The Road to WW II

Beginnings

US Isolationism• The mood of the United States following WW I

and before WW II was isolationist and desperate.

• The Versailles Treaty was not ratified by the United States because Congress did not support League of Nations (14th Point)

• The migration of one-half million AA to cities in the North and West (the Great Migration, 1910-1920) led to race riots.

US Isolationism• Low family incomes, joblessness, and buying stocks

on margin (with loans) led to the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression.

• In the 1930s, the Neutrality Acts were passed to restrict Americans from involvement in war-related activities. These prohibited, for example, arms sales or loans to warring countries and travel on their commercial ships.

• Only WW II could bring enough demand for goods to increase business and improve the economy.

Europe Between the Wars

• The Versailles Treaty of 1919 put the blame for the war on Germany and planted the seeds of WW II.

• The Versailles Treaty included harsh treatment of Germany, the breaking up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the creation of new countries out of Germany and Russian territories, and the short-changing Italy in the assignment of territory.

Europe Between the Wars

• Worldwide economic depression created unrest.

• Resentment and economic desperation fostered dictatorships and militarism in Germany (Adolph Hitler), Italy (Benito Mussolini), and Russia (Joseph Stalin). Militarism and imperialism were strong in Japan (General Hideki Tojo).

Europe 1914

Europe Post WW I

Peace Unravels

• Rise of Dictators: (mid 1920s-1930s)• Reaction to: Post-WW I depression and Treaty

of Versailles1. Europe

1. Fascism: Belief in nationalism and expansion through a strong military. Anti-Communist

2. Italy: Benito Mussolini creates the 1st Fascist Gov. Backed by a militia called the BlackshirtsAttacks and conquers Ethiopia

Mussolini and Hitler

Germany

• Adolph Hitler creates the Nazi party– Goal: the creation of a “master race” to rule the

world.– German rearmament: Treaty of Versailles violation– Takes the Rhineland (border of France)– Conquers Austria– Demands part of Czechoslovakia

Communism

• Soviet Union: Joseph Stalin creates dictatorship Goal: Gain land and power while avoiding war

Asia

• Japan: General Tojo creates military government

• Japan wants to expand to acquire raw material– Invades Manchuria– Begins war with China

World Response

• League of Nations did nothing• France & England:– :Policy of Appeasement: “Give Hitler what he

wants”• Munich Conference (1938): Leaders of F & E agree to

give part of Czechoslovakia to Hitler if he stops his demands• Two weeks later Hitler takes all of Czechoslovakia• Pre-War American Policy: Neutrality

– Neutrality Acts of 1935 and 1937: No trade with countries at war

Europe at War• Non-Aggression Pact (1939): Germany &

Russia agree not to attack one another.– Prevents Germany from fighting a 2 front war– Germany attacks Poland (Sept 1, 1939)Blitzkrieg: “Lightning War”

Use of tanks & airplanes leads to quick victoryEngland & France declare war on GermanyGermany invades France: France surrenders (June

1940)England left to fight alone

German troops in Warsaw

American War Policy

• After the Invasion of Poland:– Neutrality Act of 1939: The US sells weapons on a

Cash and Carry basis• Helps England: Bigger merchant marine and Navy Base for Destroyer Deal: America trades old destroyers

to the British in exchange for naval bases

o After the Fall of France: England alone in fight against Axis

American War Policy• Lend/Lease: America agrees to become the

“arsenal of democracy”– Supply our allies (England) with weapons & defend

British convoys loaded against German U-boats– It allowed the US to swell or lend war materials to

“any country whose defense the president deems vital to the defense of the United States

– Roosevelt compared it to “lending a garden hose to a next-door neighbor whose house is on fire.”

– Trade Embargo: Against Japan preventing them from buying vital natural resources (oil) from America

American War Policy

• Clearly our attempts at neutrality were a failure. We slowly moved closer and closer towards involvement in WW II.

Japanese Ambitions• During the 1930s, a militaristic Japan invaded

and brutalized Manchuria and China as it sought military and economic domination over Asia. Japan declared all-out war on China in 1937.

• In 1940, Japan signed an alliance with Germany and Italy (the Axis).

• Japan had militaristic and imperialistic ambitions like Germany, and both were invading their neighbors.

Japanese Invasion of China, 1937

Japanese Ambitions

• The United States refused to recognize Japanese conquests in Asia and imposed an embargo on exports of oil and steel to Japan, which Japan desperately needed.

• While Japanese representatives were in Washington negotiating with the United States, and without any warning, Japan carried out an air attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.

Arizona – Pearl Harbor

Hickam Field – Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor• The attack destroyed much of the American Pacific

fleet and killed several thousand Americans.• Roosevelt called it “a date that will live in infamy”

as he asked Congress to declare war on Japan on December 8, 1941.

• After Pearl Harbor, Hitler honored a pact with Japan and declared war on the US.

• The debates over isolationism in the US were over.• WWII was now a true world war, and the US was

fully involved.