Transcript Ch 27 The Global Crisis

The Global Crisis
Roosevelt becomes president in 1933: supporter of League of Nations but
also worked to ensure that America was “master of her own fate”
In the end, the cautious, limited American internationalism of the interwar
years proved insufficient to protect the interests of the United States, to
create global stability, or to keep the nation from becoming involved in the
greatest war in human history.
I. The Diplomacy of the New Era
Replacing the League
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League of Nations not a possibility with Harding
Charles Hughes signs individual treaties with
Central Powers negotiating war terms… believed
this would be enough to resolve war terms
Washington Conference 1921: attempt to
prevent increasing war developments between
America, Britain and Japan
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Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 concluded New
Era peace negotiations
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Washington Conference 1921
Hughes surprised when conference agrees to most
of his terms
Five-Power Pact in Feb 1922 sets limits and ratios
on each country’s military supplies
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proposed a multilateral treaty outlawing war as
an instrument of national policy
14 Nations signed it… 48 other nations would
eventually sign it
enforcement rested on “moral force” …no
structure or framework for enforcement…
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Debts and Diplomacy
Hughes: foremost importance of
diplomacy was to ensure American
trade faced no obstacles for
expansion
Europe primary focus: major Europe
industries suffering
European Allied powers struggling
to pay $11 billion dollars in loans
“They hired the money, didn’t
they?” Calvin Coolidge… refusing to
forgive loan payments
Dangerous Triangle: Germany
borrowing to pay Euro Allies, to pay
debts owed to America, who’s
loaning money to Germany…
Calvin Coolidge
Debts and Diplomacy Continued
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Charles Dawes
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Policies would be partially
responsible for the Great
Depression
Latin America
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Charles Dawes
U.S. banks would loan Germany huge
sums, in return Euro Allies would
reduce amount of payments
Did little to solve problems it
addressed
Still troubling triangle
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U.S. used military presence to extend
economic interests
Resentment towards “Yankee
Imperialism”
Hoover and the World Crisis
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world financial crisis that began in 1929 intensified in 1931…
not only caused economic distress, but was producing
dangerous nationalism that threatened the weak international
agreements established during the previous decade
Depression toppled existing political leaders and replaced
them with belligerent governments bent on expansion as a
solution to their economic problems
Hoover lacked sufficient tools for dealing with it
Latin America
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repudiated Roosevelt corollary to the Monroe Doctrine: refused
permit American intervention when several Latin American
countries defaulted on debt obligations to the United States in
October
America would grant diplomatic recognition to any sitting
government to the region without questioning it
Hoover and the
World Crisis
Europe
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Hoover refused to cancel war debts amid a
growing crisis
Extended limits of naval constructions set
forth at Washington Conference in 1921
World Disarmament Conference: Hoover
urged reductions in armaments, France calls
for an international army to stop Germany…
conference ends in failure
Rising fascism: Italy, Germany and Japan
(Asia)
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Hoover on the way out / Roosevelt on the
way in… what to do?
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Hoover
Lebensraum: living space for Germans
Ethiopia: Italy
Manchuria: Japan
adopt a more energetic form of
internationalism and enter into firmer and
more meaningful associations with other
nations
resort to nationalism and rely on its own
devices for dealing with the world’s problems
II. Isolationism and Internationalism
Depression Diplomacy
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New Deal continued to base its foreign policy
almost entirely on the nation’s immediate economic
needs
Roosevelt’s breaks from Hoover
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London Economic Conference: decided to work with
Europe in regards to war debts and the gold standard…
but tensions rise and not clear settlement is reached until
1936
April 1934 he signed a bill to forbid American Banks from
making loans to any nation in default on its debts
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within months war debt payments would stop for good
no currency for European countries to buy American products
America and the Soviet Union
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Agreement between Russia
and United States
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Soviets would cease their
propaganda efforts in the United
States and protect American
citizens in Russia
United States would recognize the
communist regime
Tension and mistrust still high
in 1934
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American industries fail in Russia
US fails to pledge support against
Japanese
Soviet propaganda
The Good Neighbor Policy
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Latin America most important target of trade exchange
and recovery
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Where Hoover abandoned American practice of using
military force to compel Latin American gov’ts to repay
debts, respect foreign investments… Roosevelt went
further
Montevideo Inter-American Conference 1933
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during 1930s trade would increase 100% with other countries
in Western Hemisphere
“No state has the right to intervene in the internal or external
affairs of another”
Roosevelt would honor the promise through his presidency
Replaced military force with economic influence
American businesses continued to dominate Latin
American economies
The Rise of Isolationism Continued
world realized at the end of Hoover
administration that hopes for peace
through disarmament would not be
an option
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arms control conference in Geneva
fails 1932
two years later Japan would
withdrawal from London Naval
Conference
Faced with the choice of stabilizing
the world with action or isolate…
most Americans chose the latter
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Roosevelt asked Congress to ratify a
treaty to make the United States part
of the World Court in 1935
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strong opposition lead by Father
Coughlin and Hearst Newspapers
killed the treaty in the Senate
big blow to the president… would
not attempt to challenge the
isolationist tide
*Fake Smile*
The Rise of Isolationism Continued
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Neutrality Acts 1935 and 1937
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Roosevelt recognizes the danger of isolationism, but also understands
public opinion is strongly isolationist
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response to Italy’s plan to Ethiopia
designed to prevent a recurrence of the events that many Americans
believed led to WWI
“protection of neutral rights”
“cash and carry policy” to aide both sides in conflict, including belligerents
Italy invades Ethiopia, leaves League of Nations and forms Axis Powers
with Germany
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy would go on to support military revolution /
Civil War in Spain… Falangists and Francisco Franco
in response to Japanese aggression in China FDR states that aggressors
should be “quarantined” without clearly defining what a quarantine was
public response to “quarantine” speech was very hostile
Panay bombed and sunk by Japanese in China… Roosevelt accepts
apology
The Failure of Munich
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Hitler moves revived German army into the Rhineland in 1936
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Austria March 1938
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demand from Czechoslovakia
Czech refuses
World prepares for unwanted
Sept 29 Hitler meets with leaders from France and England and agree to give
Hitler parts of Czechoslovakia if he promises to go no further… “This is the last
territorial claim I have to make in Europe.”
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Anschluss / “unity” with native land
Sudetenland Sept. 1938
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violation of WWI treaty
taking over disputed territory that France had controlled since WWI
British PM Chamberlain returns home with a hero’s welcome
Reflective of popular policy of “appeasement”
March of 1939 Hitler takes all of Czechoslovakia in blatant violation of Munich
April 1939 Hitler began threatening Poland
August 1939: Non-Aggression pact between Hitler and Stalin (not invited to
Munich conference)
September 1, 1939 Hitler launches fullscale invasion of Poland… England and
France declare war on Germany
“War of the Worlds” Orson Wells
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country goes nuts
representative of the time
representative of the power of the media over the
people
III. From Neutrality to Intervention
A. Neutrality Tested
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Never a question that US would support France and
Britain, the question was to what extent
September 1939 Roosevelt asks for revision of
Neutrality Acts
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FDR believed US should help Britain and France with
munitions at the very least
Wanted arms embargo lifted, but isolationist forces limited
change
Europe silent after Poland… thoughts of a “phony
war”
Russia takes over territories: Latvia, Estonia and
Lithuania… and then Finland…America outraged but
does nothing
Neutrality Tested Continued
Germany launches huge string of attacks in Spring of 1940…
Allied efforts powerless to German blitzkrieg
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Denmark and Norway
Netherlands and Belgium
Deep into France
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Mussolini invades from the South
Hitler from the North
June 22 1940 France falls to Germany… Vichy gov’t established
May 15 W.Churchill gives FDR a list of needed supplies
May 16 1940 FDR asks Congress for an additional $1 billion
for defense
Shift in public opinion in US after France falls to Germany
Fight for Freedom Committee vs. America First Committee
The Third-Term Campaign
Roosevelt
defeats
Willkie (55%
to 45%)
Willkie
Roosevelt
Neutrality Abandoned
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In December of 1940 GB was bankrupt
Lend Lease Act
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How to get the supplies there?
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opportunity to “remove dollar sign” in the cost of the war
USA would lend or lease armaments to any country “vital to
the defense of the United States”
German submarines destroying 1 million tons of shipping
each month
American ships begin patrolling the Atlantic
Germany did little to challenge hostile American
actions
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situation changes when Germany invades Russia
when Russia did not surrender (as Germans expected)
Roosevelt asked Congress to extend the land lease act to
USSR
Neutrality Abandoned Again
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Nazi forces begin a campaign against US
vessels
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Atlantic Charter
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German U-boat
German U-boat fires on American
destroyer Greer
Roosevelt orders American destroyers to
“fire on sight” of German U-boats
US destroyer Ruben James sunk,
Congress outraged… passes policy that
enacts naval war against Germany
Roosevelt meets with Churchill off the
coast of Newfoundland in Canada
FDR makes no military commitments, but
sets out “certain common principles”
Called for “the final destruction of Nazi
Germany”
FDR new the USA public would only
support a war declaration in the case of
an attack
The Road to Pearl Harbor
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Sept. of 1940 Japan signs the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy
Roosevelt had already displayed his animosity toward Japanese
policies by harshly denouncing their continuing assault on China and
terminating a commercial treaty with Tokyo
July 1941 Japanese take Vietnam (French colony)
FDR freezes all Japanese assets in the United States
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Tokyo willing to compromise at first, but US fears Japan’s prince will
not be powerful enough to honor treaty… negotiations fail
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made it hard for Japan to get essential supplies, including oil
anti-Japanese prejudices lead large majority of American public to support
Roosevelt
Issue of China
October of 1941: Prince Konoye replaced by General Hideki Tojo
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Tojo still works to continue negotiations
Secretary Hull “I have washed my hands of the Japanese situation…”
The Road to Pearl Harbor Continued
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American intelligence had already decoded
Japanese messages which had made clear
that war was imminent… they new that after
Nov. 29 an attack would only be a matter of
days
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December 7, 1941
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7:55 AM huge wave of Japanese bombers
attacked Pearl Harbor
an hour later another wave attacks
USA not prepared
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did not know for certain where
Hawaii was so far away from Japan, few
believed an attack was possible
ships bunched up defenselessly in the harbor
airplanes parked in rows on the airstrips
Losses
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8 battleships
3 cruisers
4 other vessels
2000 soldiers dead
by “fortunate accident” none of the American
aircraft carriers had been in Pearl Harbor on
Dec. 7
The Road to Pearl Harbor Continued
Again
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Unified the American
people in a fervent
commitment to war
instantly
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accomplished
overnight was FDR
had been working
on for over a decade
Dec.8 War is declared
on Japan
Dec. 11 Germany,
Italy and Japan all
declared war on the
United States…
Congress reciprocated
without a single
dissenting vote