Transcript America enters the war

A World In Flames
AMERICA ENTERS THE WAR
FDR Supports England
 The Neutrality Act of 1939
 Replaced the acts of 1935 and 1937 and allowed countries at war
(Great Britain) to buy weapons from the US on a cash-and-carry
agreement
 Destroyers for Bases Deal
 In exchange for the right to build American bases on Britishcontrolled Newfoundland, Bermuda, and islands in the
Caribbean, Roosevelt sent 50 old American destroyers to
Britain.
The Isolationist Debate
 The Range of Opinion
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Some Americans wanted to either:
Immediately declare war on Germany
 Continue to aid the Allies
 Remain totally neutral and send aid to neither side.
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 The Election of 1940.
 Roosevelt chose to run for an unprecedented third term rather
than step aside as tradition dictated
 With the world in crisis, the American people decided it was not
a good time to change their leadership
Edging Toward War
 After re-election Roosevelt announced the “four
freedoms” that the US should help Britain protect:
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Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Worship
Freedom from Want
Freedom from Fear
 The Lend Lease Act
 Allowed the US to lend or lease military
supplies to countries “vital to the defense of the US”
 Great Britain was considered vital and they promised to repay the
US after the war
 The act allowed Roosevelt to send arms to Britain without them
having to pay cash
Edging Toward War
 The Hemispheric Defense Zone
 The Neutrality Act of 1939 and the Lend-Lease Acts were useless
when German submarines were sinking British ships
 Roosevelt declared the entire Western half of the Atlantic
neutral and ordered the Navy to patrol and protect ships from
attack
 The Atlantic Charter
 Agreement made between Churchill and Roosevelt to protect
democracy, non-aggression, free trade, economic advancement,
and freedom of the seas after the war.
Japan Attacks the United States
 America Embargoes Japan
 To help Great Britain protect its territories in and around Asia,
Roosevelt introduced policies to prevent Japan from attacking
British Empire holdings.
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Export Control Act of 1940-restricted the sale of strategic
materials such as scrap iron, steel, and oil
The Axis Powers- In response, Japan signs an alliance with
Germany and Italy.
Roosevelt “lend-leases” military supplies to China and freezes all
Japanese assets in the US
 Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
 While Japan continued to make peaceful negotiations
with the United States, they were actually secretly
planning an attack.
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There were several warnings that were misread by US officials
about the impending attack.
By the time the Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Hawaii figured out
what was happening, it was too late.
 December 7, 1941- “A date which will live in infamy!”
Pearl Harbor
 21 ships of the US Pacific fleet sunk
 8 battleships
 3 cruisers
 4 destroyers
 6 other vessels
 188 airplanes destroyed (mostly while they were still
on the ground)
 2,403 Americans killed
 The next day, the senate voted 88 to 0 and the House
388 to 1 to declare war on Japan.
Germany Declares War
 December 11, 1941- Germany declares war on the
United States.
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Hitler believed that Japan would easily beat the United States
in the Pacific and then help Germany fight the Soviets