The United States During the
Interwar Years (1920-1941)
Interwar Years Foreign Policy
While portrayed by history as a period of isolationism, the
U.S. actually engaged in independent internationalism.
• U.S. acted unilaterally to maintain independence.
• The U.S. was internationally involved in protecting its
diplomatic and economic interests.
*Wilsonian idealism continued to influence foreign policy:
Washington Conference (1921-22) Produced 3 treaties which
Five-Power Treaty: put limits on naval forces – esp. battleships
Nine-Power Treaty: guaranteed the Open Door in China
Four-Power Treaty: respect for Pacific possessions
Locarno Pact (1925) Reduced tensions between France & Germany
Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) International effort to outlaw war
U.S. Interwar Policies Toward
Latin America
• Hoover ended the interventionist policies of the Progressive
presidents and withdrew American troops from Nicaragua and
Haiti.
FDR’s Good Neighbor Policy
 Dollar Diplomacy was no longer economically feasible
 Militaristic regimes in Europe motivated FDR to improve US
relations with hemispheric neighbors
 Pan American Conferences: At a succession of conferences the US
pledged not to intervene in LA; FDR attended in 1936 and pledged
to resolve disputes through arbitration and defend the
hemisphere from foreign aggression.
 Cuba: U.S. nullified the Platt Amendment and only retained
Guantanamo Bay.
 Mexico: Never good relations were strained by the 1938 move to
nationalize the oil industry. U.S. oil companies lost millions and
demanded intervention to protect American interests/property.
FDR’s Economic Diplomacy
• Recognition of the USSR
• Philippines – FDR supported the Tydings-McDuffe Act
(1934), which provided for Filipino independence in
1946.
• Reciprocal Trade Agreements – 1934 initiative to spur
international trade, president granted power to
reduce US tariffs up to 50% for nations that
reciprocated with comparable reductions for US
imports.
Rise of Militaristic Regimes:
Italy
Fascist Benito Mussolini takes power in 1922.
 Appealed to dissatisfied veterans, nationalists
and others afraid of rising communist tide.
 Sought to unite Italians behind foreign
aggression.
Japan
 Nationalists & Militarists increase their
power during the 1920s & 1930s.
 Economic depression motivates Japan to
move aggressively to ensure its supply of
natural resources – declare the Greater East
Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.
 In 1931, Japan invades Manchuria.
Germany
 The National Socialist Workers Party (Nazis)
emerge from the chaos of 1920s German
Politics, with a charismatic leader, Adolf Hitler.
 In 1933, the Nazis form a coalition government
and Hitler becomes chancellor.
American Isolation
 American disillusionment after WWI still fresh.
 Japanese, Italian, and later German aggression confirms to many
Americans that the US should not be drawn into another foreign
conflict.
 Nye Committee Report – Congressional investigation, which reported in
1934 that the US had been economically motivated to enter WWI. (To
protect US investments/loans & arms manufacture)
 Neutrality Acts - Congress forced FDR to sign a series of Neutrality Acts
designed to prevent the US from engaging in diplomacy or trade that
would put Americans in harm’s way or be perceived by a hostile country
as an act of war.
 America First Committee - By 1940, a growing number of Americans
were concerned by FDR’s pro-British policies. High profile Americans,
like Charles Lindbergh, toured the country making speeches warning of
US involvement in European troubles.
Militarism on the March
1935
1936
1936
1936
1937
1938
Italy invades Ethiopia
Germany marches into the Rhineland
Rome-Berlin Axis formed
Spanish Civil War begins
Full scale war between Japan & China
Germany “appeased” by Britain &
France and allowed to take Sudetenland
1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact
1939 Germany invades Poland
1940 Japan joins Tripartite Pact with Germany
& Italy
U.S. Response:
1940 Selective Service & Training Act passed
and instituted the first peace-time draft.
1941 Lend-Lease Act allows Britain to borrow
money and barter for leases on territory.
(Previously been Cash & Carry)