POST-WWI FOREIGN POLICY
AND WORLD WAR II
Unit VIIIC
AP U.S. History
Fundamental Questions
► How
did the United States foreign policy
change from 1920 to 1945?
► How did World War II expand the United
States government?
Foreign Policy After World War I
► Wilson’s
Fourteen Points and League of
Nations disregarded by Irreconcilables and
Reservationists in the Senate
► The horrors of WWI and the domestic
turmoil led the American public to return to
isolationism
► The U.S. during the 1920s pursued policies
and initiatives to preserve and expand its
global economic interests and world peace
Foreign Policy in 1920s
►
Washington Naval Conference
(1921)
 Four-Power Treaty
►
Status quo in Pacific
 Five-Power Treaty
USA, Britain, Japan, France,
Italy
► 5:5:3:1.75:1.75
►
 Nine-Power Treaty
►
►
Reaffirming Open Door Policy
Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)
 Renounced aggressive military
action
 No provision for direct action
against war
► Fordney-McCumber Tariff (1922)
 Prevented economic recovery for
European nations devastated by
WWI
►
Dawes Plan (1924)
 Cycle of payments between U.S.
banks, German reparations, Allied
war debts
Building an Axis of Totalitarianism
►
►
Desperate times called for desperate measures in
some nations providing opportunities for fascists,
dictators, and ultranationalists
Japan
 Ultranationalists controlled Japan and
pursued aggressive expansion in the Far East
 Manchuria Invasion – Manchukuo (1931)
► Stimson
►
Doctrine (1932)
Italy
 Mussolini and Fascism
► National
solidarity over civil liberties and
individualism
► Dictatorship and single party system
► State corporatism
►
Germany
 Hitler and Nazism
► Fascism
with Jews and other minorities as
scapegoats
FDR’s Good Neighbor Policy
► Pan-American
(1933, 1936)
Conference
 Ended interventionist
policies justified through
Roosevelt Corollary, Dollar
Diplomacy
 Mutual defense against
aggressive European
nations
► Treaty
of Relations (1934)
 Nullified Platt Amendment
 Kept Guantanamo Bay
naval base
FDR’s Foreign Policy of the Great
Depression
► London
Economic Conference (1933)
 Global economic policies to stabilize currencies
and thwart Depression
 FDR withdrew to avoid impact on New Deal
► Reciprocal
Trade Agreements
 Reciprocated tariff decreases
► Recognize
the Soviet Union
 Open up a new market in the wake of the
Depression
American Isolationists
►
Characteristics
 Midwest region
 Rural sectors
 Republicans and conservatives
►
Nye Committee
 Determined reason for U.S. entry into
WWI was for industrialists, corporations,
banks (“merchants of death”)
►
Neutrality Acts (1935-1937)
 Oppose or prohibit assistance and
trading with belligerent nations
►
America First Committee
 Avoid possible entanglements with
European affairs in WWII
 Promote isolationism across the nation
The Axis Assaults and Appeasement
Italy
 Invasion of Ethiopia (1935)
► Japan
 Invasion of China (1937)
► Germany
 Remilitarization of the Rhineland
(1936)
 Anschluss and the Sudetenland
(1938)
► Global Response
 Violations of Open Door Policy and
Treaty of Versailles
 League of Nations powerless
 Munich Conference (1938)
 Molotov-Ribbentrop NonAggression Pact (1939)
 German invasion of Poland begins
World War II in Europe (1939)
►
FDR and Preparedness
►
Preparedness
 FDR worried about further Axis expansion, but Americans preferred isolationism
 FDR convinced Congress to raise military budget
►
►
►
Cash and Carry (Neutrality Act of 1939)
 Nations could buy American arms if paid in cash and used own
transports
Selective Service Act of 1940
 First ever peacetime draft of males 21-35
Destroyers-for-Bases (1940)
 Old American destroyers for U.S. military bases on British Caribbean
territories
Election of 1940
► Republicans
 Wendell Willkie
► Democrats
 Franklin Delano
Roosevelt for
unprecedented
third term
 Economic
expansion and
threat of war
“Arsenal of Democracy”
►
Four Freedoms
 Defense of speech, religion,
from want, from fear
►
Lend-Lease Act (1941)
 Provide arms to Great Britain
on credit and decisively proBritish “neutrality”
►
Atlantic Charter
 FDR and Churchill meet
 Promote and secure selfdetermination and free trade
 No pursuit of territorial
expansion
►
“Shoot on site…”
 American naval escorts
authorized to defend against
German u-boat attacks
Empire of Japan and Pearl Harbor
Japan’s aggressive expansion threatened
American investments and interests in
Pacific
► Embargoes on Japan
 Prohibited trade of steel and oil
 Required Japan’s halt on expansion
and removal from China
► December 7, 1941
 Japanese surprise attack on U.S.
naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii
 2,400 Americans killed
 Pacific Fleet badly damaged
►

►
“a date that will live in infamy”
U.S. Enters WWII




U.S. declares war on Japan (12/8/41)
Germany and Italy declare on U.S.
German invasion of Soviet Union (1942)
Allies
►

U.S., Great Britain, Soviet Union
Axis
►
Germany, Italy, Japan
WWII Economic Impact
►
Production levels skyrocketed and essentially ended the
Great Depression




►
►
GDP 1933: $56.4 BILLION
GDP 1941: $126.7 BILLION
GDP 1945: $223.1 BILLION
National debt skyrockets even beyond Depression spending
► 1929: $16.9 billion
► 1935: $28.7 billion
► 1941: $48 billion
► 1945: $247 billion
Employment


Unemployment: 1.2% in 1944
Labor unions significantly grew in membership


Federal government demanded crop/food production
Farm incomes rose dramatically and tenant farming
significantly decreased
Some farmers migrated toward industries/cities
Agriculture

►
►
►
►
Industry
17% decline in farm population by 1945


War-based production
Technological innovation and newer industries/businesses


Revenue Act of 1942
War bonds

Keynesian economics proven with government intervention
and productive results
Significant increase in relative incomes especially for lower
and middle classes
G.I. Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act) (1944)
Financing the War
Economic Benefits


War bonds helped the
government finance the
war
WWII Expands the Federal Government
►
FDR and executive agencies given broad powers to facilitate the war efforts
 Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act (1943)
►
Allowed government to nationalize industries threatened with strikes
 Federal Bureaucracy Expands and Evolves
►
►
►
►
Civilian employment: 1 million to 4 million
Business and manager types hired into agencies
War Agencies
 War Production Board (WPB)
► Virtual nationalization of industries which transformed production for war use
 Office of Price Administration (OPA)
► Prices, wages, and rents locked and frozen for consumer goods to avoid war inflation
► Rationing of goods to supply war efforts
 Ration books
 Mandated national speed Limit: 35 MPH
► Limited consumerist society
 Office of Censorship
► Absolute discretion to limit or prohibit certain war-related information and
communication
 Office of War Information (OWI)
► Similar to Committee of Public Information (WWI)
► Government information service used for promotion of patriotism through various
mediums of information and entertainment
Industry and Defense
 More emphasis on productive components of the economy
 Continued spending and development after WWII
War Productions Board
Office of War Information
OPA and Ration Books
WWII in American Society
►
WOMEN
 Women assumed jobs left by men
►
►

Women in the military
►
►
►
►


Factory jobs opened up for blacks and more left the South
heading north and west
Resentment based on racism led to some violence and race
riots
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) (1942)
►
Initiated sit-ins and boycotts
Smith v. Allwright (1944)
►
Prohibited all-white primaries
MEXICANS
 Braceros
►
►
Women’s Army Corps (WACs), Women Appointed for Voluntary
Emergency Service (WAVES), Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying
Squadron (WAFs)
200,000 women assumed non-combatant roles as nurses,
typists, communication operators
BLACKS
 Great Migration continues
►
►
5 million women entered the workforce, including industrial
employment
Rosie the Riveter
Guest worker program for Mexican farmers to work on farms
 Zoot suit riots due to white resentment
NATIVES
 Navajo code during WWII
 Many Natives left reservations for military service or factory
jobs
Japanese in World War II U.S.
Americans of Japanese descent remained
loyal to U.S. as civilians and soldiers
 442nd Infantry of Nisei servicemen
became the most highly decorated
group during WWII
► Japanese internment camps
 Irrational fear of Japanese infiltration
 Executive Order 9066
 Over 100,000 Japanese immigrants
and Americans forced from homes
and businesses to internment camps
around western region
 Germans and Italians were placed in
separate camps but nowhere near the
number of Japanese
► Korematsu v. United States (1944)
 Supreme Court ruled internment
camps constitutional in wartime
►
Election of 1944
►
Republicans
 Thomas E. Dewey
 Campaigned against
New Deal elements
►
Democrats
 Unprecedented 4th
term due to war and
popularity
 Selects Harry S.
Truman as VP to
ensure party unity
► Assumes
presidency upon
FDR’s death in April
1945
Atlantic Theater
Battle of Stalingrad
(1942-1943)
► Operation Torch
(1942)
►
 North Africa
►
Operation Avalanche
(1943)
 “soft underbelly of
the Axis”
►
Operation
Overlord/D-Day
(June 6, 1944)
 Allied Western
front opens
Battle of the Bulge
(1944-1945)
► V-E Day (May 7,
1945)
►
Pacific Theater
►
►
Japan controlled
most of Far East and
Southeast Asia
Battle of Midway
(June, 1942)
 Destroyed most of
Japanese fleet and
turning point
►
►
Island-hopping
Not without a fight…
 Leyte Gulf (Oct 1944)
► kamikazes
 Iwo Jima (Feb-Mar
1945)
 Okinawa (Apr-June
1945)
► Manhattan
Atomic Bombs
Project
► Why the Bomb?
 Prevent massive loss of
American troops
 Soviet Union problem
► August
6, 1945 on
Hiroshima
 70,000-80,000 killed
 4.7 sq. mi. destroyed
► August
9, 1945 on
Nagasaki
 50,000-75,000 killed
► V-J
Day (September 2,
1945)
War Conferences
►
Teheran (Nov 1943)
 Agree to open western front
against Germany (Operation
Overlord)
►
Yalta (Feb 1944)
 German unconditional
surrender and occupation
zones
 Soviet Union conditional plans
against Japan
 New peace organization United Nations
►
Potsdam (July-Aug 1945)
 Japanese unconditional
surrender
 War crimes trial - Nuremberg
Trials
 Disputes over “spheres of
influence” between U.S. and
Soviet Union
World War II Costs
► 70
million deaths or 4% of world population
 25 million military
 45 million civilians
 Genocides
►Holocaust
►Nanking
► United
Massacre
States
 Over 300,000 casualties
 $320 billion cost
 Government spending soared with $250 billion
debt
World War II Legacy
► World
War II was deadlier and costlier than
World War I
► United Nations established with U.S.A.
membership
► Superpowers
 War devastated old European powers and Japan;
China recommenced civil war
 UNITED STATES and SOVIET UNION
►Capitalism
and Communism
►Individualism and Collective Society
►Soon engage in the Cold War