Chapter 13
Part II
American Reponses 1930s - 1940
Isolation and the Nye Report
• American isolationism grew after
World War I and people felt that
weapon manufacturers had
tricked the United States into
going to war.
• This impression was only
furthered when the Nye
Committee held hearings that
documented the huge profits
these businesses made during
the war.
• This suggested they had
influenced the United States to
enter the war.
• After the Nye Report, even more
Americans turned toward
isolationism.
Neutrality Acts
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In response to these feelings, Congress
passed three neutrality acts between
1935 and 1937.
The Neutrality Act of 1935 made it
illegal for the United States to sell arms
to any country at war.
Congress passed the Neutrality Act of
1937 requiring warring nations to buy
all nonmilitary supplies from the United
States on a “cash and carry” basis.
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Loans were not allowed.
The countries had to send their ships to
the United States to pick up the
supplies.
This was to prevent attacks on neutral
American ships that would pull the
country into a European or global
conflict.
FDR’s View
• President Roosevelt knew
that ending the
Depression was the
nation’s first priority.
• He understood his
countrymen’s feelings,
but he was not an
isolationist.
• Roosevelt believed in
internationalism, the idea
that trade between
nations helped to prevent
war.
Neutrality
• When Japan attacked
Manchuria, Roosevelt
decided to help China.
• He authorized the sale of
weapons to China.
• He argued that the
Neutrality Act did not apply,
since neither country had
declared war.
• He warned the nation that
it was dangerous to stand
by and let “an epidemic of
lawlessness” infect the
world.
Divided
• The United States was divided at the
beginning of Germany’s war with Britain and
France.
• President Roosevelt declared the United
States neutral two days after Britain and
France declared war.
• Despite this, Roosevelt wanted to help the
two nations in their struggle against Hitler.
Neutrality Act of 1939
• He asked Congress to revise the neutrality laws to
eliminate the ban on arm sales to nations at war.
• The result was the Neutrality Act of 1939. The law
allowed warring countries to buy arms from the
United States, but only on a “cash and carry”
basis.
• The public supported the president’s decision to
help the allies as long as the arms sales were not
carried on American ships.
Need for Destroyers
• Soon U.S. neutrality
would be tested. Britain
had lost nearly half its
naval destroyers.
• It needed to purchase
destroyers from the
United States, but
lacked the cash.
FDR Finds Loophole
• Roosevelt created a loophole.
– He exchanged 50 American
destroyers for the right to build
American bases in Britishcontrolled parts of Bermuda
and in the Caribbean.
• The act did not apply because
the deal did not involve a sale
or any purchases.
• Most Americans accepted the
deal with the British, since
they favored offering limited
aid to the Allies.
Lend-Lease Act
• After President Roosevelt was
reelected to his 3rd term (which
was unprecedented before), he
began to expand the nation’s role
in the war.
• He removed the cash
requirement of the Neutrality Act
with the Lend-Lease Act.
• This allowed the United States to
lend or lease arms to any country
“vital to the defense of the
United States.”
• Congress passed the act by a
wide margin.
• The United States began leasing
weapons to Britain.
Hemisphere Defense Zone
• Technically, the United States was still neutral and could not
protect British cargo ships, hindering getting the arms to
Britain.
• Roosevelt then introduced the hemispheric defense zone.
• The purpose of the hemisphere defense zone was for the
United States to protect British supply ships in the Atlantic
while still remaining neutral.
• He declared the entire western half of the Atlantic to be
neutral.
• This way, U.S. Navy ships could patrol the western Atlantic
and reveal the location of German ships to Britain.
Atlantic Charter
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Winston Churchill and Roosevelt met to
discuss the Atlantic Charter in 1941, an
agreement that committed their nations
to democracy and free trade.
It committed the United States and
Britain to a postwar world of democracy,
nonaggression, free trade, economic
advancement, and freedom of the seas.
Fifteen other nations signed the charter
that year.
Soon after, a German submarine fired on
an American destroyer.
Roosevelt ordered American ships to
“shoot on sight” German ships.
Germany retaliated, and the United
States found itself drawn further into the
war.
Japan and Asia
• Britain needed much of its
navy in Asia to protect itself
against a Japanese attack.
• Japan depended on the United
States for key materials,
including steel and oil.
• Wanting to hinder Japanese
aggression, Roosevelt
restricted the sale of strategic
materials, including fuel and
iron.
• Furious, the Japanese signed
an alliance to become a
member of the Axis.
Japan and Asia
• Japan sent troops into
Indochina, now a direct
threat to Great Britain.
• Roosevelt responded by
freezing Japanese assets
in the United States.
• He reduced the amount
of oil sent to Japan and
sent General Douglas
MacArthur to the
Philippines to build
American defenses there.
Prepping for War
• Roosevelt made it clear the
oil embargo would end only
if Japan withdrew its troops
from Indochina.
• Japan continued to prepare
for war while it negotiated
with the United States.
• Neither side would back
down.
– On December 7, 1941, Japan
attacked Pearl Harbor.
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor Stats
• Battleships
– 4 battleships sunk (including the U.S.S. Arizona)
– 3 battleships damaged
– 1 battleship grounded
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3 cruisers damaged
3 destroyers damaged
Nearly 200 aircraft destroyed
2,402 killed
1,247 wounded
Hitler and Germany
• Although Germany and Japan
were allies, Hitler was under
no obligation to aid Japan.
• Hitler hoped that German
assistance to the Japanese
would lead to Japan's support
for Germany against the Soviet
Union.
• He believed the time had
come to declare war.
• On December 11, Germany
and Italy both declared war on
the United States. Hitler had
greatly underestimated U.S.
strength.