U.S. Foreign Policy, 1921-1933 Europe America fought World War
I as an idealistic crusade to make the world safe for democracy.
However, the war left many Americans bitterly disillusioned.
Although the United States emerged from World War I as the worlds
richest and most powerful nation, it rejected the principle of
collective security and never joined the League of Nations.
Economically, however, the U.S. was not isolated at all. Under the
Dawes Plan loans from American banks helped Germany recover from a
disastrous 1923 inflation. At the same time, the United States
became a major trading partner with countries around the
world.
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1923-issue 50 million mark banknote. Worth approximately US$1
when printed, this sum would have been worth approximately US$12
million, nine years earlier. The note was practically worthless a
few weeks later, because of continued inflation.
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U.S. Foreign Policy, 1921-1933 Latin America Both TRs Big Stick
Diplomacy and Tafts Dollar Diplomacy promoted Americas twin goals
of achieving political dominance and economic advantage in Latin
America. During the 1920s, however, the three Republican
administrations began the process of withdrawing American marines
from the Caribbean and Central America. In 1933, Franklin Roosevelt
opened a new chapter in Americas relationship with Latin America by
proclaiming the beginning of a Good Neighbor Policy. The new policy
renounced U.S. armed intervention in Latin America. It is important
to note that the United States continued to pursue commercial
opportunities in Latin America. During the 1930s the Good Neighbor
Policy promoted a common hemispheric front against fascism.
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U.S. Foreign Policy, 1921-1933 Japan and China Although the
United States refused to join the League of Nations it was not
completely isolated from global affairs. The U.S. could not ignore
Japans growing threat to American interests in China. In 1921, the
Harding administration invited Japan, Great Britain, and other
European nations to send representatives to Washington to discuss a
range of Asian problems. The expensive and growing naval arms race
among the U.S., Great Britain, and Japan posed the most pressing
problem. After much negotiation the powers agreed to limit
battleship and aircraft carrier production in a ratio of 5:3:3 for
the United States, Britain, and Japan. The Japanese also signed a
treaty agreeing to respect Chinas independence and Americas Open
Door policy.
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U.S. Foreign Policy, 1921-1933 Japan and China The Washington
Conference appeared to reduce the dangerous escalation of tensions
between the United States and Japan. But the pause proved to be
temporary. The global depression delivered a devastating blow to
the Japanese economy. A group of militarists soon dominated Japans
government. In 1931, Japan broke its treaty promises by invading
Chinas northern province, Manchuria. Secretary of State Henry
Stimson responded by declaring a policy of nonrecognition called
the Stimson Doctrine. The Japanese ignored the toothless Stimson
Doctrine and incorporated Manchurias rich iron and coal resources
into their rapidly expanding empire.
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Isolationism, 1934-1937 The resurgence of militarism in Italy,
Germany, and Japan Mussolini, Hitler, and a group of ironfisted
Japanese militarists all emerged from the chaos and economic
depression following World War I. Each seized power promising to
restore national pride. Mussolini dreamed of resurrecting the
glories of ancient Rome by building an Italian colonial empire in
Africa. In October 1935, Mussolini ordered a massive invasion of
Ethiopia. The invasion represented a crucial test of the League of
Nations system of collective security. Although the League
condemned the attack, its membership did nothing to stop
Mussolini.
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Isolationism, 1934-1937 The resurgence of militarism in Italy,
Germany, and Japan The Leagues failure to deter Mussolini
encouraged Hitler to defy the Treaty of Versailles. In 1936 Hitler
sent troops into the Rhineland, German territory that had been
demilitarized by the Treaty of Versailles. Although Hitler expected
France to resist, its leaders were unwilling to risk a new war.
Hitler later admitted that, The forty-eight hours after the march
into the Rhineland were the most nerve-wracking in my life. If the
French had then marched into the Rhineland, we would have had to
withdraw. Emboldened by French inaction, Hitler now planned for
additional aggressive actions. The Japanese also took advantage of
the Leagues failure to stop aggression. By 1936 the Japanese
renounced the Washington Conference treaties and left the League of
Nations. In 1937, Japan invaded northern China touching off a
full-scale war that marked the beginning of World War II in Asia.
Few seemed to notice that the Japanese invasion violated the 1928
Kellogg-Briand Pact condemning recourse to aggressive war.
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Isolationism, 1934-1937 The Nye Committee The horrible costs of
World War I created a deep desire for peace. In America
isolationists argued that the United States avoid political
commitments to other nations. They urged their fellow countrymen to
remember George Washingtons Farewell Address admonition to avoid
being involved in European affairs. In 1934, Senator Gerald P. Nye,
a North Dakota Republican, chaired a special Senate committee that
investigated American munitions dealers. After two years, the Nye
Committee concluded that America had been duped into entering World
War I by avaricious (greedy) merchants of death who earned enormous
profits during the war.
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Isolationism, 1934-1937 The Neutrality Acts The Nye Committees
revelations led isolationists to demand that Congress pass laws to
prevent a repeat of the mistakes that pushed the United States into
World War I. Between 1935 and 1937 Congress passed a series of
three Neutrality Acts. These laws banned loans and the sale of arms
to nations at war. They also warned Americans not to sail on ships
of countries at war. The isolationists were convinced that these
laws would keep the United States out of a new foreign war.
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The Road to War, 1938-1941 The war in Europe, 1939-1940 While
America tried to remain at peace, Hitler plunged Europe into war.
On September 1, 1939 Germany launched a sudden and massive
blitzkrieg or lightening war against Poland. France and Britain
responded by immediately declaring war on Germany.
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The Road to War, 1938-1941 The war in Europe, 1939-1940 After
six-months full of fighting, devastating German blitzkriegs led to
the fall of Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and France. Only Great
Britain, now led by Winston Churchill, held out against Hitler.
Churchill defiantly vowed that Britain would defend our Island,
whatever the cost may bewe shall never surrender. The frightening
events in Europe persuaded many Americans to support rebuilding the
nations military strength. In 1940 Congress increased the defense
budget from $2 billion to $10 billion. Later that year, Congress
also approved a Selective Service Act providing for the countrys
first military draft during peacetime.
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The Road to War, 1938-1941 The Lend-Lease Act Roosevelt was
aware of the continuing strong isolationist sentiment in the United
States. He therefore moved cautiously to help Britain resist Nazi
Germany. In 1939, Roosevelt persuaded Congress to allow the sale of
weapons and other goods to belligerent (fighting) nations by a
cash-and-carry policy. Countries at war could buy needed goods as
long as they paid for them immediately and took them away on their
own ships. In September 1940, during the Battle of Britain,
Roosevelt went a step further by giving Churchill 50 overage
destroyers in return for British air and naval bases in the Western
Hemisphere. Despite the American aid, the British faced an
increasingly dire need for food and war materials. Roosevelt
recognized that Americas national interests demanded that it help
Britain in its fight against Hitler. In a fireside chat on December
29, 1940, FDR explained that America must become an arsenal of
democracy by providing war supplies to Great Britain. He then asked
Congress to approve a Lend-Lease Act allowing him to send war
materials to any country whose defense he considered vital to the
United States.
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The Road to War, 1938-1941 The Lend-Lease Act Congress passed
the Lend-Lease Act in March 1941. The new law marked an important
turning point. Americas mighty industries now roared to life
producing weapons to fight Hitler and Mussolini. By the fall of
1941, the U.S. was arming merchant ships and using its navy to
protect British ships in the North Atlantic. Although a state of
undeclared war existed between the United States and Germany, polls
showed that 80 percent of the American people still wanted to stay
out of World War II.
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The Road to War, 1938-1941 Pearl Harbor The Battle of Britain
and the debate over the Lend-Lease Act overshadowed ominous events
taking place in Asia. The long-standing rivalry between the U.S.
and Japan for Pacific supremacy further escalated when Japanese
forces overran French Indochina in July 1941. President Roosevelt
retaliated by ordering a total embargo on all trade with Japan. At
that time, Japan imported about 80 percent of its oil and scrap
iron from the United States. The embargo forced the Japanese
leaders to make a fateful decision. They could either give into the
U.S. demand that they withdraw from China and Indochina or they
could attack the American fleet at Pearl Harbor and then seize the
rich oil fields in the Dutch East Indies. When negotiations with
the United States reached an impasse, the Japanese decided to
launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.
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The Road to War, 1938-1941 Pearl Harbor In late November 1941,
a Japanese fleet secretly headed into the vast and empty waters of
the North Pacific. The fleet included six aircraft carriers
equipped with more than 400 warplanes. At 7:55 AM on December 7,
1941 the first of three waves of planes attacked Pearl Harbor.
Within less than two hours the Japanese sank or damaged 18 ships
and killed 2,403 men. The next day President Roosevelt asked
Congress for a declaration of war on Japan. Four days later,
Germany and Italy declared war against the United States. An angry
and now united America entered World War II determined to crush the
Axis powers.declaration of war
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Prompt #7 To what extent did U.S. foreign policy in the 1920s
and 1930s lead America to war?