The Road To War Chapter 17

America’s Foreign Policy  ISOLATIONISM: – The Great Depression – Americans not wanting a repeat of WWI – Divided country Some favored the ideas of demagogues like Hitler –Father Coughlin Some felt for the victims of aggression.

America chooses NEUTRALITY  Neutrality and Isolation: – Hawley-Smoot Tariff isolated America. We couldn’t buy other countries goods and they wouldn’t buy ours because of the tariff.

America Chooses NEUTRALITY  Neutrality Acts (1935): – Banned the US from providing weapons to nations at war. – Banned loans to nations at war. – Trade with countries at war as long as: Cash and carry Non-military items

What was going on in Europe to make America favor Isolation?  Totalitarianism – Government that exerts TOTAL control over every aspect of life in the country.  Fascism – Emphasizes the importance of nation or of an ethnic group.

Fascism and Totalitarianism  Strong dictatorial governments.  No respect for individual rights and freedom.

Players of the European Game: JOSEF STALIN  (1888 – 1953)  Joined the Communist Party as an insurgent.  Follower of Lenin.  Took control of the Communist Party and the government in  Sole ruler until death in 1953.

Josef Stalin: Personal Life  Came from poverty.  Little education  Violence in childhood  Treatment of his own family  Greatest Talent?? – Creating FEAR

JOSEF STALIN: Economic Plan  Took away private land from farmers and created COLLECTIVE FARMS. – Millions starved to death.

STALIN: Economic Plan  Industrialization of Russia: – More money to create steel factories, oil, coal. – Ignored housing, clothing, consumer needs. – Millions suffered.

Stalin’s Reign of Terror  Cult of Personality  PURGES – “Purified” the Party by getting rid of opponents.  SHOW TRIALS – Only one verdict. – GUILTY!!!

Fascism in Italy  Italy’s totalitarian government came out of the chaos of WWI.  Benito Mussolini – “Il Duce” – Blackshirts

Fascism in Italy  Blackshirt “thugs” terrorized people who did or might oppose Mussolini.  Brought control to Italy – but at a high, high price.  No democracy  Outlawed other political parties

Fascism in Italy  Mussolini wanted to rebuild the Roman Empire.  “The Country is Nothing Without Conquest” – Invasion of Ethiopia in 1935.

Hitler’s Rise to Power  Austrian by birth  Poor student  Artist???  WWI became a hero  Blamed Jews and Marxists for German losses in WWI.

Hitler’s Rise to Power: The Nazi Party  Founded in 1919 – Belief in Hitler – Belief about German nationalism – Belief in racial superiority – 1923, tried and failed to take over German government.

Hitler’s Rise to Power  Wrote MEIN KAMPF in prison – Defiance of the Versailles Treaty ending WWI – Called to strengthen German military again – Purifying the “Aryan Race” Removal of anything that wasn’t “Aryan”

Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany  Nazi Party promised Germans to stabilize the country, rebuild the economy, and restore the empire that had been lost in WWI.

Nazis in Control  Suspended the rights of free speech and press.  Storm Troopers / Brown Shirts terrorized people into silence.

Germany Rearms and Expands  1936: Germany took back the Rhineland.  1936: Created the AXIS with Italy  1938: Annexed Austria  1938: Invaded and took over Czechoslovakia

What did the world do as Hitler did this?  APPEASEMENT – Giving in to a competitor’s demands to keep the peace.

Appeasement  Britain’s Prime Minister: Neville Chamberlain.  Thought once Hitler had Czechoslovakia Hitler would “be content”  “Peace in Our Time.”

The Spanish Civil War  1936 Elections – Pre-election violence between political parties. – The group of liberal parties – REPUBLICANS – won. – DO NOT CONFUSE US REPUBLICANS WITH SPANISH REPUBLICANS!!!!!

The Spanish Civil War  Fascists in the military did NOT like the Republican victory.  CIVIL WAR in 1936

The Spanish Civil War  Both sides turned to other countries to help them.  Hitler, Mussolini backed the fascists with money, troops, and equipment.  Russia helped the Republicans.  40,000 English, Americans and French came to fight on the Republican side.

The Spanish Civil War: Fascism won  Fascism ruled from 1939 –  Francisco Franco. – Spanish nationalism – Totalitarian control

Europe FINALLY goes to war  “Britain and France had to choose between war and dishonor. They chose dishonor. They will have war.” – Winston Churchill

Invasion of Poland  Poland was next on Hitler’s list of countries to invade.  BUT – France and England had said they would not go along with this invasion. – Stalin was also a problem.

Hitler’s Solution?  Make a pact with Stalin.  Only have to fight Britain and France – IF they would fight.

Hitler’s BLITZKRIEG  “Lightning War”  Fast and concentrated land and air war.  Take enemy by surprise.  Terrorize civilian populations and troops.

Poland  Held out for a month.  Stalin’s Russia took part of the territory.  Germany came in with their laws and started to put Jews into Concentration camps.

What happened next?  NOTHING!!!  “Phony War”  Britain and France feared the potential losses.

France  Maginot Line – Why didn’t it work?

France  April 9, 1940 Germany attacks.  NOT through the Maginot Line.  They went round and attacked through Belgium.  Blitzkrieg!

Dunkirk  German drive to capture British and French soldiers.  Drove the allies to the coastal city of Dunkirk.

Dunkirk  Over nine days one of the greatest rescues in the history of warfare happened.  Over 900 boats of all types braved the LUFTWAFFE to save 340,000 soldiers.

Fall of France  June 10, 1940  Reaction of the French? – Collaborators (worked with the Nazis) – Resistance ( fought the Nazis as guerrillas / insurgents)

Battle of Britain  August 1940 – May 1941  Luftwaffe attacks day and night.  1,000 planes bombed Britain

The Blitz  Firebombs!  Heat of 1400-degrees Farenheit  Melted asphalt and glass. – Trapped people  People in shelters hit literally exploded from the heat.

England Replies  RAF (Royal Air Force)  Flying 6 – 7 missions a day.  Tried to avoid the German fighter planes and shoot down the bombers before they unloaded.

England’s RAF  Flew Spitfires and Hurricanes  80% died  But they took out more Germans.

England’s RAF  Meanwhile – England bombers were bombing German cities.

Japan Builds an Empire  US Great Depression affected industry in Japan.  1930s – rise of nationalism and fascism in Japan.

The Manchurian Incident  Japan needed raw materials and food.  Why not invade Manchuria to get it?

The Manchurian Incident  PUPPET STATE: – Supposedly independent country but under the control of a more powerful country. – Manchuria 1932

Manchuria  Japan sent a million farmers, businessmen, and soldiers to make Manchuria their colony.

Japan invades China  The Rape of Nanking  The world was horrified.  The world did nothing.

1940 Japan finds new allies  Germany and Italy  The Axis Powers

What was America doing in 1940?  America First Committee – Blocked any aid to England. – Strict Isolation – Charles Lindbergh a leader

1940 Election  Roosevelt won.  “Your boys are not going to be sent to any foreign war.”

Lend Lease  November 1940  “If your neighbor’s house is on fire, you don’t sell him a hose. You lend it to him and take it back after the fire is out.” – FDR – $49-billion in aid given.

Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor  Most American attention was on what was happening in Europe.  That included FDR

Before the Attack  Roosevelt did use the Neutrality Acts to keep iron, steel and oil from being exported to Japan.  1940 froze all Japanese investments in the United States.

Before the Attack  October 1941 – General Tojo Hideki became Prime Minister of Japan. – Tojo – MAJOR fascist – Admired Hitler – Believed any country that tried to keep Japan from needed supplies was an enemy.

Before the Attack  Admiral Yamamoto  American education  Brilliant tactician  Did NOT favor a war with the US

Yamamoto  When he saw he could not stop Japan from a war with the US – it was his duty to try to make Japan win.

America: The Sleeping Giant  “America is a sleeping giant. Once awakened, his wrath will by mighty.” – Yamamoto

Japan negotiates with the US  October – December  BUT: US had cracked Japanese coded messages.  US KNEW on November 27 and December 6 an attack was going to happen.

Before Pearl Harbor  But what the US DIDN’T Know was WHERE the attack would be.

Why Pearl Harbor?  Little known port  Half the fleet would be there in December  The harbor is only 3 miles square

December 7, 1941  Shortly after 7 AM it started.

Specifics of the Attack  The Arizona  Hit by 1,760 lb. Bomb in the forward ammo magazine.  Went down in 9 minutes  Half the dead of Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941  By 9:45 the attack was over.  2,400 lives lost  1,200 injured  200 warplanes destroyed  18 warships sunk or heavily damaged – 8 of the nine battleships of the fleet.

Back in Washington DC  The Japanese blew it. – Diplomatically speaking. – The Declaration of War on the US came AFTER the attack.

Yamamoto knew Japan would lose too  The three primary targets weren’t in the harbor when they attacked. – The Enterprise – The Lexington – The Saratoga

FDR  “December 7, a day that will live in infamy.” – FDR, Declaration of War speech

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