Ch.24.4
America Moves Toward War
Main idea: America provided economic and military aid to help the
allies achieve victory.
Who was president and what was his position on war?
President Roosevelt wishes to stay out of war.
-Neutrality Act (1935)
-Neutrality Act (1939) was a revision of the 1935 Act
-cautiously moved away from neutrality
-provided arms (rifles, machine guns, old destroyers)
-transport of arms
-Churchill- “a decidedly unneutral act.”
-Roosevelt-argued that helping France and Britain win the war would
keep the U.S. out of it.
What did opponents think of Roosevelt’s ideas?
Isolationists attacked his actions
-Neutrality Act passes after 6-weeks of debate
What other actions did the U.S. take?
-increased spending on national defense
-imposed the 1st peace time draft-Selective Training and Service Act
-16 million men between 18-35 were registered
-1 million served for one year, but only in the Western
Hemisphere
Who were the Americans helping to fight?
Axis powers- Germany, Italy, Japan
-Tripartite Pact- if the U.S. attacked any of these nations they
would defend the others
-U.S. would be forced to fight a two ocean war!
What did Roosevelt think of Hitler?
-impossible to negotiate peace with Hitler
“No man can tame a tiger into kitten by stroking it.”
How could the U.S. challenge the threat of Hitler?
-by becoming, “the great arsenal of democracy”
-Lend-Lease Plan- U.S. would lend or rent arms and supplies
“to any country whose defense was vital to the U.S.”
-Supporting Stalin and the USSR- “the enemy of the enemy is my friend”
-Hitler had broken an agreement not to attack Stalin
How did Hitler respond to this new American threat?
-Wolf Packs-U-boats that attacked supplies being transported across the
Atlantic Ocean and in the North Sea
-Roosevelt allows Navy ships to attack U-boats in self defense
How does the U.S and Allies counter the Wolf Packs?
-Radar- and other electronic detection devices
-airborne patrols-to escort supply ships
What does Roosevelt do to prepare for war he is sure will come?
-Atlantic Charter-joint declaration of war aims between U.S. and Britain
1. collective security
2. disarmament
3. self-determination
4. economic cooperation
5. freedom of the seas
-provoke war- Roosevelt told Churchill,
“do everything to force an incident”