Transcript AMERICA ENTERS THE WAR

AMERICA ENTERS THE WAR –
Chapter 19, Section 4
By Mr. Thomas Parsons
I. FDR Supports
England
A.
B.
Two days after Britain
and France declared
war against Germany,
FDR declared the US
neutral.
The Neutrality Act of
1939 allowed warring
countries to buy
weapons from the
United States as long
as it was “Cash and
Carry”
C. FDR used loophole
in the Neutrality Act
of ’39
1. Sent 50 old
destroyers to Britain
in exchange for…
2. the right to build
American bases on
British-controlled
Newfoundland,
Bermuda and
Caribbean islands
II. The Isolationist Debate
A.
B.
American public
opinion changed
after the fall of
France and Dunkirk
The America First
Committee
opposed any
American
intervention or aid
to Allies
C.
FDR ran for a third term in 1940
1.
2.
3.
4.
Republican candidate Wendell
Willkie
Both FDR and Willkie said they
would stay neutral but aid allies.
FDR won by a wide margin
Americans wanted FDR in time
of potential crisis
III. Edging toward War
A.
FDR proposed the
Lend-Lease Act
1.
2.
US would lend and
lease arms to any
country it felt vital to
the defense of the
US”
Congress passed it
by a large majority
B. June 1941 Hitler
attacked the Soviet
Union in violation of
their nonaggression pact.
C. FDR developed the hemispheric
defense zone.
1. Declared entire western half of the
Atlantic as part of Western
Hemisphere and therefore neutral
2. Allowed US Navy to patrol the
western Atlantic and reveal location of
German Submarines to British
D. August 1941, FDR and
Prime Minister Winston
Churchill agreed to the
Atlantic Charter
1. Two leaders committed to
their view of postwar world
2. These views included :
–
–
–
–
–
Democracy,
Nonaggression,
Free trade,
Economic advancement,
Freedom of the seas.
E. After German U-boat fired on the American
destroyer Greer,
1. FDR ordered US ships to follow a “shoot on
sight” policy towards German Submarines
2. Germans torpedoed and sank the American
destroyer Rueben James in the North Atlantic
IV. Japan Attacks the United
States
Roosevelt’s primary
goal between August
1939 and December
1941 was to help
Britain and allies
defeat Germany
A.
1.
2.
Britain moved ships to
Southeast Asia to the
Atlantic
US supported policies
to discourage Japan
from attacking the less
protected British
B. July 1940 Congress passed the Export
Control Act
1. Gave Roosevelt the power to restrict the sale of
Strategic Materials (materials for fighting war) to
other countries
2. Roosevelt blocked the sale of airplane fuel and
scrap iron to Japan
3. Japan signed an alliance with Germany and Italy
C. July 1941 Japanese
aircraft posed a
direct threat to
British Empire. FDR
responded:
1. He froze all Japanese
assets in the US
2. Reduced amount of
oil shipped to Japan
3. Sent General
MacArthur to the
Philippines to build up
American defenses
there
D. Japan decided to:
1. Attack resource-rich British
and Dutch colonies in SE
Asia
2. Seize Philippines
3. and Attack Pearl Harbor.
E. Japan attacked Pearl
Harbor on December 7,
1941
1. Sunk or damaged 21 ships
in the US Pacific fleet
2. Killed 2,043 Americans,
hundred more injured
3. Roosevelt asked congress
for a declaration of war on
December 8th
F. On December 11, 1941 Germany and Italy
declared war on the US
Closing Assessment
1.) How did President FDR try and protect
the Atlantic coast of the United States before
entering WWII, and how did it bring us
closer to joining the war in Europe?
2.) What events led up to Japan eventually
attacking the United States at Pearl Harbor,
and how did the US respond?