Mr. Ermer
U.S. History Honors
Miami Beach Senior High

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Congress rejects Treaty of Versailles, League of Nations Pact
 Sec. of State Charles Evans Hughes negotiates separate treaties
Contrary to claims of isolationism, U.S. plays active role in global politics throughout 1920s
 Washington Naval Conference of 1921
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U.S., Britain, France, Italy, Japan agree to limit naval tonnage
Nine-Power Pact to continue Open Door Policy in China
Four-Power Pact b/w U.S., Britain, France, Japan to respect Pacific lands
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Kellogg-Briand Pact 0f 1928
 A multilateral pact aiming to outlaw war
The Dawes Plan
 The United States loans money to Germany so they can pay their reparations to former Allied Powers in return for lower payments
Fordney-McCumber Act of 1922 raises tariffs, hurts Europe
Growing Latin American indebtedness breeds resentment of
“Yankee Imperialism”

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Global Great Depression triggers growing nationalism
 Many leaders around the world being replaced by angry people
Roosevelt rejects many of Hoover’s foreign policies
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Moves to strengthen economic ties with Europe
Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act
 Most competitive non-American import goods still limited
Good Neighbor Policy
 Increased imports from and exports to Latin America
 Rejection of American intervention in Latin America
 Inter-American Conference of 1933 held in Montevideo
1930s Americans grow increasingly isolationist
 U.S. signs on to World Court, mostly symbolic
Neutrality Act of 1935
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Prohibits American intervention in Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia
Followed by the neutrality acts of 1936 & 1937
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Americans could travel on foreign ships only at own risk
Warring nations could only buy non-military goods from U.S. in cash and carry them away on own ships—“cash and carry” policy

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Fascism: Political system run by a dictator, extremely nationalistic, intolerant, and highly ordered
 Anti-Communist, pro-empire
Italy (1922): Benito Mussolini brings Fascism
 Becomes “Il Duce” or “Leader” of Italy—Premier
Germany (1933): Hitler elected German Chancellor
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Upset about terms of WWI’s Treaty of Versailles
Tries to start revolution in 1923, arrested
 Writes book in jail: Mein Kampf (“My Struggles”)
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Becomes leader of Nazi party
Blames Jews and other minorities for Germany’s problems
Wants to establish a new German empire (Third Reich)
Spanish Civil War
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Hitler and Mussolini support Fascist party of Francisco Franco
Britain, France, & U.S. don’t help republican side

 Russia renamed Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or
USSR, in 1922—Communist government
 Joseph Stalin becomes Soviet premier in 1924
 Five Year Plan to build up economy
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Collectivization
Sets eyes on conquest of eastern Europe
 Japan needs more natural resources to help economy
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Emperor Hirohito’s power=absolute (thought a god)
Prime Minister Tojo is military dictator for emperor
Japan under military control, begins conquering empire

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1935: Hitler builds new air force, military draft
 European leaders, afraid of another war, want to make deal
 Assumed Germany just wanted union and peace
1938: Hitler forces the “peaceful” union of Germany and
Austria (the Anschluss)
The Munich Conference
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Hitler wants the Sudentenland, part of Czechoslovakia
France and Britain agree, start appeasement policy
1939: Germany attacks, splits land b/w Czechs & Slovaks
Hitler now wanted city of Danzig from Poland
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Britain and France “have Poland’s back”
September 1939, Germany invades Poland

 Hitler does not want a two-front war like World War I
 Sends ministers to Russia to negotiate deal with Stalin
 Stalin sees chance to turn capitalists against each other
 August 23, 1939: Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
 After Hitler invades Poland, Britain & France declare war
 One month later, Poland falls to the Nazis
 British and French wait for Nazis in Belgium
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Hitler surrounds Belgium, French surrender
British and French troops escape to England through
Dunkirk, French Gen. Charles de Gaulle flees to Algiers
Hitler orders his Luftwaffe (air force) to bomb London

 Americans disillusioned by failure of World War I
 Rise of dictators
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Non-payment of debts during Great Depression
Nye Committee/Backlash against arms industry
Support of isolationism
 Neutrality Act of 1935: illegal to sell arms abroad
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Spanish Civil War erupts
Germany, Italy, & Japan form “Axis Powers”
 Neutrality Act of 1937: All nonmilitary goods bought by warring nations on a “cash & carry” basis

 FDR supports internationalism
 Supplies China with weapons against Japan
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Neutrality Act of 1939: weapons sales OK, cash & carry
 FDR lends British old navy ships in exchange for British bases
Lend-Lease Act: lend the British arms to fight war
 1941: Nazi’s invade USSR, break non-aggression pact
 FDR est. Hemispheric Defense Zone
 USA protects ships in “neutral” western Atlantic
 August 1941: The Atlantic Charter
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Agreement for after the war to pursue democratic world, free trade, economic advancement, freedom of the seas
FDR’s “shoot on sight” order for German U-boats

 FDR restricts sale of strategic materials to Japan
 Lend-lease to China
 Japan, in need of resources, attacks British and Dutch colonies in eastern, southern Pacific
 Japan attacks U.S. Philippines
 December 7, 1941: Japan surprise attacks the American
Pacific naval fleet at Pearl Harbor
 The United States declares war on Japan
 Germany and Italy declare war on U.S.A.