Foreign Affairs
1920-1945 X-1
Harding
Coolidge
Hoover
FDR
The Treaty of Versailles
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Never ratified by U.S.
War ended for U.S. July, 1921
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Joint resolution of Congress
U.S. did not belong to the League of Nations
U.S. did not belong to the World Court
Young Plan: All debts scaled down 30%-80%
Dawes Plan: U.S. loaned $ to Germany, Germany used
loan to make payments to Brits and French, who used
the $ to repay U.S.
Treaty of Versailles
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Germany: lost colonies, Alsace-Lorraine,
Sudetenland, Polish corridor, no army, no navy,
Saar region, $32 billion in reparations
Austria-Hungary: Lost 2/3 land. Down to 8
million people
Ottoman Empire: To Turkey. Br. And Fr.
mandates in the Middle East
New: Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Poland
1921 Washington Conference
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Was called to arrange a series of treaties dealing
with China and the Pacific
For purposes of disarmament
To guarantee territorial integrity of China
Japan used WWI to expand holdings
Those attending:
Major naval powers
 Those with interests in China and the Pacific
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The Four-Power Treaty
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The U.S.
France
Britain
Japan
Ended an alliance between Britain and Japan
All agreed to respect each others’ Pacific
holdings
The Five-Power Treaty
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The U.S., France, Britain, Japan, Italy
Established limits of total naval tonnage
Intended to freeze naval strength for 1st class
ships
Ratio: 5,5,3
U.S.-5, Brits-5, Japan-3, Italy-1.75, France- 1.75
The Nine-Power Treaty
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U.S., China, Belgium, France, Italy, Japan,
Netherlands, Portugal, Britain
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All agreed to preserve commercial rights in
China and promised not to take advantage of
position there for privelidges
In the 20’s
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The U.S. stand on disarmament was a strong
contribution to world peace
BUT: Agreements did not touch land forces
Naval disarmament only concerned first-class
ships
Japan gave only VERBAL agreements
U.S. would not commit to mutual defense of
Pacific possessions
1928: Kellogg-Brian Treaty
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Multi-lateral treaty (63 nations)
All agreed to settle disputes peacefully
Did not prevent wars in self-defense
No enforcement machinery
Disarmament may have worked if U.S. would
have joined a collective security force…
Latin America
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In the 20’s U.S. intervened occasionally to
restore order
Growing awareness of L.A. resentment against
U.S.
Mexico, 1917, Carranza: New Constitution
Nationalized mineral resources
Threatened American investments
U.S. ambassador sent to fix the problem
Hoover in Latin America
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Took a tour of L.A. prior to inauguration
Good Neighbor Policy: worked hard NOT to
intervene, to promote better relations
While President, Hoover arbitrated a dispute
between Chile and Peru
All came to nothing due to the effects of the
Hawley-Smoot Tariff
Latin America
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Had the U.S. LOWERED the tariff, L.A.
countries may have been able to pay us back
Hoover and disarmament
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Hoover wanted to disarm to prevent future wars
and to save money
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1930 Naval Disarmament Conference in
London
5-Power countries invited
To extend limitations to other naval craft
(beyond 1st-class ships)
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1930 Naval Disarmament Conference
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Failed:
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France would not sign any more disarmament
agreements without the formation of an
international army.
Was concerned with the growing military
strength of Germany
Italy and France no longer liked their ratio
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Europe
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Hitler rising in Germany
German debt and unemployment endangered
the Weimar Republic
Gave rise to the Communist Party and the Nazi
Party
To prevent collapse of the Republic Hoover
issued a moratorium on war debts for 1 year in
1931. Payments never restarted.
Purpose of Moratorium
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To prevent German republic from collapse
To safeguard American investments in Germany
To stimulate international trade
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Too late
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Payments never restarted
 Only Finland paid us back in full
 Hitler took power 1933
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China
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1911 Manchu dynasty fell
Sun Yat-sen: Nationalist Chinese Leader
Encouraged foreigners to leave
Most did…not Japan or Russia…Manchuria
1924 Sun Yat-sen died
New Chinese Nationalist: Chaing Kai-shek
China
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Chaing Kai-shek tried to drive Russia out of
Manchuria
Russia sent troops
China backed down
Russia cited with violation of Kellogg-Briand
Pact
Russia claimed self-defense
China
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1931 Japan invaded Manchuria
Violated: Kellogg-Briand Pact, 9-Power Treaty, League
of Nations Charter
China appealed to the League
League asked U.S. to investigate
We did (Stimson) and found that Japan at fault
U.S. sent a nasty letter to Japan refusing to accept
legality of territorial acquisition
League did the same.
Japan in China
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NOTE: Japanese aggression did NOT imperil
freedom of American people or American trade.
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Also: U.S. involvement in China might excite
the suspicion of the whole world
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1932 Japan took Shanghai
U.S. Response
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1933 Congress voted to give Philippines
independence after 10 years
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To do this, Congress had to override Hoover’s
veto
Congress did not want to have to defend islands
BUT ultimately, U.S. isolation was dangerous
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Europe
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Totalitarianism on the Rise: complete
subordination of the individual to the state
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1922 Italy Mussolini:
Abolished universal suffrage
 Crushed all dissidents
 Established Fascism: a dictatorial socialism
 Blamed ills on foreigners
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Europe
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Hitler blamed Jews for Germany’s problems
Denounced democracy
Established a police state
Crushed all dissidents
Glorified violence
Said he intended to unite all German-speaking peoples
Hitler will be given concession after concession
U.S. isolation & Europe’s Policy of Appeasement
Totalitarianism
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Germany resorted to wild inflation
German mark was reduced to one-trillionth of
its pre-war value
1934 Johnson Act: U.S. would not loan $ to
countries owing us money
1935 Pittman Neutrality Resolution: Under no
circumstances would the U.S. come to the aid of
victims of aggression
Latin America
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FDR and Hoover very different in L.A.,
1933 FDR at Pan-American Conference in
Montevideo (Chile)
Nullified the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe
Doctrine: Gave up the right to intervene
Treaty with Cuba: nullified the Platt
Amendment (right to intervene)
Latin America
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1936 Pan-American Conference:
Drew up Declaration of Principles:
Would settle disputes peacefully
 Would not interfere in one another's affairs
 No forcible payment of debts
 Would not conquer new territory
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Back to Europe
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FDR wanted to join the World Court & League
Congress: no way
1933 International Economic Conference (London)
Other countries abandoned the gold standard
FDR: said he would not let them drag us down
They could do little without U.S. cooperation
U.S. lowered the gold content in dollar but remained on
the gold standard
No More Tariffs to Know
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1933-34: Reciprocal Trade Agreements: We
would lower our tariff on a country’s goods if
they would lower their tariffs on ours.
To promote a healthier world economy
 To promote a healthier U.S. economy
 To prevent congressional logrolling
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Russia
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Lenin: Dropped out of WWI
Established world’s first communist country
U.S. no recognition of USSR
The way they took power
They promoted the overthrow of democratic
governments
1933 Stalin took power
Roosevelt-Litvinov Treaty
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U.S. gave formal recognition to USSR if they
would make arrangements to pay us back and
would quit trying to overthrow the U.S.
government
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The Third International (out of Moscow) was
calling on workers of the world to unite and
overthrow their governments
Spain
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Was a Republic (constitutional monarchy)
Juan Carlos: King
Mid-1930’s
Spanish Civil War: Francisco Franco (fascist)
Overthrew king with t he help of Hitler and
Mussolini
The Jewish Question
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Scapegoats in Germany
Social Darwinism
The Aryan Race, Berlin Olympics, Jessie Owens
Marriage laws, racial pollution, Racial Hygiene
laws
Dachau, Auschwitz
Kristallnecht
The Jewish Question
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Ghettos in Warsaw and Lodz “resettlement”
Children’s transports
The Final Solution
22,000 Gypsies
The Pope
Protestant ministers
Himmler: SS, Gestapo with Goering (luftwaffe)
Goebbels: Propaganda minister
The Holocaust
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Italy
Denmark
Resistance: Tito: Yugoslavia
DeGaulle: Free French movement
Aggression
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1935 Italy took Ethiopia with modern weapons
U.S. oil shipments to Italy tripled
League protested
Italy left the League
1936 Japan withdrew from disarmament
agreements and increased navy
By 1937 Japan had N. & C. Chinese plains
Aggression
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Hitler ignored Treaty of VERsailles
Built up army and navy
Nazi subversion all over Europe
1938 Annexed Austria
1938 The Sudetenland
Brits and French at Munich Conference: Policy
of Appeasement (Chamberlain)
1939 Germans took the rest of Czechoslovakia
U.S. and Neutrality Acts
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Embargo on the sale and transport of arms to
warring countries
Forbade loans to nations at war outside of the
W. Hemisphere
Raw materials to warring nations: cash and carry
U.S. citizens ordered out of war zones and off
of ships of nations at war
NOTE: Neutrality Acts DID hurt U.S. freedom
of the seas
U.S. and Neutrality Acts
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FDR did not like neutrality acts but signed them
to keep U.S. out of war
FDR would have preferred an embargo of
American grade to keep U.S. out of war
More Aggression
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1939 Italy took Albania
1939 Germany took the rest of Czechoslovakia
Japan called WWII the Greater East Asian War
Saw itself as liberating Asia from western
imperialists
Conquered regions for raw materials,
economics, military needs
Bloodbaths…Chinese suffered most
Asia
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1937 The Panay: American Ship on Chinese
river attacked and sunk broad daylight
Japanese: an accident…apology
We accepted and left China
Because Japan did not make a formal declaration
of war while invading China, U.S. sent Chinese
everything but troops to help without violating
neutrality acts
Ludlow Resolution
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Missed passing by one vote
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Unless actually attacked, the U.S. could not go
to war without a popular referendum