Transcript From Isolation to Involvementx

FROM ISOLATION TO INVOLVEMENT
REVIEW
 How
did the U.S. initially feel about getting involved
in World War I?
 How might this view impact World War II?
 What aspects of the Treaty of Paris did Hitler ignore
or purposefully violate?
ROOSEVELT OPPOSES AGGRESSION
 Roosevelt
condemned the Japanese attacks on
China and civilian populations
 Believed an informal alliance of peace loving
nations was necessary but did not suggest how to
quarantine the aggressive ones
 Speech
was criticized but alerted Americans of the potential
threat of Japan
WAR ERUPTS IN EUROPE
 France
and Britain’s efforts to appease Hitler did
not stop Hitler’s expansion
 After
Hitler took Czechoslovakia into his Reich, Britain and
France vowed consequences if he acted again
 Britain
and France signed an alliance with Poland,
guaranteeing aid if Hitler attacks
NAZI-SOVIET NONAGRESSION PACT
 Hitler
was more concerned about war with the Soviet
Union
 He did not want to fight a war on two-fronts
 Signed the Nazi-Soviet Nonagression Pact in August
1939
 Publically
 Germany
promised not to attack each other
invaded Poland on September 1, 1939
 Launched
directions
a massive blitzkrieg (sudden attack) from three
BLITZKRIEG-LIGHTNING WAR
 New
style of warfare that emphasizes the use of speed
and firepower to penetrate deep into the enemy’s
territory
 New technologies made it very effective
 Coordinated assault by tanks, planes, motorized
vehicles, infantry
 Germany broke through Poland’s defenses
 September 17 the Soviet Union invaded Poland from
the east
ALLIANCES
 Axis
Powers
 Germany,
Italy, Japan (and others)
 Allies
 Britain,
France
 Eventually
 “Phony
Soviet Union, U.S., and China
War”- after the Polish campaign, an 8
month period of relative quiet
OTHER COUNTRIES FALL TO HITLER
 Spring
1940 Hitler moves West to Norway and
Denmark
 Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg
 Fall
almost immediately
FRANCE FALLS TO HITLER

Prepared for Hitler by creating the Maginot Line


Interconnected series of fortresses located on the border of France and
Germany
May 1940 German tanks rolled through the Ardennes
A hilly, forested area believed to be invasion proof
 German plan almost worked but the British and French were able to
remove their troops from the port at Dunkirk


Germans were still able to take Paris and forced the French
to surrender
Occupied France- large Northern area controlled by the Germans
 Vichy (Unoccupied) France- small southern section administered by the
French (collaborated with Nazis)

THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN- AN AIR BATTLE
 After
the fall of France, Germany turns to Britain
 After Dunkirk, Winston Churchill abandoned appeasement
 Germany’s air force (Luftwaffe) depended on destroying the
British Royal Air Force and gaining control of the sky
 Germany bombed civilian as well as military targets

Destroyed houses, factories, and churches
 “the

blitz”- month long bombing of London
Ultimately Britain held on and Hitler postponed the invasion of Britain
indefinitely
AMERICANS DEBATE INVOLVEMENT
 At
the beginning of the war, many Americans favored
isolation
 Great Depression forced Americans to focus on domestic
affairs

Believed WWI was a deadly, expensive mistake
 Nye
Committee- researched whether big business conspired
to enter WWI to make fortunes selling weapons
Lacked hard evidence but suggested bankers and manufacturers had
pulled the U.S. into war
 Further reinforced isolationist sentiments

NEUTRALITY ACTS 1935, 1936, 1937
 Imposed
certain restrictions on Americans during
times of war
 Forbidden from sailing on ships owned by nations
at war
 Forbidden to make loans or sell weapons and arms
NEUTRALITY ACT OF 1939
 FDR
wanted to aid the Democratic nations
 This act included a cash-and-carry provision
 Allowed
belligerent nation to buy goods and arms in the U.S. if
they paid cash and carried them to their own ships
 The British navy controlled the seas so the provision aided the
allies
 Americans
still debated neutrality and FDR’s openly
pro-Allies position
INCHING TOWARD WAR
 September
1940- Germany, Italy, Japan signed the
Tripartite Pact to become allies
 Congress passed the Selective Service Act, a peacetime
draft, provided military training to troops and reserve
troops
 1940- Roosevelt is reelected to a third term
 Once
he is safely reelected, he increases his support of Britain
FOUR FREEDOMS
 Roosevelt
gave his “Four Freedoms” speech in
January 1941
 Spoke of freedom of speech, freedom of worship,
freedom from want, and freedom from fear
 Announced they were threatened by Nazi and
Japanese militarism
 Best way to stay out of conflict was to aid Britain
LEND-LEASE ACT
 Roosevelt
called for America to become the “great
arsenal from democracy”
 Lend-Lease act authorized Roosevelt to “sell, transfer
title to , exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of,
to any such government any defense article” whenever
he thought “necessary in the interest of the defense of
the United States”
 An economic declaration of war against Germany and
the Axis powers
ATLANTIC CHARTER
 August
1941, Prime minister Churchill and
Roosevelt secretly met on a warship to discuss
Britain's problems in the war and hopes for the
world after Hitler’s defeat
 The men signed the Atlantic Charter- a document
that endorsed national self-determination and an
international system of “general security”
U.S. NAVY BATTLES GERMAN U-BOATS
 Hitler
noticed the deepening alliance between U.S. and
Britain and the transfer of arms via ship
 Fall 1941 Hitler orders German U-Boats (submarines) to
attack American Ships
 The
attacks shocked and angered Americans and moved them
closer to declaring war on Germany
 Roosevelt ordered attacks on U-Boats
 June 1941- Germany had gone to war with the Soviet Union
 By November, war against the U.S. seemed inevitable