CHAPTER 34: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War

America Becomes a Good Neighbor Philippine Independence by 1946 – More freeing US from the Philippines than freeing THEM from us Formal recognition of the USSR in 1933 – Motives: Trade and to balance the power of Japan in Asia and the threat of Germany in Europe The Good Neighbor Policy – FDR renounces armed intervention in the Western Hemisphere (undoing the Roosevelt Corollary?) – Pulls marines – Some businesses took a hit but it paid dividends in goodwill

Europe After World War I WWI caused the deaths of millions and the destruction of numerous cities and farms. The European economy was in ruins. The Treaty of Versailles left many European nations unhappy. Germany was most affected by the Treaty of Versailles.

Guernica by Pablo Picasso In 1937, German planes, aiding Franco in the Spanish Civil War, bombed and destroyed Guernica. The indiscriminate killing of women and children aroused world opinion. The bombing of Guernica became a symbol of fascist brutality.

The Military Takes Control of the Government in Japan Pre World War I, Japan industrializes with the help of a strong military to gain natural resources After WWI, Japan is a member of the League of Nations and signs the Kellogg-Briand Pact Worldwide depression renews militarism Extreme nationalism and a need for raw materials (like oil) put Japan on the path toward war Prime Minister Hideki Tojo continued to develop the military

Military Aggression is Met with a Weak Response in Asia Japan takes control of Manchuria in n. China – The League ordered Japan to leave (they did not) – Soon Japan occupied all of China’s major cities and withdrew from the weak League of Nations FDR speaks out against the “epidemic of world lawlessness” in his Quarantine Speech hoping to get Japan to stop expanding (they did not)

Military Aggression is Met with a Weak Response in Europe Hitler begins rebuilding the German military against the orders of the Treaty of Versailles Hitler reoccupies the Rhineland against the orders of the Treaty of Versailles Hitler annexes Austria (the anschluss) Hitler wants to take the Sudetenland which was taken from Germany after WWI – In the Munich Pact (appeasement), British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain appeases Hitler and gives it to him Hitler then takes the rest of Czechoslovakia

“Peace in our time” (Neville Chamberlain) never came to be

Congress Legislates Neutrality Neutrality Acts in 1935, 1936 and 1937 – No American could legally sail on a belligerent ship, sell or transport munitions to a nation at war or make loans America was not going to get sucked into WWII like WWI By not helping anyone, the aggressors WERE helped and the victims suffered

Meanwhile… Mussolini was expanding into Ethiopia – The League of Nations imposed weak economic sanctions to get Italy to leave (they did not) In May, the Rome-Berlin Axis is formed by Hitler and Mussolini in a treaty of friendship – Both help Franco in Spain In the U.S. it’s all about neutrality – “no arms, ammunition or weapons of war” to nations in conflict – No one wanted to repeat WWI

Hitler Plunges Europe into War Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister in Great Britain – Along with France, no more German territorial demands would be tolerated August, 1939: Hitler signs a Non-Aggression Pact with Stalin – Neither would attack the other – Divide Poland September, 1939: Hitler invades Poland – Blitzkrieg (lightning war) tactics – Great Britain and France declare war on Germany

British forces cross the English Channel to help The “phony war” begins then ends in April 1940 with German surprise attacks in n. and w. Europe 338,000 British troops have to evacuate at Dunkirk June 1940 Paris falls to the Nazis while Italy declares war on Great Britain and France, too (they form the Axis Powers) – A French “puppet government” is formed in Vichy Spring 1941: Britain stands alone

A Third Term for FDR?

Americans Move Away from Isolationism Japan joins Germany and Italy in an alliance of mutual support – The Tripartite Pact signed in September 1940 – Now who would have to fight a two front war? Selective Service and Training Act (1940) – 1 st peacetime draft in American history Lend-Lease to Great Britain (lend, not sell, arms) – The U.S. would become the “arsenal of democracy” and “send guns, not sons” to Europe Atlantic Charter (FDR and Churchill) – Promise not to use war to expand territory – Reaffirm a belief in self-government – A new “permanent system of general security” (U.N.)

“Yesterday, December 7 th, a date which will live in infamy…” - F.D.R. Japan had tried to establish a “new order in East Asia” The U.S. responded with aid to Japan’s enemies, blocking exports (oil), freezing Japanese assets in U.S. banks At Pearl Harbor, 300 Japanese bombers and fighter planes sank or damaged 18 American ships and 300 aircraft 2400 Americans killed, 1200 wounded