Post on 29-Jan-2016
Chapter 16 Section 4
America Moves Toward War
Moving Away from Neutrality
• Sept 1939-FDR revises Neutrality Acts
• Asks Congress for a “cash and carry” provision- allow nations to buy weapons from the US as long as they paid in cash and shipped them themselves
Moving Away from Neutrality
• Providing arms would help France and Britain to defeat Hitler and hopefully keep the US out of war
• Isolationists argued the opposite
• Congress passes cash and carry in 1939
The Axis Threat
• Cash and carry looked like too little too late
• BY summer of ’40 France had fallen and Britain was under siege by the Luftwaffe
The Axis Threat
• September 1940-Japan, Germany and Italy signed a mutual defense treaty-The tripartite Pact
• These three nations became known as the Axis Powers
The Axis Threat
• Tripartite Pact aimed at keeping the US out of the war
• If the US were to declare war on one of the Axis nations, it would face a 2 ocean war
The Axis Threat
• In response, FDR provided the British with “all aid short of war”
• 1940 sent 500,000 rifles, 80,000 machine guns, 50 destroyers
• A “decidedly unneutral act”
Building America’s Defenses
• FDR asks Congress to increase spending for national defense
• Due to isolationism, US was militarily weak
• 18 nations had larger armies than the US– Weak navy– Small airforce
Building America’s Defenses
• Congress boosts defense spending in 1940
• Passed 1st peacetime military draft
• 16 million men registered-1 million of which were drafted
FDR Reelected
• FDR decides to run for 3rd term in office
• Both candidates wanted to support Britain
• Both promised to keep the US out of war
• With very little difference, FDR wins election
The Great Arsenal of Democracy
• FDR says there is no hope of negotiation with Hitler
• Warned that of Britain fell, Axis would be unchallenged to conquer the world
• America would be “living at the point of a gun”
• America had to become “the great arsenal of democracy
The Lend-Lease Plan
• By late 1940-Britain had no more cash to spend on American weapons
• FDR proposed to lend or lease weapons to any country whose defense was vital to the US.
The Lend-Lease Plan
• Isolationists argued bitterly against lend-lease
• Congress passes Lend-Lease Act in 1941
• Not only Britain received lend-lease aid
Nazi Invasion of the Soviet Union
• June 22, 1941- Nazis invade Soviet Union with 3 million troops
• Hitler predicted victory in 6 weeks
• Soviets resisted fiercely
Nazi Invasion of the Soviet Union
• Soviets pulled back burning everything the Nazis could use-scorched earth policy
• Russian winter set in• German invasion
slowed to a halt• FDR began send
lend-lease supplies to the Soviets
German Wolf Packs
• For lend-lease, supply lines had to be kept open across Atlantic
• Hitler deployed hundreds of submarines to stop shipments
• Wolf Packs (groups of 15-20 subs) searched shipping lanes for cargo
German Wolf Packs
• April-May 1941-Germans sink 1.2 million tons of British shipping
• June 1941-FDR orders US navy to protect shipments as far east as Iceland
• American ships had permission to attack German subs in self-defense
Planning for War-Atlantic Charter
• Congress extends draft another 18 months
• FDR & Churchill met secretly off coast of Newfoundland
• Created a declaration of principles call the Atlantic Charter
Atlantic Charter
• Spelled out causes for which WWII was fought-before the US ever entered it
• 1. Seek no territorial expansion
• 2. No territorial changes w/out consent of inhabitants
• 3. Respect right of people to choose their own form of govmt.
• 4. Promote free trade• 5. Encourage
international cooperation• 6. Freedom from want
and fear• 7. Disarmament of
aggressors• 8. Establish a permanent
system of general security
Atlantic Charter
• Atlantic charter expresses common purpose of the Allies
• Allies- nations joined together to fight the Axis-26 nations
Shooting Begins
• Sept 4, 1941-German U-Boat fires at USS Greer
• FDR announces that US ships fire at German ships on sight
Shooting Begins
• 2 weeks later the Pink Star-a US merchant ship was sunk with enough supplies to feed more than 3.5million British laborers for a week
• Mid October US destroyer Kearny sunk
Japan’s Ambitions
• Japanese expansionists wanted a vast colonial empire
• Invaded Manchuria in 1931 and China in 1937
• Japan’s ambitions brought them into conflict with other colonial powers
Japan’s Ambitions
• France, the Netherlands, Britain and the United States had colonies in Asia
• By 1941-France and the Netherlands had fallen to Germany
• Britain was too busy fighting Hitler to fight off Japanese
• Only the US was in the way
Japan’s Ambitions
• Japanese begin pushing south of China in July of 1941
• Took French military bases in Indochina
• US protested this action by cutting off trade with the Japanese
Japan’s Ambitions
• US cuts off oil to Japan• With no oil, Japan could
be defeated without its enemies ever attacking
• New Japanese Prime Minister-Hideki Tojo– Said he would make one
last attempt at peace with Americans
– If this failed, Japan would go to war
Japan’s Ambitions
• November 5, 1941-Tojo’s peace envoy flew to Washington for talks
• On the same day- Tojo orders Japanese navy to prepare for an attack on the US
Japan’s Ambitions
• US had broken Japan’s secret communication codes
• Knew Japan was preparing for an attack
• Didn’t know where or when it would come
• Peace talks went on for a month
Japan’s Ambitions
• December 6, 1941-Japanese peace envoy ordered to reject all American peace proposals
• “This means war”– FDR
Attack on Pearl Harbor
• December 7, 1941-more than 180 Japanese warplanes launched from 6 carriers attacked US naval base at Pearl Harbor
• 90 minutes-Japanese planes barely disturbed by American guns
Attack on Pearl Harbor
• Attack a stunning victory for Japan
• US navy all but crippled
• Japanese lost only 29 planes
Attack on Pearl Harbor
• US losses– 18 ships sunk or badly
damaged– 350 planes destroyed
or badly damaged– 2,400 people died– 1,178 wounded
More losses than the US Navy lost in all WWI
Attack on Pearl Harbor
• December 8, 1941-US declares war on Japan
• December 11, 1941-Germany and Italy declare war on the US