A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
THE RISE OF THE USA AS A WORLD POWER (1890 – 1945)
Charge of San Juan Hill by
Teddy Roosevelt & his Rough
Riders
M. Nichols, SCIE, 2010
A Level History, Paper 5
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A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
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USA Presidents – A Chronology
1. George Washington (1789-97)
2. John Adams (1797-1801)
3. Thomas Jefferson (1801-9)
4. James Madison (1809-17)
5. James Monroe (1817-25)
6. John Quincy Adams (1825-29)
7. Andrew Jackson (1829-37)
8. Martin Van Buren (1837-41)
9. William Henry Harrison (1841)
…………………………
………………………
………………………
10. John Tyler (1841-45)
11. James Knox Polk (1845-49)
12. Zachary Taylor (1849-50)
13. Millard Fillmore (1850-53)
14. Franklin Pierce (1853-57)
15. James Buchanan (1857-61)
16. Abraham Lincoln (1861-65)
………………………….
……………………….
………………………
17. Andrew Johnson (1865-69)
18. Ulysses Grant (1869-77)
Famous Foreign Policy Presidents
19. Rutherford Hayes (1877- 81)
20. James Garfield (1881)
21. Chester Arthur (1881-85)
22. Grover Cleveland (1885-89)
23. Benjamin Harrison (1889-93)
24. Grover Cleveland (1893-97)
25. William McKinley (1897-1901)
26. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-9)
27. William Taft (1909-13)
28. Woodrow Wilson (1913-21)
29. Warren Gamaliel Harding (1921-23)
30. Calvin Coolidge (1923-29)
31. Herbert Clark Hoover (1929-33)
32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-45)
33. Harry Truman (1945-53)
34. Dwight Eisenhower (1953-61)
35. John Kennedy (1961-63)
36. Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-69)
37. Richard M. Nixon (1969-74)
38. Gerald Ford (1974-77)
39. Jimmy Carter (1977-81)
40. Ronald Reagan (1981-89)
41. George Bush (1989-93)
42. Bill Clinton (1993-2001)
43. George W. Bush (2001-2009)
Questions
a. Which four families have supplied more than one president? What does this suggest about American democracy?
b. Name the six presidents who are perhaps most connected with foreign policy in the 19 th and early 20th centuries.
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
MAP OF NORTH AMERICA
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A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
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Label North America
Label US possessions/bases on the map below.
After you have done that complete the other labels of the area.
Use the map of the area you have been given to help you.
Greater America – Some Examples
Alaska – Bought off the Russians in
Panama - a country at the southernmost
th
1867 for $7.2m. It became the 49
tip of Central America. This is where the
state of the USA in 1959.
US has major interests in the canal they
Cuba - an island country in the Atlantic built there in 1914.
Ocean off the southeast coast of the
Puerto Rico - an island in the Atlantic
USA. This is where the US has a
Ocean east of the Dominican Republic.
military base at Guantanamo Bay.
This was effectively taken over by the
US in 1898, after a war with Spain
US Virgin Islands – Tiny islands in the
Caribbean bought off Denmark in 1916
Extension Questions:
1. Why is the Panama Canal so important to the USA?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
2. What two ways did the US mainly use to acquire its overseas territories?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
3. Why do you think the US has so much interest in small Caribbean islands?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
Background to US Imperialism – The Old Myth
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Many Americans of yesteryear, as well as today, righteously point out that it was
the ‘Old World’ and its rampant imperialism that often caused problems for the
‘New World’. While not without foundation, in some respects, this argument
neglects to point out that the US itself was also an imperialist nation.
Created by purchases of land from Russia (Alaska, in 1867 for just over $7m)
and France (the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 for $11m), it was also the product of
expansionist wars with Spain and Mexico (Texas, Arizona, California, New
Mexico, Nevada, etc.), as well as conflicts with GB.
The timeline of aggressive US actions is long. In 1854, Commodore Perry bullied
the Japanese into ending their isolation. In 1878, the US established a naval
base in Samoa and proceeded to divide up the other islands of the group with the
major European powers, notably Germany. In 1890, US troops had been
involved in Buenos Aires protecting US commercial interests. In July 1898, the
year of America’s greatest territorial acquisitions, Hawaii was incorporated as an
American Territory, much later becoming the 50th state in the Union.
In 1898, the US also got involved in ‘liberating’ Cuba from the Spanish, only to
become the Cubans effective new overlords. The US Secretary of State even
called it “a splendid little war”. In the same momentous year, Puerto Rico was
captured and the Philippines taken from the Spanish, as well. The islands of
Wake and Guam also became strategically useful Pacific bases. In 1903,
Panama was detached from Colombia, as it was needed by the Americans in
order that they could build a canal through it, to link the Pacific and the Atlantic
oceans.
A corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, by Teddy Roosevelt in 1904, even stated that
the US would interfere in domestic affairs of neighbouring Latin countries if they
felt this would prevent European interference (Venezuela had been attacked by
the Europeans in 1902). The US would itself interfere in Nicaragua (1912), in
Mexico (1914) and even in Haiti (1915). Given the latter two were actions
ordered by that champion of “self-determination” for smaller and weaker nations,
Woodrow Wilson, it seems doubly ironic.
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
1898 – The USA Acquires an Empire
AREA
1. Hawaii
2. Cuba
USS Maine.
Teddy Roosevelt
President McKinley
William. R. Hearst
6
OPERATIONS
REASONS
CONSEQUENCES
Annexed to the United
States itself where it
became temporarily a
‘Territory’ (1900), before
being created a full state
later in the 20th century
(1959), Hawaii had been
an independent kingdom
for many centuries.
The sinking of the USS
Maine in Havanna
harbour, in February, was
the ideal excuse to launch
an attack in support of
Cuban nationalists
(mambises) fighting the
Spanish. The sinking
was almost certainly an
accident resulting from
carelessness by US
sailors with a mine.
Spain’s ruthless policies,
however, were genuine
and had included placing
the whole island under
martial law in 1896 and
even establishing
reconcentrados. Added
to this the Spanish had
criticised the newly
inaugurated President
McKinley. Hearst and
Pulitzer of the “Yellow
Journalism” (the
sensationalist press)
pressed for war and a
spurious crusade against
the ‘evil Spanish’,
ignoring the atrocities of
the Cubans themselves.
The fighting was intense,
with both regular and
volunteer US troops
involved, most famously
Teddy Roosevelt’s
‘Rough Riders’. Also
involved were the allblack 9th and 10th Cavalry
Regiments, part of the
segregated armed forces.
The antiquated Spanish
navy was easily defeated
by Admiral Winfield
Schley.
Strategically useful, Hawaii
was ideally placed for
helping the US navy
dominate the Pacific rim.
Complete with ports like
Pearl Harbor, it gave the
Americans a naval reach
in an area they had
proprietary designs on.
Cuba had significance for
the Americans in a certain
number of ways:
 The continued Spanish
presence there was an
affront to the Monroe
Doctrine. McKinley
even said Cuba was of
interest, because it
was “right at our door”
 Imperialist and
nationalist cliques,
containing powerful
individuals like Henry
Cabot Lodge, Teddy
Roosevelt, Whitelaw
Reid of the New York
Tribune and Albert
Shaw of the Review of
Reviews, pushed for
an empire. Of course,
many historians now
argue that US foreign
policy was increasingly
imperialist in scope
anyway (see below)
 Cuba itself was
attractive to US
commercial and
business interests,
especially the sugar
interests: $50m was
invested in the island
and twice that earned
in annual trade.
 Spanish policies
were an affront to US
moral sensibilities
and moreover the
guerrilla war there a
danger to its crucial
business interests,
especially if radical
Cuban elements were
then victorious.
Americanised, Hawaii
became a playground for
wealthy Americans, as
well as its main Pacific
naval base. Its ancient
Hawaiian culture was
quickly superseded by
the more recent, brash
American one.
Cuba became an
effective US colony,
even though it was now
technically independent.
This was clearly against
the spirit of the Teller
Amendment, which
emphatically stated that
the US would not
attempt to exert its
hegemony over the
island. Once in power
though, the Cuban
rebels were pushed
aside. US business and
political interests would
dominate the island until
Castro’s revolution in
1959. Even today, the
US incongruously
maintains a military base
on the island at
Guantanamo Bay. It
was the loss of Cuba
especially, which would
help form the views of
one Francisco Franco.
The seizure of Cuba
would also begin an
imperialist era in
American foreign policy
that would also see the
addition of not only
Caribbean and Pacific
colonies, but also bases
in China and elsewhere.
It was also around this
period that children
started to be
indoctrinated with
patriotic exercises like
saluting the flag. Surely,
no coincidence.
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
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3.Puerto Rico
Another Spanish
occupied Caribbean
affront to the US and its
Monroe Doctrine, Puerto
Rico was quickly and
effectively conquered and
annexed, with from 1917
Puerto Ricans allowed full
US citizenship.
Puerto Rico had similar
economic, political and
strategic value to the USA
as Cuba, though on a
lesser scale. It was, like
Cuba, also strategically
useful for controlling the
planned isthmian canal. It
would also, like Cuba, be a
way of countering the
effects of the 1893
economic depression.
Senator Henry Cabot
Lodge, the leading
Republican, certainly saw
war as a means of solving
dire, economic situations.
Spain had already
granted Puerto Rico
autonomy in 1897, but
was still forced to cede
the country to the USA
(along with Guam) at the
Treaty of Paris, in
December, 1898.
The 1898 War with
Spain, had cost the US
$250m and 3000 lives
(most of whom had died
from infectious
diseases). The army
had quadrupled and
grown from 26,800 –
104,000 soldiers.
4. The Philippines
Again under the pretext of
freeing the Filipinos from
their colonial Spanish
oppressors, the US
invaded and drove the
Spanish out - only to
replace them. They
rapidly destroyed the
Spanish fleet.
Seized without opposition
by the navy cruiser USS
Charleston. The island
was so unprepared for
the American assault that
when the Americans fired
three shots, the
Spaniards requested
some gunpowder to
respond with their own
salute, little suspecting
that war instead had been
declared!
As with Mexico, the USA
was able to purchase the
Philippines from Spain for
$20m, another tacit
acceptance, perhaps, that
territorial ambitions were
foremost in US designs.
The US quickly became
embroiled in a vicious
guerrilla war with
resentful Filipino
nationalists, in which
tens of thousands (some
say 600 000) would die.
The Filipinos were
referred to as ‘gugus’.
McKinley issued an
executive order placing
Guam within the
administration of the
Department of Navy.
Under Navy
administration, Guam
experienced many
improvements, but at the
same time the
Americans showed
themselves to be true
imperialists with their
benevolent, but
condescending and
interfering regulations,
which amongst other
things prohibited the
transfer of land without
the consent of the
government; restricted
access to alcohol, and
required that marriage
rites be performed
between persons that
were co-habitating; they
even required each adult
to learn to write his or
her own name within a
specified time!
5.Guam
McKinley under pressure
Guam was a useful midPacific base invaluable for
helping America control an
ocean it was dependent on
for its commercial life. It
was also a midway station
for the Philippines and
Asia. The US’ obsession
with China and its potential
markets was again
apparent.
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
The Historiography on 1898
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Paul Kennedy has argued that the US’ domestic growth had to be reflected in
increased external power and interventionist policies to protect its interests
abroad. America was determined it would not be left out of the imperialist race nor allow its vital access to overseas markets to be severed by other imperialists.
Frederick B. Pike says the US craved great power status to match its domestic
achievements, and international recognition of its successes. Americans wanted
the world to know they were a great people.
Walter LaFeber controversially argues that the US actively provoked regional
disorder when it suited its interests. Latin America was perceived in an almost
proprietary way as a natural market and a place to spread American ideals. War
against Spain was also America’s assertion to Europe to stay out of the affairs of
the western hemisphere.
John L. Offner has stressed that McKinley always ignored the wishes of the
Cubans themselves and cut them out of all negotiations.
Louis A. Perez has emphasised how “North Americans considered Cuba
essential to the politico-military security of the United States”, given its strategic
position. When Spain would neither sell nor reform the island, the US stepped in
to prevent hostile interests, Cuban or foreign, from taking over. They certainly
did not want to see a social revolution taking place and intervention helped to
stall this prospect. The sovereignty-denying Platt Amendment indicates just how
much the Americans wanted to control Cuba’s destiny.
These are arguments, Michael H. Hunt would concur with. He also stresses that
the US was not prepared to allow such strategically vital islands as Cuba, etc. to
determine their own futures, in case these were antagonistic towards the USA.
He says the Americans now saw the “perilous potential of revolution” where once
they had been its supporters. The USA, forged in revolution itself, was now the
foremost anti-revolutionary power. He also stresses that inherent American
ideas of racial superiority helped promote aggressiveness and a belief that they
could easily conquer inferior peoples like Hispanics.
Another view is that of Emily S. Rosenberg who has said that US policy was
concentrated on assisting manufacturers and entrepreneurs who wished to trade
abroad, and was strongly masculine in tone.
Thomas G. Paterson argues that the jingoistic press did not force the War, in
contrast to David F. Trask who stresses that public opinion was instrumental.
Richard Hofstadter’s “psychic crisis” states that the government was reacting to
internal problems, emotionally and irrationally, by seeking a foreign diversion.
Not of course the first time this will have happened in history. Paterson,
however, is adamant that the War was caused by design rather than emotion.
Others have argued that the national ideology of ‘expansion or die’ meant the US
was doomed to keep expanding its frontiers in order to perpetuate its national
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
identity as a pioneering and ruggedly manly people. Machismo was not just a
Spanish concept!
9
Paterson also stresses the culpability of McKinley himself who he says was the
“first modern president” in that he both instigated and carried out foreign policies
of his own. He had tried to buy Cuba for $300m and didn’t specifically want war,
though he did want control over Cuba and certainly not a Cuba Libre. He thus
chose war only when bribery and diplomacy had failed. LaFeber also says he
was driven by economic motives, while Offner favours the view that he was
bowing to political pressure from his own Republican Party who were pandering
to the popular clamour for war.
SUMMARY OF HISTORIOGRAPHY ON 1898
Historian
Paul Kennedy
John Offner
Louis Perez
Michael Hunt
Emily Rosenberg
Thomas Paterson
David Trask
Richard Hofstadter
Views
a. Stresses role of McKinley as the first modern president and that the
War was a conscious decision and was not brought about by the press
b. McKinley was weak and bowed to pressure within the GOP; while
ignoring the wishes of the Cubans themselves
c. Accuses McKinley of being motivated by economic considerations
and accuses USA of treating Latin America as its to do with as it
pleased
d. Stresses public opinion vital in helping to force war in 1898
e. Claims US foreign policy had a strong commercial motive
f. Internal problems resulted in a foreign distraction
g. Stresses importance of Cuba to US’ security thinking
h. It was an ego trip – to demonstrate the USA had arrived
i. US determined to protect its foreign markets and interests
j. Stresses the strategic importance of the Caribbean islands to USA
Historian
Views
Frederick B. Pike
Walter LaFeber
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
10
Summarise the reasons for the 1898 War, below
POLITICAL
REASONS
ECONOMIC
REASONS
Map of the Battles during the Cuban Invasion (1898) and 114 day war
STRATEGIC
REASONS
SOCIAL
REASONS
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
Other Imperialist Ventures
11
The Panama Canal was created between 1907-1914, a momentous feat of civil
engineering, the Americans had succeeded where the French had failed. By
building the canal across the isthmus they effectively linked the Atlantic Ocean, in
the east, with the Pacific Ocean, in the west. The whole exercise though was an
example of blatant, imperialist bullying.
A prophetic and influential nineteenth century imperialist advocate, Captain
Mahan, has predicted that "the canal will become a strategic center of the most
vital importance", a policy earnestly endorsed by President Teddy Roosevelt, and
who always regarded it as his greatest foreign policy achievement.
Panama was a nation created by the US in order to carve out its canal from
Colombian territory. When the chief engineer of the canal company organised a
local revolt, Roosevelt furious at Colombia declining an offer of $10 million for a
fifty mile strip of land, sent the a battleship Nashville and a party of marines.
The rebels gladly accepted the $10 m. and allocated a ten mile wide strip, in
perpetuity, to their American allies. Grateful for being released from the
Colombian yoke, the Panamanian people had quickly acquiesced to American
demands for continued access to the Canal Zone. Not that they had a choice.
The canal was built in horrendous conditions. Malarial and Yellow Fever carrying
mosquitoes killed thousands before an alert physician, Dr. William Gorgas,
realised it was the insects causing the problem; he was the real hero of the
project. A Colonel George W. Goethals, led the project through its most arduous,
later stages and drove his men on unscrupulously.
US army engineers tore up jungles and levelled mountains. Nothing was to
stand in the way of America’s imperial progress.
Work went on despite lethal landslides. Workers with dynamite and clumsy
steam shovels cut their way across a continent. They built a railroad, three sets
of concrete locks, and a huge artificial lake. Nine years later the freighter Ancon
entered the new channel. Hundreds of construction workers hopped aboard for
the historic ride. A shiny towing locomotive pulled the Ancon into the first lock.
Bands played and crowds cheered as the ship slipped into the Pacific.
Roosevelt was fond of the old African saying: “speak softly and carry a big stick”.
His stick was the US navy, and increasingly he was bellowing America’s
ambitions to the world.
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
Between 1898 -1929, the US sent troops to Latin American countries on 32
occasions.
12
These interventions were largely justified by the ‘Roosevelt Corollary’ to the
Monroe Doctrine, which stated that the US as a “civilised nation” had a right to
interfere in the affairs of the Americas, to pre-empt outside interference.
William Howard Taft, former governor of the Philippines, followed Roosevelt into
the White House. Taft believed in economic expansion, and he introduced a
policy called "dollar diplomacy." This policy used diplomacy to advance and
protect American businesses in other countries. Taft employed Roosevelt's
corollary in Nicaragua and other Latin American countries to protect American
investments.
Why was the US so interested in Nicaragua?
The country had attracted fruit growers and mining companies, and was used
before the Panama Canal to transport people between the East and West of the
USA. It was even considered a possible site for a trans-oceanic canal. When
US business interests were threatened there, marines were sent and remained
there for 21 years.
Once it had occupied the Philippines, the US had also become an Asian power
and looked increasingly at ways to get involved in China, which was being carved
up by the major European powers, and Japan. John Hay, the Secretary of State,
declared an ‘Open Door’ policy on China, which meant every nation should have
access to the goodies China contained. The imperialist powers determination to
exploit china resulted in the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. The Chinese nationalists
besieged the imperialists in the foreign legation, until they were saved by a
foreign, relief force which included an American contingent. These troops then
set about looting the area, including the Forbidden City. John Hay’s ‘Open Door’
was now well and truly ajar.
In 1916, the US purchased the Danish West Indies from Denmark, re-naming
them the Virgin Islands (USVI). The purchase had been delayed by the Danes
insistence that the inhabitants have a say in their destiny, something which John
Hay refused to concede. It remains an American Overseas Territory today.
Further Examples of US Imperialism
AREA
Honduras
Dominican
Republic
Korea
DATE
1903
1903-4
WHO INTERVENED
Marines
Marines
NATURE OF INTERVENTION
US marines intervene in revolution
US interests protected in revolution
1904-5
Marines
China
1911-41
Marines, Navy
Haiti
Dominican
Republic
1914-34
1916-24
Marines, Air Force
Marines
Land to protect US interests during
Russo-Japanese War
Continuous occupation of US
concessions in China
19-Year occupation after revolts
8-Year Marine occupation
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
BBC DRAMA-DOCUMENTARY ON THE PANAMA CANAL
13
Dr. William Gorgas- the real hero?
Fill in the gaps, using the information from the documentary: ‘The Seven Wonders of the Industrial Age’
The idea for an isthmian canal across the narrowest part of ________
America was an old one. The first diggings were undertaken by the
_________ under Ferdinand __________ who had experience in such
ventures, having created the ______ Canal in ________ that linked the
_____________________ Sea
with the Red Sea.
However, all sorts of problems had beset the project and the __________
had had to give up in _______. They had run out of _______ and been
unable to overcome various ___________ difficulties.
In turn, the Americans decided to continue and complete the process. They
had originally wanted to cut a canal through ___________.
The Americans worked on the Canal between ______ and ______. They
took a different approach deciding to build a series of ________ and _____
instead of trying to dig a _____-level route.
They had wrenched the area from __________ and then forced the
Panamanians to grant them a ________ lease on an area called the Canal
Zone.
The Americans faced many problems in building the Canal, not least the
landslides in the ___________ Cut.
The Canal project was overseen by a tough and uncompromising army
engineer called Colonel _______. He was helped by the work of Doctor
William ________ who realised that ___________ were causing a lot of the
diseases that had so ruined previous efforts.
The finished canal was ____ miles in length and ships could negotiate it in
______ hours; whereas before they had taken weeks or even months to go
around the tip of _______ America. The USA could now control the _______
and _______ oceans much more easierly, and speed up the flow of its trade
and commerce enormously. Panama, in effect, became an American satellite.
However, many even at the time believed the Canal had been dug too narrow
and should have been much ______. It was not perfect, but it certainly
announced the US’ arrival on the global scene.
Mediterranean-1914-perpetual-Atlantic-Culebra–wider-Goethals–de LessepsNicaragua-locks-sea-Pacific –Suez-South-mosquitoes-technical-1904Colombia-51-Gorgas-1899-French-Central-9-dams-Egypt
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
14
Opposition to Imperialism
Not all Americans were in favour of the US emulating its imperialist rivals. Many
felt disgusted that a nation like the US would stoop to imitating the values of the
‘Old World’. As early as the Mexican War, doubts had been expressed, of
course, over the future foreign policy of the USA.
These doubts were raised for a number of reasons:

In the years before the Civil War, there had been fears new territories
would extend slavery; this had led to delays over the granting of statehood
to California, for example, until the 1850 Compromise was signed;

Roosevelt’s actions in Panama, for example, were regarded as
‘unconstitutional’ and against the spirit of the 1788 Constitution; the US
itself had been forged from an anti-imperialist struggle for independence;
many Americans were loathe to be cast in the same mould as their former
British oppressors, the most infamous empire-builders of the age.

The Anti-Imperialist League, formed in the wake of the Spanish-American
War, was a sincere and moralistic campaigning group, with an almost
religious zeal, that attracted 3000 people to its first meeting, in Chicago, in
1899. Composed of the East Coast elite: academics, newspaper editors,
clerics and suffragettes, it vigorously opposed imperialism on the grounds that
it would undermine America’s democracy and republicanism. Prominent
figures included the feminist, Jane Addams, Moorfield Storey who later
became the president of the NAACP, and even the steel magnate, Andrew
Carnegie, as well as the labour leader, Samuel Gompers. Mark Twain was a
Vice-President and wrote how “the military and naval schools…were the
preserve of the money-changers; and the standing army – the creation of the
conquest days – was their property”. The League continued to protest
against US imperialism until it was dissolved, in 1921. The League was
attacked in the press by the Chicago Tribune, hecklers at its meetings were
common and it was denounced as unpatriotic and even traitorous.

Political bodies like the Missouri House of Representatives, in 1901, also
protested against the Philippines War, for example, in a clear anti-imperialist
blast at McKinley. Many were sympathetic to ideals of Philippine and Cuba
independence, including William Jennings Bryan.

Besides, the altruistic elements, it must also be stressed that certain
vested interests also opposed US policy. The Democrats saw a chance to
make political capital against the Republicans, even though they largely
supported imperialism. The sugar trust and domestic beet sugar producers
stalled the Hawaiian treaty, because they felt threatened by foreign sugar
imports.
One lump or two?
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
Why did the US Remain Neutral (1914-1917)?
15
Initially, the US took no active or direct participation in the Great War. The
reasons for this, included:

The US may have been an economic giant, but it had a small army, much
smaller than that of any of the European powers. In 1914, General Leonard
Wood formed the National Security League to campaign for conscription.

The US economy in 1914 was in one of its periodic slumps; the US could
not afford to go to war.

International maritime rules in 1914 were pro-neutral and pro-free trade.
Ideas of unrestricted submarine warfare were a long way off. As long as
contraband was not being transported, trade was possible with both sides,
even during hostilities. The US was concerned that showing any favour to
either side might affect its trade. Besides, as friendly GB had the biggest
navy in the world, the US did not expect its commercial lifelines to be
threatened by the much smaller German navy.

Woodrow Wilson, the short, self righteous and moralistic segregationist from
the South, was determined to keep the US above the sordid arguments of the
Old World. Wilson was also a political opportunist and in seeking re-election
in 1916 he campaigned on a policy of continued neutrality with the slogan,
“He Kept Us Out of the War”. His cabinet was initially composed of pacifists
like William Jennings Bryan, but he would be replaced by the more pro-allied,
Robert Lansing.

Other political leaders also argued for isolationism. There were even
pacifist pressure groups like the ‘American Union Against Militarism’.

The US was a nation of immigrants, and many were of German or Irish
origin. Both were hostile to GB. Wilson was certainly always concerned
about the number of German and Austrian immigrants in the country. US
naval clashes with Germany over areas like the Philippines, and shared
Anglo-Saxon values, meant the US was unlikely to be pro-German either.

WWI was initially a largely European centred conflict and did not seem to
threaten US interests or colonies.
Woodrow Wilson in the White House – ready to change the world
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
Why Did the US Enter the War in 1917?
16
The US may have been, technically, a neutral country, but the reality was that its
strict neutrality was already over by the end of 1914. The Americans quickly
realised the commercial benefits of the War. They decide to sell arms to the
belligerents and accept severe British restrictions on their trade with Germany.
The US armed GB for cultural reasons and also to make a buck. Wilson was
perhaps too short-sighted to see that this favouring of GB would lead to
difficulties, with Germany. Historian, Harry Elmer Barnes, even claimed the US
made so many loans to GB that its defeat by Germany could not be seriously
contemplated by the ‘Merchants of Death’ eager to get their money back.
The Timeline to US Involvement
May 1915
The British liner, the RMS Lusitania, is sunk by a German submarine, with
the loss of 128 US lives. It was subsequently discovered many years later,
that the ship was carrying contraband to GB and so was a legitimate target.
At the time though, the sinking played into the hands of the British
propaganda machine, especially when the Germans, tactlessly, issued a
special medal to the U-boat crew celebrating the sinking!
January
The Germans launch unrestricted submarine warfare. This means they sink
1917
anything that will help and aid their enemy – whatever nation it belongs to.
Not only does this endanger US lives, but more importantly, US commerce.
April 1917
The US declares War on Germany. The infamous Zimmerman Telegram
had been intercepted by the British. After decoding it revealed how the
Germans had been encouraging the Mexicans and Japanese to attack the
Americans and seize territory. The Senate voted 82 to 6 for War and the
House of Representatives 373 to 50. Wilson now had the excuse he needed
to enter into the ‘War for Civilisation’. However, opposition continued to the
War, headed by radicals like the famous suffragette and social reformer,
Jeanette Rankin.
June 1917
The first US troops arrive in France, but don’t win a victory until May, 1918.
January
Woodrow Wilson proposes a fair and honourable peace based on his
1918
Fourteen Points. These involve concepts like: the end to secret diplomacy,
free trade, self-determination and freedom of the seas. The Germans
haughtily reject the peace still believing that they can win the War. The
sanctimonious Wilson is furious and will take his revenge at Versailles.
Late 1918
The US pursues a policy of total war and crushing victory against an
increasingly demonised enemy under Wilson’s moralistic impetus.
RMS Lusitania – Innocent Victim?
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
Why the USA Entered WWI – The Historiography
17
Use pages 135-136 in Farmer and Sanders and Brogan page 473-478 to match
the historian up with their correct views. They are currently mixed up.
Historian
Ray Stannard Baker
Views
a. Claims Wilson was sincere in his desire to keep the US out of WWI
(“his instincts were profoundly pacific”), but was forced into war by
German actions of unrestricted submarine warfare and the impact of
the Zimmerman Telegram
Arthur Link
b. Argues that the US entered WWI for largely selfish economic
reasons – the US could not afford to let a heavily in-debted GB lose!
Harry Elmer Barnes
c. He argues that Wilson was an idealist who entered the war to create
a better world
Hugh Brogan
d. Naively believes Wilson’s claims that he was defending the world
from Germany barbarity and not just US self-interests
Historian
Ray Stannard Baker
Views
Arthur Link
Harry Elmer Barnes
Hugh Brogan
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
18
The US and WWI – How the US Contributed to Victory
US ‘doughboys’ fought valiantly and well throughout the War. Initially, treated
with a certain degree of contempt, by their more experienced British and French
allies, it was quickly realised they were fine soldiers. Generally, taller (5ft.9 ins),
fitter and better equipped than their European counterparts, the Americans fought
and won a number of battles, though not without some initial reverses.
The Selective Service Act, drafted by General Hugh Johnson, had authorised the
president to raise not more than 4 volunteer infantry divisions. All males between
21-30 were required to register for military service. Nearly 24 million would
register, and 4 million of them would be drafted. Of these, 50% would serve
overseas. By July, 1918 there were over a million US troops in France. US
soldiers fought in many battles, alongside their allies: the 3 rd Battle of the Marne
(May, 1918); the Battle of the Aisne, in June, 1918 and in the attacks at Le Hamel
and Canal du Nord. General John Pershing also carried out independent US
attacks at St. Mihiel (September) and Meuse-Argonne (October).
Famous WWII generals like Douglas MacArthur and George Marshall would gain
valuable experience during the War, as would one Harry S. Truman, whose
traumatic experiences as an artillery officer would, some historians have argued,
help him decide to drop the A-bomb on Japan, in 1945.
The US Navy also contributed to final victory. The third largest, even in 1914, the
ships were used to protect vital Atlantic convoys, while some operated in the
Mediterranean.
The role of US air force was even more impressive, especially since the first
military squadrons had only been established, in 1913. By 1917 the US Army Air
Service had 1,185 personnel and 260 planes – but none were fit for combat
purposes. The US Congress instead allocated $640 million to build 22,000
planes based on French designs. 5000 aircraft were also built on British designs.
Eventually, the Americans also produced their own craft like the Curtiss H-16.
American pilots also achieved ace status. Eddie Rickenbacker shooting down
26, Frederick Gillet, 20 and Wilfred Beaver,19.
A British veteran, William Brooks, when interviewed in 1993, definitely credited
the Americans with helping to win the War, and admired their more informal and
flexible officers much more than his own, supercilious ones.
However, it was not so much direct US military involvement, as the economic
power of the US, which helped to ensure final allied victory.
The USA poured massive amounts of materiel into the conflict: weapons, aircraft,
ships, foodstuffs and clothing. Herbert Hoover’s Food Administration aimed to
boost agricultural output. The War Industries Board had efficiently set prices,
determined what goods private industry should be producing for the war effort.
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
19
The Fourteen Points
Wilson proposed the Fourteen Points, in January, 1918. His motives were part
idealistic, part pragmatic, and another in a long line of armistice attempts, which
had included proposals by the Pope and the Austrians. The terms, favourable to
Russia, were partly designed to keep Russia in the War, but also to encourage
the Central Powers to the negotiating table. The latter though showed no interest
in the terms – except in late 1918 when they realised they were losing the War.
The Germans confidently expected a peace based on the Points, but they had no
such right, even in Wilson’s mind. They had forfeited their opportunity to a ‘fair
and honourable’ peace by prolonging the War.
VERSAILLES & THE FOURTEEN POINTS
(Use Farmer and Sanders pages 136-138)
TERMS
1. End to Secret Diplomacy
2. Freedom of the Seas
3. Free Trade
4. Reduction in Armaments
5. Self-Determination for
Colonial Peoples
6. The Evacuation of
Occupied Russian Territory
7. The Evacuation of
Occupied Belgium
8. All French Territory
Restored
9. Re-adjustment of Italy’s
borders
10. Self-determination for
the peoples of AustriaHungary
11. The Creation of
Yugoslavia
12. Self-Determination for
peoples of the Turkish
Empire & International
access through the
Dardanelles Straits
13. An Independent Poland
14. The Establishment of a
League of Nations
APPLIED
NOT
APPLIED
PARTIALLY
APPLIED
NATIONS
NATIONS
WHICH
NOT
BENEFITED BENEFITED
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
20
The Effects of the War on the USA










Military Effects
Total casualties of the American Expeditionary Force: 264,000
Total deaths in combat were 55,550
Plus 50,000 died from disease (mostly influenza)
200,000 Afro-Americans served, but only 42,000 were classified as combat troops
The armed forces fought as segregated units, with the black troops fighting
alongside the more tolerant French (US forces would be segregated until 1947)
Future WWII generals and politicians gained invaluable experience in the
trenches, including Harry S. Truman (an artillery captain)
Economic Effects
The War brought
prosperity to an economy
that had been in one of its
cyclical depression, until
1914
Employment and wages
increased
Industry’s profits soared
and the rich grew richer
The US also grew
wealthy, as it was the
chief creditor of the War.
The Dawes Plan would be
negotiated to ensure that
the Germans paid their
reparations to GB and
France, and they then
paid their debts to the US.
It was not an altruistic
gesture.








Social Effects
For only the second time
in their history US
citizens had been
subject to a military draft
Even though many
blacks had fought well in
the War, discrimination
continued. In the year
after the War, more than
70 blacks were lynched
– including ten black
soldiers, some still in
their uniforms
Women had seen their
status and freedoms
increase during the War,
as they contributed to
the War effort and
shown themselves to be
just as patriotic as the
men
Political Effects
The Espionage Act of 1917 had profoundly curtailed US freedoms and was akin to Lincoln’s
suspension of habeas corpus in the Civil War; during the War people had been given 10 year
sentences and nearly 900 people had been sent to prison, while others were given huge fines or
gagged. 450 conscientious objectors were imprisoned and newspapers shut down. One woman,
Rose Pastor Stokes, was given 10 years just for writing to the newspaper and being critical of the
government!
The War also had other negative effects. The US became more insular as a result of the War, sick of
sorting out the problems of Old Europe. The Treaty of Versailles would be rejected by Congress and
the US would embark on a period of isolationism. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge would vehemently
oppose Wilson’s dream of a US-led League of Nations.
Wilson would be the last Democrat president until 1933. The nation became increasingly conservative
and intolerant. Only Republican presidents would be elected to office throughout the 20s.
Those like, Jeanette Rankin, who had opposed the War or criticised the government often found
themselves political outcasts.
The infamous Red Scare of 1919-20, which perhaps typified the paranoia and distrust, which the War
created, saw 1500 people arrested for disloyalty. J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI was a prominent figure
in charge. His rise to prominence had begun.
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
21
Isolationism and Neutrality
The US failed to ratify the Versailles treaty and refused to join the League of
Nations. Despite Wilson’s best efforts (he embarked on a nationwide tour to
persuade people of the benefits of Versailles and the League) all he succeeded
in doing was wearing himself out. By 1924 he was dead and the US was being
ruled by a succession of Republican presidents, like Warren G. Harding and
Calvin Coolidge, neither of whom had any interest in foreign affairs. Instead, “the
business of America was business” and a return to “normalcy” were touted as the
new zeitgeists of the age.
Americans were in no mood to become internationalists:






Many Americans were of German and Austrian origin and hated the
Treaty of Versailles and had never approved of the War against Germany;
they certainly did not want to belong to the League, which was charged with
overseeing the Treaty’s implementation;
The USA had suffered 117 000 dead as a result of WWI; the League
promised to send US troops to solve international disputes. Why should more
young American men die because of other nations problems? American
troops had already become involved in the problems of Russia and Turkey,
even though the War was over;
Others were anti-French or anti-British and saw the League as an AngloFrench plot to dominate the world; Americans were anti-imperialists!
(conveniently forgetting their own colonies, of course);
Leftists and liberals were also deeply suspicious of the armaments
industry and the excessive profits they had made out of the recent conflict,
an accusation that would rumble on into the 1930s;
The economic cost of joining the League worried others; would the USA
be signing a blank cheque? Would possible League sanctions threaten US
trade?
Americans were an insular and essentially parochial people. The US
was a nation built by “rugged individualism”; the US was large and rich
enough to stand on its own. Geographically isolated, it had a long history of
support for isolationism: Tom Paine had expressed such views in his
‘Common Sense’; George Washington’s famous farewell address had uttered
similar sentiments, to be propounded by his successors, notably Thomas
Jefferson and James Monroe.
President James Monroe
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
WHY DID THE USA NOT JOIN THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS?
German Immigrant
Republican Politician
A Mother
Irish Immigrant
22
Businessman
1. “My son was killed in the battles
of 1918. I hope to God that no
other mother ever has to send her
son overseas to fight the wars of
the Old World, again. Europe is
none of our business!”
2. “The British killed me grandfather and they would’ve killed
the rest of me family if we hadn’t come over on the boat. I say
we should leave the Treaty alone and not prop up British
imperialism by joining that infernal League, which they will
dominate. I didn’t leave the Old Country to see me
grandchildren involved in the affairs of the British empire”
3. “The US cannot afford to get mingled up with
this new international organisation. It will cost
too much and our trade will suffer if we have to
apply sanctions against trading partners. The
business of America is business after all”
4. “That treaty was a
disgrace. It humiliated
poor, old Germany. Why
should we support a body
that is so closely
associated with
Versailles?”
5. “We need a new policy of
isolation to keep us out of the
affairs of Europe! And we need
a return to normalcy and away
from Wilson’s ridiculous pipe
dreams”.
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
23
However, it is too simplistic to state that the US became totally isolated from
international affairs, and a look at its actions clearly shows that its isolationism
was only ever partial, even in its origins as a nation. And nor was it completely
negative in effect, either.
US Foreign Actions (1921-1929)
(Pages 138-9 in Farmer & Sanders; and Brogan)
ACTION
DATE
The Washington Conferences
TERMS
The Dawes Plan
Kellogg-Briand Pact
The Young Plan
With the accession to the presidency of F.D. Roosevelt, little change was initially
seen. However, once the Great Depression was more under control, the
interventionist-minded Roosevelt increasingly turned his attention to foreign
affairs.
FDR declaring war on the Empire of Japan, December, 1941
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
24
US Relations with Europe
Traditionally, close to its fellow republic and ally in the War of Independence,
France, US troops had fought shoulder to shoulder with the French in WWI;
many black troops had been awarded Croix de Guerre medals. However,
relations cooled in the inter-war years, as they did with a number of other major
powers. The failure of the US to join the League had hardly helped cement good
relations with the Anglo-French, who were reluctantly forced to take on the
leadership of an expensive and fractious organisation.
During the Spanish Civil War, the US government had not intervened in defence
of the democratically elected and popularly supported republic. Many hundreds
of US volunteers did go though to fight for the Republican side, forming the
Abraham Lincoln Brigade. US business also made a different kind of killing:
selling oil to the nationalist insurgents.
Relations with Germany and Italy also became increasingly strained throughout
the 30s. FDR personally detested Hitler, whom he regarded as an obnoxious
bully. However, the US did nothing to prevent Hitler’s aggressive actions in
Europe or Mussolini’s in Africa. Robert A. Divine has even gone as far to
suggest that the 1937 Neutrality Act, by depriving help to those who were fighting
in civil wars against fascism, made the US “a silent accomplice of Hitler”.
Mussolini and his emissaries and aviators had even initially been feted in the US,
which had a large Italian immigrant community.
Roosevelt may have been the first US president to recognise the Soviet state and
establish diplomatic relations with it (1933), but the benefits to the US were
limited. The Soviets never much in the way of US goods nor did they offer a
satisfactory debt settlement. Nor did the USSR ever stop its support of
subversive elements within the USA.
More reprehensively, the Roosevelt government refused to give even a token
payment to the League of Nations to help with its increasing refugee problem
nor was the anti-Semitic US prepared to accept Jewish refugees, because they
might be a burden to the taxpayer!
However, the fall of France in the summer of 1940 spurred Congress into
agreeing to more support for GB. But even before then, FDR had been
determined to do something. Doenecke has written that “within three weeks [of
WWII breaking out]…he urged Congress to remove an arms embargo that had
been one of the lynchpins of US neutrality legislation”.
The Danish government in exile placed Greenland under US protection and
authorised the construction of air and naval bases there. In July, 1941, 4000
marines were invited to dissuade the Germans from attacking Iceland.
If the USA had been more proactive, rather than reactive in European affairs,
WWII may perhaps never have even occurred. Robert Divine has even gone as
far to state that FDR had surrendered the initiative to Hitler and Tojo. It was a
lesson the US was to learn in the post-War era.
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
25
AMERICAN ISOLATIONISM
1.
2.
4.
3.
6.
10.
5.
7.
9.
8.
Across
2. Historian who accuses FDR of being an isolationist [6]
3. The USA was an essentially ________ nation [7]
5. FDR improved relations with Latin America here [10]
7. The USA neglected this area in 20s and 30s with disastrous
consequences [7]
8. The most isolationist president of all? [8]
Down
1. The American people elected him in a clear snub to Wilson and his
ideas [7]
2. US Vice-President who provided short-term loans to Germany [5]
4. US Secretary of State who negotiated a treaty that renounced war
[7]
6. GOP senator who opposed Wilson [5]
9. The apogee of US isolationism [3]
10.President whose doctrine warned European powers against
interference in the Americas [6]
HISTORIOGRAPHY ON ISOLATIONISM
ANAGRAM
SNPOSMI
ECENODKE
EEVDNI
MERRFA &
DERNASS
MARINCH
KELLAD
DECIPHERED
NAME
VIEWS
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
FDR’s Foreign Policy (1935-1941)
ACTION
DATE
The Good Neighbour Policy
&
Pan-Americanism
1933-39
The Neutrality Acts
19351937
Naval Expansion Bill
1938
Cash and Carry
1939
Sanctions against Japan
1940-41
National Defence Act
1940
Lend-Lease
1940-41
26
TERMS
A policy from the era of Hoover, isolationism showed it
could also have positive benefits. FDR’s policy of nonintervention in Latin America was confirmed at the
Montevideo conference in 1933. Terms included:
 US marines were withdrawn form Haiti;
 Cuba was given its sovereignty back;
 The US right to police the Panama canal was given
up in 1939;
 US gave up controlling the finances of the Dominican
Republic;
 Made only mild protests when Mexico nationalised
and confiscated US owned assets;
The policy was a genuine one and confirmed by FDR
himself when he attended the Pan-American conference
in Buenos Aires in 1936, declaring that Latin countries
would now be treated as equals. Relations improved to
the extent that Hollywood agreed to present more
positive images of Latins, Time magazine agreed to
publish Spanish and Portuguese editions and the US
govt. implemented exchange programmes. Economic
co-operation supplanted Taft’s ‘dollar imperialism’:
 Reciprocity treaties were made with 15 Latin nations
 US govt. capital replaced private investment
 Panama was paid nearly double for canal rights
The Act prohibited trade in military materiel with warring
countries and travel by US nationals on ships belonging
to warring countries. It was amended in 1936 and 1937
to prohibit loans to warring countries, including those,
like Spain and China, involved in civil wars. Congress
was once again asserting the nation’s isolationism,
against FDR’s more interventionist wishes.
Congress agreed to the building of a two-ocean navy
GB is allowed to purchase US materiel to aid it in its
struggle against Nazi Germany. Japan also took
advantage to purchase and carry away copper and
scrap metal.
The expansion of the Japanese empire, which the US
had long ignored was finally addressed. Economic
sanctions on oil and steel sales were applied in July
1941 (Richman refers to a “prolonged US economic
warfare”), which helped to provoke the attack on Pearl
Harbor, in December, 1941.
An embargo on any materials deemed necessary for
national defence – it was aimed at Japan.
In exchange for bases, GB is given war materiel,
including a number of old destroyers. The fall of France
had at last shocked Congress into action.
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
Opposition to the Ending of Isolationism and Non-Intervention
27
American non-interventionism was an important aspect influencing and affecting
Roosevelt’s foreign policies. The conclusions of the Nye Committee in 1934,
tasked with the investigation of the excessive war profits made by the armaments
industry during WWI, reinforced the anti-war position of many ordinary Americans
and confirmed the views of liberals and the left.
Roosevelt’s attempts to make the USA share more of its international burden, as
a great power, were often thwarted or opposed, his powers to do so curtailed.
When the French Premier, Reynaud requested US aid, Roosevelt had to refuse.
Even when the US gunboat, Panay, was attacked in China by the Japanese, the
US public, backed by an isolationist press, weren’t interested in a response and
just wanted to get out of China completely.
The most notable opponents though, were the America First Committee (AFC).
Sheldon Richman has argued that the AFC was a very sincere and idealistic
organisation. Others, however, have pointed out that it was infiltrated by fascists
and anti-Semites, determined to keep the US from aiding a beleaguered GB.
Founded by a Yale academic, R. Douglas Stuart Jr., in the summer of 1940, its
famous members included future president, Gerald Ford, future Supreme Court
justice, Potter Stewart and the aviator, Charles Lindbergh. Other members, like
the actress Lillian Gish, also joined, but came under professional pressure to
resign. Many of the AFC were Roosevelt’s political opponents and equated his
New Deal policies with dictatorship, such as the head of the New York chapter,
John T. Flynn.
In my opinion, a short-sighted, parochially-minded and naïve organisation, Pearl
Harbor quickly brought AFC activities to an end, and it dissolved itself.
How FDR tried to
cleverly circumvent
isolationism
1. His “Quarantine speech” in 1937 Chicago proposed
to quarantine aggressors by joining other powers, but
his attempts were unsuccessful;
2. He sent the volunteer “Flying Tigers” squadron to
help the Chinese in their fight against the Japanese;
3. He pressurised Japan by adding additional materials
to the list of embargoed products, helping to provoke
Japan into an attack; he further, knowingly,
antagonised the Japanese by demanding they
withdraw from China and Indo-China;
4. He provided assistance to the USSR, once it had
been invaded by the Nazis;
5. He got the Senate to allow the arming of merchant
vessels from November, 1941;
6. The deciphering of the Japanese codes meant FDR
probably knew the Japanese were preparing for war.
Was Pearl Harbor a complete surprise?
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
28
The US Contribution to Victory
Use your textbooks to find the information
MILITARY
POLITICAL
SOCIAL
ECONOMIC
LEADERSHIP
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
29
The Historiography on FDR’s Foreign Policy
Farmer and Sanders emphasise that traditional American sympathy for China
helped to lead the US into war with Japan, and they emphasise that without FDR
in the Whitehouse the US may never have entered WWII.
Robert Divine saw FDR as an isolationist; a rather absurd view, I would argue.
Michael Simpson sees him as more of an interventionist in the Wilson-mode and
someone who wanted a world of free-trade democracies.
It is a view concurred in by Robert Dallek who also sees FDR as an
internationalist who at the same time believed it was in America’s self-interest to
make war on aggressive expansionists like the Nazis and Japanese.
Farmer and Sanders point out that the Atlantic Charter proves FDR’s
internationalist credentials without doubt, given its plans for a United Nations
Organisation, free trade and free speech.
Revision Acrostic on FDR
R
O
O
S
E
V
E
L
T
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Oil
Organised
Outrageous
Europe
Energising
Effective
Map of Cold War Europe
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
US Diplomacy During and After WWII
30
1941-43
During 1941, the US president, Franklin D. _______ and the British Prime
Minister, Winston _______, met on a battleship in the middle of the Atlantic and
decided what type of world they were fighting for. This was known as the
Atlantic Charter. However, their democratic views and hopes for the future
were not something likely to be held in common by the dictatorship that was the
_______. The main terms were that there would be a:




Pledge against ______________
A promise of ________________ in territorial changes
A respect for the right of self-government and freedom of _________
The creation of a new and more effective _____________ organisation
In 1943, at the Teheran conference, the leader of the USSR, Josef
_______demanded that the British and _________ open a second front in
western Europe to help ease the Soviet burden. He was very suspicious about
the western allies who had always been anti-__________.
Yalta - 'The Big Three'
Yalta
In ______________1945, at Yalta, the Big Three allied leaders:_____________,
_________and _________met to discuss what to do with _________after the
war was won. At this stage Hitler was still alive and the war was still to be won,
and so relations were still amicable, though the Soviets did want to be ________
with Germany than GB and the USA.
It was decided that:

Germany would be divided into _____ zones. Each one would be
occupied by one of the Allies: Britain, the USA, ______, and the USSR.
The USSR was not happy about this but Britain and Churchill wanted
________to have a zone as well in order to balance out the Soviet and
American dominance of Europe;
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10





31
The capital of Germany, ______ would also be divided into ______
sectors;
Germany would be forced to pay _________, half of which would go to the
USSR; and Germany would give land to Poland along the
_________________river line;
Countries that had been occupied by Germany, including Poland would be
free to _______ governments of their choice;
The USSR would declare war on ________ three months after the end of
the war against Germany;
The ___________, an organisation to discuss and settle world problems,
would be set up to replace the discredited __________.
Potsdam
Held in_______1945, this conference confirmed the decisions made at Yalta in a
number of areas.





Germany was divided into ______ zones, each occupied by one of the
four Allies - Britain, ______, the USA, and the USSR;
The capital ______ was also divided into ________ sectors, even though
it was inside the ______ zone; this would lead to enormous problems in
the future!
Germany would be run by a military ___________ and disarmed;
Nazi leaders would be put on trial for war crimes at the German city
of___________;
A policy of ______________would take place in Germany to get rid of its
fascist influences;
But there were disagreements and changes since Yalta and this made Potsdam
far more tense:





The war in Europe was over and so the allies no longer needed each other
so much;
There was a new British prime minister, Clement_______ who was not
used to dealing with Stalin;
The new US President Harry ________ was far more distrustful of the
Soviets ______ (and had announced that he was going to 'get tough with
the Russians.'). He tried to insist on _______ elections in the
________European countries that had been occupied by the USSR at the
end of the war. The Soviets had continued to occupy the countries they
had ‘liberated’ and refused to leave. The meeting broke up without
agreement being reached on this issue;
Stalin started going back on his promises at Yalta about allowing
____elections and he tried to grab more reparations and territory in
eastern Europe (he demanded more reparations from the western sectors
of Germany, for example);
The Americans had just exploded an ________ bomb and refused to
share its secrets with the Soviets; the US president only told the British
about it and not Stalin;
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10

When the Soviets did eventually attack ______in the Far East they did
so to grab territory from ________and ________ not to help their British
and American allies;
32
These differences led to:


A build-up of distrust and _______ between the USA and the USSR, and
even more distrust between Britain and the USSR; a British diplomat later
accused Stalin of “grabbing” territory and breaking his promises made at
___________;
The breakdown of the alliance that had existed between the allies during
the Second World War = the beginning of the _____________________.
The USA in 1945
The US had come from being a reluctant participant in European affairs to one
determined now not to leave Europe. ____________ and non-intervention were
mistakes the US was not prepared to repeat. It would take on the burden of
being the world’s policeman. It would keep troops in many parts of the world and
it would embark on an aggressive ________________ policy. The motives were
varied, but largely pragmatic:




The US did not want to see a _____________ dominated Europe. This
would not only create ideological enemies, but also destroy invaluable
economic markets. The US had learnt lessons too from the Great
Depression and the importance of free trade and foreign markets;
A _____________ dominated Europe was also unacceptable, for many
of the same reasons, not least Stalin;
An impoverished Europe would be susceptible to the same
pressures that had helped to lead to WWII. The US had finally realised
prevention was better than cure;
The Atlantic Charter and San Francisco summit (April-June), along with
the meeting at Dumbarton Oaks, which had helped to set up the
____________________________ were demonstrative of a new, more
positive and interventionist approach to international affairs by the
USA. Even the HQ of the UNO would be based in _________. The UNO
would have a Security Council of the five most powerful states and would
be prepared to use armed force. The US Senate ratified the UN treaty in
July, 1945 by a vote of 89 to 2 – very different from their rejection of the
League, in 1920. The learning process had been a very bloody one.
Organization of the United Nations – headquartered in New York
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
33
WORDSEARCH ON US FOREIGN POLICY
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Find words in the puzzle and explain their significance. There are at least twenty
to find, including acronyms.
Word
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
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Explanation
A Level History Paper 5 M. Nichols SCIE 2009-10
34
Past Paper Questions on Foreign Policy

‘President Roosevelt’s war policies from 1940 to 1945 were a mixture of
the ruthless pursuit of US national interests and high-minded idealism.’ To
what extent is this a fair judgement? [N. 2007]

‘To walk softly but carry a big stick.’ To what extent is this an accurate
portrayal of Theodore Roosevelt’s conduct of foreign affairs, 1901-1909?
[M. 2006]

Why, in spite of President Wilson’s policy of neutrality, did America enter
World War I in 1917? [N. 2006]

‘Gradually and rather reluctantly, the United States became an imperial
power and a military presence on a global scale.’ Is this a fair assessment
of American foreign policy, 1890-1919? [M. 2005]

How successful in foreign affairs was President Wilson? [N. 2005]
PLANNING