Chapter 16:
World War Looms
Section 4:
America Moves Toward
War
Standards
 11.7
Students analyze America's
participation in World War II.
 .1
Examine the origins of American involvement in
the war, with an emphasis on the events that
precipitated the attack on Pearl Harbor.
 .4
Analyze Roosevelt's foreign policy during World
War II (e.g., Four Freedoms speech).
 .6
Describe major developments in aviation,
weaponry, communication, and medicine and the
war's impact on the location of American industry
and use of resources.
Objectives

Following lecture and reading of this section,
students will be able to:
1.
Describe the response of the United States to the outbreak
of war in Europe in 1939
2.
Show how Roosevelt assisted the Allies without declaring
war
3.
Summarize the events that brought the United States into
armed conflict with Germany
4.
Characterize the American Response to the Japanese
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Moving Cautiously Away from Neutrality
 1939, FDR persuaded Congress to pass
“cash-and-carry” provision to the
Neutrality Acts
 U.S.
could sell arms to any nation willing to
pay cash and come to U.S. to get arms
 This
prevented the U.S. from being :
 owed
$ (like the British owed us after WWI)
 Open to any countries thinking we are taking stuff to
enemies
 FDR
argued that helping France & Britain defeat
Hitler was the best way to keep U.S. out of war
The Axis Threat
 1940,
FDR tried to provide Britain “all aid
short of war”
 France
 U.S.
had already fallen and Britain was losing…
sent Britain 500,000 rifles & 80,000 machine guns
 Germany,
Japan, Italy signed Tripartite
Pact, a mutual defense treaty, in 1940
 Became
known as Axis Powers
 The
pact aimed at keeping U.S. out of war by
forcing fight on two oceans
 Germany
in the East (Atlantic)
 Japan in the West (Pacific)
Building U.S. Defenses
 Nazi
victories in 1940 lead to increased
U.S. defense spending
 Congress passed the first ever peacetime
draft
 Selective
Training and Service Act:
 Draftees
to serve for 1 year in Western
Hemisphere only
 16
million registered
 1 million drafted
Roosevelt Runs for a Third Term
 FDR
breaks two-term tradition, runs for
reelection
 FDR’s
opponent, Republican Wendell Willkie, has
similar views on war
 FDR
reelected with 55% of votes
 FDR
& Willkie very similar
 Americans went with the guy they already knew
The Lend-Lease Plan
 FDR
explained to the nation that if Britain
falls, Axis powers would be free to conquer
world
 U.S.
must become “arsenal of democracy”
 By
late 1940, Britain has no more cash to
buy U.S. arms
 If
Britain could not get arms they would be overtaken
 1941
Lend-Lease Act
 U.S.
to lend or lease supplies to any country
whose defense was vital to the U.S.
Supporting Stalin
 1941,
Hitler breaks pact with Stalin and
invaded the Soviet Union
 Roosevelt sent lend-lease supplies to Soviet
Union
 “The
 Many
enemy of my enemy, is my friend”
were unhappy with supporting Stalin and his
Communist government
German Wolf Packs
 Hitler
deployed U-boats, in wolf packs, to
attack supply convoys and sink supply
ships
 Wolf
packs-groups of up to 40 submarines patrol North
Atlantic
 The
convoys were carrying lend-lease shipments to
Britain and the USSR
 FDR
allowed the navy to attack German
U-boats in self-defense
 Germans
winning at first but U.S. won in the end
The Atlantic Charter
 FDR’s
support begins to drop to 50%
 FDR & Churchill issue Atlantic Charter—
joint declaration of war aims
 Why
they are fighting
 What they want to accomplish
 Charter
is basis of “A Declaration of the
United Nations” or Allies
 Allies-nations
that fight Axis powers; 26 nations
sign Declaration [Visual]
Shoot on Sight
 Germans
fired on U.S. ship
 FDR ordered navy to shoot U-boats on
sight
 Pink
Star (merchant) and the Kearny & Greer
(Navy) were fired upon and sunk by
 America
 U-boat
had been attacked by Germany
attacks lead Senate to repeal ban on arming
merchant ships
Japan’s Ambitions in the Pacific

Japan tried to take advantage of the fact that
Britain & France were involved in war with
Germany

Japan seized French bases in Indochina; U.S. cuts off trade


Hideki Tojo-chief of staff of army that invades China, prime
minister
The U.S. cutoff trade with Japan because of its
agression in SE Asia

Japan needed oil from the U.S. or must take Dutch East
Indies oil fields

This began the conflict between U.S. and Japan
Peace Talks are Questioned
 1941
U.S. breaks Japanese codes
 Learned
 Peace
Japan planning to attack U.S.
talks with Japan last about 1 month
 No
progress was ever made toward peace with
Japan
 December
6, 1941 Japanese peace envoy
was instructed to reject all U.S. proposals
 Message
was intercepted
 U.S. new an attack would come, but did not know
where
The Attack on Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941 Japanese attack Pearl Harbor
 2,403
Americans killed; 1,178 wounded
 Over


300 aircraft, 21 ships destroyed or damaged
3 carriers were at sea during the attack
Reaction to Pearl Harbor
 Congress
approved FDR’s request for declaration
of war against Japan
 Germany

& Italy declare war on U.S.
The U.S. is unprepared to fight in both Atlantic
& Pacific Oceans
FDR's Speech