Foreign Policy &
World War II
Unit VIC
AP U.S. History
Fundamental Questions
► How
did the United States evolve its foreign
policy 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 Conference (1921)
 Naval disarmament
 Prevent further aggressive policies in the Pacific
 Five-Power Treaty
►
Kellogg-Briand Pact
 Renounced aggressive military action
 No provision for direct action against war
►
Foreign investments
 Latin America, Middle East
►
Tariffs
 Fordney-McCumber Tariff (1922)
 Prevented economic recovery for European nations devastated by WWI
►
Dawes Plan
 Cycle of payments between U.S. banks, German reparations, Allied war
debts
Hoover’s Foreign Policy
► Hoover
enacted a foreign policy akin to
Washington’s in preventing the U.S. from
joining permanent alliances or agreements
► Helping to preserve the peace in
conferences was essential
► Considered economic sanctions as
aggressive policies
► Ended interventionist policies in Latin
America and fostered better relations
Building an Axis of Totalitarianism
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Japan
 Ultranationalists
controlled Japan and
pursued aggressive
expansion in the Far
East
 Manchuria Invasion –
Manchukuo (1931)
Italy
 Mussolini and Fascism
Germany
 Hitler and Nazism
FDR’s Good Neighbor Policy
► Pan-American
Conference (1933, 1936)
 Ended interventionist policies justified through
Roosevelt Corollary, dollar diplomacy
 Mutual defense against aggressive European
nations
► Cuba
and the Platt Amendment
 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
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Italy
 Invasion of Ethiopia (1935)
Japan
 Invasion of China (1937)
Germany
 Remilitarization of the Rhineland
(1936)
 Aunchluss and the Sudetenland
(1938)
 Invasion of Poland (Sept. 1939)
Global Response
 Violations of Open Door Policy and
Treaty of Versailles
 League of Nations powerless
 Soviet Union and Germany’s NonAggression Pact
 Munich Conference (1938)
 Poland invasion begins World War
II in Europe
FDR’s Preparedness to Axis
Aggression
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FDR worried about further Axis expansion, but Americans preferred
isolationism
Convinced Congress to raise military budget
Preparedness as a means of defense of possible Axis invasion of
Western Hemisphere
Cash and Carry (1939)
 Nation could buy American arms if paid in cash and used own naval
ships
 Widely favored Great Britain
Selective Service Act (1940)
 Peacetime draft
Destroyers-for-Bases (1940)
 Old American destroyers for U.S. military bases on British territories
Election of 1940
► FDR’s
electoral hold weakened by New Deal
shutdown and pro-British leanings
► Ran for unprecedented third consecutive
term
► Republicans nominated Wendell Willkie
► FDR won due to possible war and improved
economy due to war development and
production
Election of 1940
“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
pro-British “neutrality”
► Atlantic
Charter
 Secret meeting to 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
► U.S. Enters WWII
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“a date that will live in infamy”
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 Expands U.S. Economy and U.S. Government
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Production levels skyrocketed and essentially ended the Great Depression
 GDP 1933: $56.4 BILLION
 GDP 1941: $126.7 BILLION
 GDP 1945: $223.1 BILLION
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
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
Financing the War
 Revenue Act of 1942
► Withholding taxes
► Increased taxes on all classes
 Selling bonds to American public
 National debt skyrockets even beyond Depression spending
► 1929: $16.9 billion
► 1935: $28.7 billion
► 1941: $48 billion
► 1945: $247 billion
United States Debt
War Productions Board
Office of War Information
OPA and Ration Books
War bonds helped the
government finance the
war
WWII in American Society
►
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Women
 Women assumed jobs left by men
► 5 million women entered the workforce,
including industrial employment
► Rosie the Riveter
 Women in the military
► 200,000 women assumed non-combatant
roles as nurses, typists, communication
operators
Blacks
 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
 Smith v. Allwright prohibited denial of voting in
primaries
 Membership in civil rights increased in NAACP
and Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
Mexicans
 Braceros allowed for Mexican farmers to work
on farms with little immigration red tape
 Zoot suit riots due to white resentment
Natives
 Navajo code during WWII
 Many Natives left reservations for military
service or factory jobs
Japanese in 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
 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
- Americans felt secure with FDR
- FDR chose Harry S. Truman as VP
Atlantic Theater
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Soviets held at Stalingrad
and pushed west toward
Germany
Americans/British launched
Operation Torch in North
Africa (1942)
Italian Invasion (1943)
D-Day (June 6, 1944)
opened western front
Unconditional surrender by
Germany on May 7, 1945
(V-E Day)
Pacific Theater
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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…
 Iwo Jima
 Leyte Gulf and kamikaze
 Okinawa
Atomic Bombs
► Manhattan
Project
► “utter destruction” or
invasion?
► August 6, 1945 on
Hiroshima
► August 9, 1945 on
Nagasaki
► Japanese surrender on
September 2, 1945
War Conferences
►
Teheran (Nov 1943)
 Agree to open western front
against Germany
►
Yalta (Feb 1944)
 German occupation zones
 New peace organization United Nations
►
Potsdam (July-Aug 1945)
 Japanese surrender
 War crimes trial - Nuremberg
Trials
World War II Costs
► 70
million deaths or 4% of world population
 25 million military
 45 million civilians
 6-10 million deaths due to Holocaust and other
repressive actions
► United
States
 Over 300,000 casualties
 $320 billion cost
 Government spending soared with $250 billion debt
Legacy
► World
War II was deadlier and costlier than
World War I
► United Nations established along with U.S.
► Superpowers
 War devastated old European powers and
Japan; China recommenced civil war
 UNITED STATES AND SOVIET UNION
►Capitalism
and Communism
►Individualism and Collective Society