereafter, American neutrality was tested. From the very beginning, the U.S.
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was never strictly neutral as it made armaments available to the Allied armies
after Roosevelt got the Cash-and-Carry provisions passed. By the time
Germany attacked France, the President had increased American aid to the
Allies. He then asked Congress for $1 billion to help prepare to resist a
possible Nazi invasion of the U.S. These efforts coincided with the newest
shift in public opinion. After the invasion of France, many Americans came
to believe that Germany posed a threat to the U.S.
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Possible conclusion: The cautious internationalism that the U.S. government
exercised in the 1930s was not isolationist in scope. It sought to protect
American interests, create global stability, and keep America from entering
World War II. As Dr. Brinkley reminds us, these goals found the U.S.
engaged in a more active role in world history than during almost any
previous time in world history. A more correct description of this era would
be that the political arena was dominated by disagreement between those who
favored isolationism and those who favored internationalism. The debate,
however, did not greatly influence presidential or legislative polic,y which
initially was cautiously internationalist and, by 1940, was clearly
interventionist. By the time that Pearl Harbor was attacked, the political
debate ended and the U.S. entered the war.
Historians, Historical Detection, and Primary Documents.
The following primary documents and suggested assignments will give your students a
more thorough, first-hand knowledge of the global crisis experienced during this era.
1. Have your students read the May 1935 statement by isolationists Senator Gerald Nye
and Senator Bennett Champ Clark before a "Keep America Out of War" meeting at
Carnegie Hall in New York City. (Online Learning Center, Chapter 27, Click on
“Primary Sources,” and then click on “The Rise of Isolationism.”) Then, engage your
students in the following discussion: Was it really the sale of munitions that led
America into World War I? Why might a 1935 audience have been especially
receptive to charges that bankers were responsible for war? How successful were
Nye, Clark, and others in enlisting the "overwhelming body of public sentiment" for
neutrality legislation? If Roosevelt had strictly followed the spirit of the neutrality
legislation, do you think American entry into World War II could have been avoided?
2. Require your students to read the final statement of Bartoleomeo Vanzetti and Nicola
Sacco on August 21, 1927. (Primary Source Investigator Document). Then, engage
your students in the following discussion: What is their perspective on the impending
execution? How does this letter reflect the tensions of the day? How believable is this
letter? Do Sacco and Vanzetti seem distraught? Are they defiant? Explain. Do you
think a similar incident could happen today? Why or why not?
3. Have students take turns reading aloud the statement by Alexander Berkman and
Emma Goldman written in August 1929. (Primary Source Investigator Document).
Begin a discussion on the following: What are Berkman’s and Goldman’s political
leanings? Which Americans would be most likely to embrace their beliefs in 1929?
least likely? How do they describe Sacco and Vanzetti? How do the authors believe
the case of Sacco and Vanzetti will be seen in the rest of the world? Were they right
or wrong? Explain. Then, have your students go the computer center and learn more
about Berkman and Goldman. For homework, ask them to write a minimum of two
paragraphs about these two that they believe should be added to Chapter 27. Be sure
that they indicate where in the chapter they would insert these new paragraphs.
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4. Play President Roosevelt’s speech of May 27, 1941 recorded before a live audience,
in which he detailed the need for expanded government powers in wartime. (Primary
Source Investigator Document). Then, ask your students to write their answers to the
following questions: How does President Roosevelt begin his speech? Why do you
think he begins in this manner? What American traditions and values does Roosevelt
believe are threatened by the "New World Order of Tyranny”? What language does
Roosevelt use in this speech? Why are his words so important? How do the language,
tone, and content of the speech resemble other speeches made in recent U.S. history?
Creative Extensions.
1. Before reading Chapter 27, show the students a short video clip from the motion
picture, Pearl Harbor. Ask students what they know about the attack on Pearl Harbor
and the role it played in propelling the U.S. into World War II. Ask them if they think
the clip you select is an accurate depiction of the events. Explain what is and is not
accurate. Then, explain that before reading Chapter 27, they will learn about the
political debate between the advocates of isolationism and internationalism prior to the
war, and that the attack on Pearl Harbor essentially ended that political debate.
2. After reading Chapter 27, play the full broadcast of Orson Welles’ October 30, 1938
airing of The War of the Worlds. Afterwards, engage the class in the following
discussion: What elements in American society encouraged the “wave of mass
hysteria” that occurred after the broadcast? How does the panic and fear that resulted
relate to American beliefs in internationalism and isolationism? Do you think
something similar could happen in America today? Why or why not?
3. Stage a classroom debate on any one of the following:
Resolved:
Resolved:
Resolved:
Resolved:
The United States entered the war when it established lend-lease
with England.
Maintaining U.S. isolationism is the best way to safeguard our power
and to ensure peace.
The United States should have entered World War II sooner.
Japan had no other choice but to bomb Pearl Harbor on December 7,
1941.
4. Divide the class into six groups of students. Each must write and produce their own
five-minute audiotape of a surprise invasion that they imagine might take place in the
early 21st century. Each group must also discuss the ways they think a contemporary
audience might react to their broadcast and write their collective thoughts down for
submission with their audiotape. Play the best of the tapes for the entire class. Ask
students how they feel the general public might respond to each of the audiotapes.
Then, have each group compare their thoughts about audience reaction with those of
their classmates.
5. Engage your students in the following discussion. Shortly after the tragic attacks on
American soil on September 11, 2001, many Americans compared the attack with the
historic attack on Pearl Harbor. Are these acts comparable? Why or why not? Are
the anti-Arab thoughts and actions after September 11th comparable to the antiJapanese thoughts and actions after the bombing of Pearl Harbor? Why or why not?
What could and should be done to prevent further erosion of human and civil rights
for ethnic minorities in case of national crisis?
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6. Divide the class into three groups of students. One group will research the geography
of Europe and the Ottoman Empire before World War I and draw a large map
showing the major geo-political boundaries. The second group will research the
geographical realities of Europe and the Middle East after World War I and draw a
large map showing the major geo-political boundaries. The third group will research
the geographical realities of Europe and Asia after World War II and draw a large
map showing the major geo-political boundaries. On the day the assignment is due,
post all three maps on one wall and engage the students in the following discussion:
Looking at these maps and remembering what you have learned about war and
diplomacy in the early 20th century, what major geographical and political shifts
occurred as a result of two world wars? How do the historical, geographical, and
political shifts help to explain the geo-political realities of the 21st century? What
light do they shed on American foreign policy decisions of the late 20th and early 21st
centuries?
7. Stage a press conference to which you have invited American historians to continue
their debate over the question of Pearl Harbor: Was the attack unprovoked and made
without warning, or was it part of a deliberate plan to make the Japanese force the
U.S. into the war? Invitees include Charles A. Beard, Thomas Fleming, Basil Rauch,
Richard Current, Robert Wohlstetter, Edwin T. Layton, Gordon W. Prange, and John
Toland. Ask eight students to assume the roles of each historian, learn as much as
possible about their position, prepare a threeminute introductory statement about
their position, and be prepared for questions from the press corp. The remainder of
the students will be part of the press corps and will ask questions after each historian
introduces his/her position.
8. Challenge your students to learn more about the Hitler Youth movement that helped
sustain the rise and popularity of Hitler throughout the Third Reich. Begin by
showing them the 1993 movie, Swing Kids. Then, have them explore The History
Place Website dedicated to this topic 
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/hitleryouth/index.html. Questions for
class discussion should include: How and why do you think German young people
were so enthusiastically involved in their support of Hitler and his government?
What happened to youth who disapproved of the movement or refused to participate?
Could something like this ever happen in a democratic society?
9. Invite students to watch any of the following movies at home either with their family
or with a group of friends from class: Triumph of the Will (1935); The Great Dictator
(1940); For Whom the Bell Tolls (1944); The Jesse Owens Story (1984).
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What does this production tell you about the global crisis between 1921 and
1941?
Do you think this film was a realistic portrayal of the historical era? Why or why
not? Be specific.
In your opinion, is this movie of any real use to understanding this period in
American history? Be specific about how and why  or why not.
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