America in World War II

Background: 1920s America

• In the post-war “return to normality”, Republican Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover De-Regulate the economy, removing laws governing financial institutions.

• Because of the new, risky practices on Wall Street (wild speculation, buying on the margin, overproduction of goods), the stock market catastrophically crashes on 10/29/1929

Background: 1930s America

• The resulting “Great Depression” effects the trade networks of the entire world.

• Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected in 1932, and begins to institute radical policies to ease the pain of the depression: the “New Deal”– Massive public works projects– Government assistance to the poor– Social Security, etc…

Depression Era Isolationism

• FDR’s “Good Neighbor Policy” – the U.S. voluntarily renounced the use of military force in the Western Hemisphere (ex: Platt Amendment repealed)

• The “Nye Committee” (1934) investigates munitions manufacturers’ profits from WWI, creating or reinforcing Americans’ isolationist sentiments

Isolation by Law

• Neutrality Act of 1935 - Imposed a general embargo on trading in arms and war materials with all parties in a war.

• Neutrality Act of 1936 – Renewed previous act, also forbid loans to warring nations.

• Neutrality Act of 1937 – Renewed previous acts, also banned U.S. citizens from travelling on ships of warring nations. HOWEVER:

Isolation erodes…• Neutrality Act of 1937 also known as “Cash

and Carry” policy. Allows [non-military] trading w/ warring nations as long as they pay CASH and use their own ships to pick up goods.

• Neutrality Act of 1939 – Extends “Cash and Carry” to include weapons/munitions.

“All aid short of war”

• By the summer of 1940, France had fallen to Nazi Germany.

• On 9/2/40 the U.S. agreed to give Britain 50 old destroyers in exchange for permission to build military bases on British territory in the Western Hemisphere.

• Concerned isolationists form the “America First Committee”, a lobby to block further aid to Britain.

“All aid short of war”

• The America First Committee was 800,000 strong and included celebrities like Charles Lindbergh.

• Aid to our allies was a central theme of the Presidential Campaign of 1940. Both candidates favored aid, FDR favored aid strongly.

• FDR “Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars.”

Preparing the nation for war

• Office of Naval Intelligence director receives McCollum’s memo concerning Japanese activities in the Pacific, suggesting war might be unavoidable. (OCT 1940)

• Lend/Lease act of 1941 - allowed the U.S. to sell, lend or give war materials to nations the administration (FDR) wanted to support.

• December 7th, 1941- Pearl Harbor Attacked

Preparing the nation for war

• Executive order #9066: set up military zones and allowed for the “exclusion” of any or all persons. Led to the internment of 110,000 persons of Japanese ancestry.

• Executive order #8802: the first equal opportunity/anti-discrimination act of the USFG. It made discrimination based on race illegal against workers in ANY defense related industry.