Transcript Read Situation #1

■American
Reaction to the
outbreak of WWII
■Thursday 10/18/12
■ Essential Question:
–What was the U.S. response to the
outbreak of World War II?
■ Warm-Up Question:
–Germany, Italy, Britain, & USA all
experienced an economic
depression in the 1930s
–Germany & Italy turned to
dictators, while the USA & Britain
used democracy to elect leaders
–How were the totalitarian leaders
different from democratic ones?
America’s Response to World War II:
Read Situation #1 (1930—1938)
Answer: D
America’s Response in the 1930s
■America’s response to the rise of
totalitarianism was isolationism:
–Congress passed the Neutrality
Acts (1935-1937) that outlawed
weapons sales to nations at war
& required trade during wartime
to be done on foreign ships
–Americans protested when FDR
tried to convince world leaders to
“quarantine” aggressor nations
America’s Response to World War II:
Read Situation #2 (1939)
Answer: C
America’s Response in 1939
■To help Britain & France defeat
Germany, Congress passed the
“cash-and-carry” provision:
–Amended the Neutrality Acts to
allow arms sales to the Allies
–But Allied nations had to agree
to pay in cash & transport
supplies on their own ships
America’s Response to World War II:
Read Situation #3 (1940)
Answer: D
America’s Response in 1940-1941
■By 1940, Britain needed U.S. aid
to hold off the German assault:
–The Lend-Lease Act allowing the
U.S. to send war supplies to
Allied nations & transport goods
to Europe on armed U.S. ships
–FDR began preparing America
for a possible war by calling for
the 1st ever peacetime draft
Lend-Lease Act of 1941
The United States will become
the “Arsenal of Democracy”
America’s Response to World War II:
Read Situation #4 (1941)
Answer: D
America’s Response in 1941
■The success of the Axis Powers in
Europe brought the USA closer to
an undeclared war on Germany
–FDR gave the navy & merchant
ships authority to fire on u-boats
–FDR secretly drafted the Atlantic
Charter with Churchill: planned a
war strategy if the USA entered
WWII & a post-war United Nations
America’s Response in 1941
■ The USA attempted to stop
Japanese aggression in Asia:
–FDR wanted to protect U.S.
territories & allies in the Pacific
–The USA created an embargo &
stopped selling iron & oil to Japan
–Hideki Tojo sent an envoy to
negotiate a resolution, but
secretly plotted to attack the U.S.
America’s Response to World War II:
Read Situation #5 (1941)
Answer: C
America’s Response in 1941
■The Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor on Dec 7, 1941 brought
the USA into World War II
–On Dec 8, Congress declared
war on Japan
–On Dec 11, Germany & Italy
declared war on the U.S.
■The USA had to fight a two-front
war in Europe & Asia; Despite the
attack by Japan, FDR viewed
Germany as the immediate threat
■WWII (vlogbrothers)