CHAPTER 27 THE GLOBAL CRISIS, 1921-

1941

Mrs. CarchidiUS 2 - Honors

Section 1 – THE DIPLOMACY OF THE NEW ERA

I. REPLACING THE LEAGUE & DIPLOMACY

A. Since the U.S. did not join the League of Nations Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes secured legislation ending the war with the Central Powers in 1921.

B. Hughes also embarked on a series to build safeguards against future wars that would not hamper American freedom of action in the world.

1. WASHINGTON NAVAL CONFERENCE OF 1921 – PROPOSED a 10 year moratorium on the construction of large warships and scrapping nearly 2 million tons of existing shipping.a) Britain and Japan agreed to the US proposal

2. THE FIVE POWER PACT of Feb. 1922- (U.S., GR.BR., JAPAN, FRANCE, and ITALY) established limits for total naval tonnage & a ratio of armaments among the signatories.a) For every 5 tons of American & British warships, Japan would

maintain 3 & France & Italy 1.75 each.b) Note that the Japanese were OK w/ this b/c it meant they were

the dominate fleet in the Pacific (the US & Gr. Br. Had to patrol both Oceans while Japan was only concerned w/ the Pacific).

3. THE NINE POWER PACT, (UNITED STATES, JAPAN, CHINA, FRANCE, GREAT BRITAIN, ITALY, BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS, AND PORTUGAL) pledged to continue the Open Door Policy in China

4. THE FOUR POWER PACT (U.S., BRITAIN, FRANCE & JAPAN) promised to respect one another’s Pacific territories & cooperate to prevent aggression

C. Frank Kellogg became the new Secretary of State in 1925. Kellogg continued with Hughes’ plan of keeping peace while keeping the US out of the League.1. THE KELLOGG-BRIAND PACT OF 1928 – Sec. of State Kellogg

and French foreign minister Aristide Briand proposed a multilateral treaty outlawing war as an instrument of national policy.

a) 14 nations signed the agreement in Paris on August 27, 1928, amid great solemnity & wide international acclaim.

b) 48 other nations later joined the pact

c) it contained no instruments of enforcement but rested on the “moral force” of world opinion

2. THE DAWES PLAN, 1924 – developed by American diplomat Charles G. Dawes, it allowed American Banks to lend money to Germany so they could pay their reparations to the Allies who in turn used this money to pay their war debt to the U.S

3. The FORDNEY-MCCUMBER ACT OF 1922 – made tariffs so high that European & Latin American countries could not sell their goods in the US making it even harder for them to pay back their WWI debt.

4. The Great Depression – made the situations even worse and Herbert Hoover was not able to deal with the problems at home or abroad.

Signing the Kellogg-Briand pact

Section 2 - ISOLATIONISM & INTERNATIONALISM I. Depression Diplomacy

A. The administration of Franklin Roosevelt faced a dual challenge as it entered office in 1933. It had to deal with the worst economic crisis in the nation’s history & it had to deal with the effects of a decaying international structure.

1. The RECIPROCAL TRADE AGREEMENT ACT OF 1934 – Authorized the President to lower tariffs by as much as 50% in return for reciprocal reductions by other nations.

a) By 1940 Secretary of State Cordell Hull had 22 agreements signed.

2. 1933 = United States recognizes the Communist Government of the Soviet Union, in return the Soviets promise to stop their propaganda in the US and to protect American citizens in Russia.

b) The Americans hoped to expand trade in Russia & the Soviets hoped the American would help keep the Japanese from attacking Russia.

II. The Good Neighbor Policy

A. A.) In 1933, FDR declared “…I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbor – the neighbor who resolutely respects himself & respects the rights of others”. This launched what has become known as the GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICY.

1. Late 1933 Sec. of State Cordell Hull signed the Montevideo Pact stating “no state has the right to intervene in the internal or external affairs of another state.” This pact was signed with representatives of the Latin American countries and marked a turning point in US relations w/ Latin America.

a) 1934 – the Platt amendment was canceledb) 1934 – US troops were withdrawn from Haitic) 1936 – US gave up its rights to intervene in Panama’s affairsd) Gradually – US ended its control over the custom houses of the Dominican

Republic.

III. The Rise of the DictatorshipsA. As time passed FDR had to deal w/ a growing number

of aggressive Totalitarian rulers. For example:1. Italy – 1922 – BENITO MUSSOLINI seized power as the

leader of Fascism which is a system of government concentrating all political, economic, & cultural power in the state; it was dedicated to aggressive expansionism. Mussolini dreamed of controlling the Mediterranean & the Middle East. (Famous quote “Democracy is a Rotting Corpse”)

2. Soviet Union – 1924 – upon the death of Lenin JOSEPH STALIN became the new communist dictator of Soviet Russia & his goal was world wide communism.

3. Japan – 1927-1929 – Government by Assassination – the JAPANESE WARLORDS – seized controlling power in the Imperial cabinet through the death of more moderate politicians. Their goal was to control East Asia & the Pacific.

4. Germany – 1933 – ADOLPH HITLER – became Chancellor of Germany as the leader of the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers Party) on a program of Anti-Semitism & Militarism. His goal was to eradicate the Jews from Europe and take control of Russia and Eastern Europe.

5. Spain – 1939 – FRANCISCO FRANCO – became Fascist Dictator of Spain after a BLOODY Civil War in which he was supported by Hitler & Mussolini. His goals were to get communists out of Spain & institute land reform.

B. By the mid-1930’s these dictatorships began their policy of aggression, forcing peaceful countries to their knees while the Western Democracies did nothing.

1. 1935 – Italy invaded Ethiopia – the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie complained to the League of Nations but the League did nothing to stop Italy.

2. 1934 – Japan Invades Manchuria; 1937 – Japan invades CHINA (this is considered the start of WWII in Asia)

3. 1936 – Germany took over the RHINELAND in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. (The Rhineland was taken from Germany in the Treaty of Versailles to be a buffer zone between Ger. & France.

4. Oct & Nov. 1936 – Germany, Italy & Japan sign military alliance pacts.

Emperor of Ethiopia at League

Italian Troops

Firing on Ethiopian

Village

IV. The Rise of Isolationism

A.) Despite the growing threat to peace, most Americans believed the US should isolate itself from other people’s wars & problems. The reasons for this are varied and include the following:1. Most Americans were disillusioned by the results of WWI2. The League of nations had NOT become an effective instrument for

peace3. US Senate Investigation results on the profits made by US businesses

as a result of WWI & make many Americans believe that our loans to the allies were largely responsible for drawing the nation into war.

4. The Atlantic & Pacific oceans would protect us even if all of Europe fell to the dictators

5. Our improved relations w/ Latin America gave the nation another safeguard against attack.

6. Our governments’ first responsibility was to fight the Great Depression7. Deeply convinced PACIFISTS believed all wars were unjustifiable &

pacifism was a strong movement in the US & Great Britain at this time.

B. During the 1930’s, congress passed a series of laws trying to keep the US out of the growing conflicts around the globe.

1. JOHNSON DEBT DEFAULT ACT OF 1934 – forbade the American gov’t. & private citizens to lend money to any country that had failed to repay its World War I debts. (Finland was the ONLY country to repay its debt)

2. THE NEUTRALITY ACTS OF 1935, 1936, 1937a) Prohibited the shipment of munitions to warring nations (belligerents)b) Authorized the Pres. to list commodities other than munitions that could be sold

to belligerents only on a CASH & CARRY basis.c) Unlawful for Americans to travel on the ships of belligerent nations. (keep Am.

Citizens away from disasters like the Lusitania)

3. THE QUARANTINE SPEECH – FDR concerned about Japan’s aggression in the East made a speech on Oct. 5, 1937 stating “The peace-loving nations must make a concerted effort to uphold laws & principles… when an epidemic of physical disease starts to spread… a Quarantine of the patients is in order…”a) December 12, 1937 – the Japanese strafe and bomb the US gunboat Panay.

Several Americans were killed and Sec. of State Hull sent a sharp note to the Japanese government.

b) The Japanese gave a full apology and paid compensation for the dead & wounded and promised that no such incident would recur.

Section 3 – From Neutrality to InterventionI. SPANISH CIVIL WAR

A. Hitler & Mussolini were helping the Fascist under Franco while the Soviet’s and the International Brigades were fighting against Franco in the Spanish Civil War 1936-1937.

1. The Germans & Italians tests their newest military equipment & gave picked “volunteers” actual battle experience.

2. International Brigades were made up of true volunteers from the Western Democracies who were fighting against fascism

a) ERROL FLYNN & ERNEST HEMINGWAY were among the American volunteers in the International Brigades (the Lincoln Brigade was the most famous of the American volunteers)

b) Soviet volunteers were taking a stand against fascism and for communism.

3. January, 1937 – The US Congress barred all shipments of war materials to either side in the Civil War. (this move helped the fascists b/c they were already prepared for war & had a stockpile of war materials)

Errol FlynnErnest Hemingway

II. The Failure of MunichA. New Aggressions became when Hitler’s army

marched into Austria and on March 13, 1938 declared an Anschluss or union between the two German speaking countries.1. With Austria under German control, CZECHOSLOVAKIA found

itself surrounded on 3 sides by the German Army. 2. Hitler wanted the SUDETENLAND which had native German

speaking peoples.3. Czechoslovakia had a strong military itself and had made

military alliances with Britain, France & the Soviet Union.

B. With Europe on the verge of war and the prompting of Benito Mussolini of Italy a conference was held in Munich Germany on September 30, 1938. 1. Present at the meeting were:

a) HITLER OF GERMANYb) MUSSOLINI OF ITALYc) NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN OF GREAT BRITAINd) EDOUARD DALADIER OF FRANCE

2.) The representatives from Czechoslovakia were kept out of the meeting. The result was that:

a) Hitler could have the Sudetenlandb) Hitler had to promise to leave the rest of

Czechoslovakia alone.3.) Chamberlain believed in a policy of

APPEASEMENT (giving into an enemy’s demands to prevent war) He also believed that the Munich Agreement was “PEACE FOR OUR TIME”.c) March, 1939 – Hitler invaded the rest of

Czechoslovakia. At this point England & France warned Hitler that if he attacked Poland it would mean war.

“Peace for our time”

SECTION 4 – U.S. Becomes involved in War

I. NEUTRALITY TESTEDA. In January 1939 FDR warned Congress that

the world situation had become extremely grave.

1. March 15, 1939 Hitler’s armies moved into the rest of Czechoslovakia.

2. April 7, 1939 – Mussolini’s troops invaded Albania3. August 23, 1939 – Germany & the Soviet Union

announced they had signed a NON-AGGRESSION PACT

a) Secret protocols of this pact had Germany & the Soviet Union sharing Poland & promising no attacks against each other.

4. September 1, 1939 – German troops invade Poland without warning.

This is considered the START OF WWII IN EUROPE

a) BLITZKRIEG – Lightening War – German bombers & armored Divisions struck into Poland.

5. September 6, 1939 – Great Britain & France declared war on Germany

6. September 6, 1939 – Soviet troops begin moving into Poland from the East.

7. October to November Russian troops took over the Baltic states (ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA)

8. November 30, 1939 – Soviets invade FINLAND – Finns beat them they withdraw.

B.FDR asked Congress to revise the Neutrality Laws so the Allies could purchase weapons from the United States. 1. Nov. 4, 1939 – a new neutrality act went into

effect “ANY COUNTRY CAN BUY ARMS FROM THE U.S. PROVIDED THEY WERE TRANSPORTED TO THAT COUNTRY ON FOREIGN SHIPS” ON A CASH AND CARRY BASIS.

2. After the Fall of France and during the Battle of Britain 66% of Americans polled believed that Germany posed a direct threat to the US.

a) This change in public opinion made Congress more able to pass new laws that allowed the US to help the allies.

II. The Third-Term Campaign

A. FDR never stated whether he would run or not until July of 1940 when he announced he would accept a “draft” from his party. He was quickly nominated by the Democrats to run for an UNPRECIDENTENTED 3rd Term.

B. The Republican nominee was WENDELL WILLKIE, a dynamic & attractive businessman with no political experience.1. Both party Platforms were very similar:

a) Both said they would keep the country out of war but would extend generous assistance to the Allies.

b) Willkie said it would be dangerous to elect FDR to a 3rd termsc) This election was closer than either the ’32 or ’36 elections by

FDR won decisively.

2. FDR received 55% of the popular vote & 449 electoral votes3. Willkie received 45% of the popular vote & 82 electoral votes.

III. The Road to War

A. After the Fall of Poland there was a six month period of regrouping, called the PHONY WAR, before Hitler was ready to begin his attack against the west again.

1. April 9, 1940 – Hitler began his BLITZKRIEG and within WEEKS had captured: DENMARK, NORWAY, THE NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM, LUXEMBOURG, & NORTHERN FRANCE.

2. May 26, 1940 – British begin to evacuate their troops from DUNKIRK a seaport in Northern France

3. June 10, 1940 – ITALY declared war on Great Britain & France4. JUNE 22, 1940 – FRANCE signed an armistice w/ Germany

a) Northern France came under German occupationb) Southern France came under the German controlled FIELD MARSHALL

PETAIN & the VICHY government w/ headquarters in the town of VICHY = Vichy French

c) FREE FRENCH – under the command of General CHARLES DE GAULLE – were in LONDON & pledged continued resistance.

The Miracle of Dunkirk

Winston Churchillhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/battleofbritain/11428.shtml

B. With the Fall of France Great Britain stood alone & almost defenseless. WINSTON CHURCHILL replaced Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister of Great Britain.

1. Churchill promised the British that they would NEVER SURRENDER. He said “WE SHALL DEFEND OUR ISLAND, WHATEVER THE COST MAY BE… WE SHALL NEVER SURRENDER… IF GREAT BRITAIN ITSELF SHALL FALL THEN OUR EMPIRE BEYOND THE SEAS… WOULD CARRY ON THE STRUGGLE UNITL IN GOD’S GOOD TIME, THE NEW WORLD…STEPS FORTH TO THE RESCUE & LIBERATION OF THE OLD”

2. Hitler planned the invasion of Great Britain (OPERATION SEA LION). This plan was contingent on the German Air Force – the Luftwaffe – controlling the air space over England.

3. THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN – began in August, 1940 – German bombers attacked Great Britain. The entire battle took place in the skies over England

a) Luftwaffe was winning the battle until Hitler ordered that the attack switch from RAF airfields and installations to bombing of London. This gave the RAF time to rebuild their airfields and get their fighters up in the sky.

b) Even though outnumbered the RAF WON the Battle of Britain & Hitler could not invade.

c) Churchill said after the battle “Never in the field of Human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”

The Battle of Britain

IV. Neutrality AbandonedA. In Dec. 1940, Great Britain was virtually

bankrupt & could no longer meet the cash & carry requirements imposed by the Neutrality Acts. FDR made a new proposal to Congress which became known as the LEND-LEASE ACT.1. Congress appropriated an initial sum of $7

billion for ships, planes, tanks & anything else the Allies needed.

a) The US was given the nickname “THE ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY”

2. According to the act; the US would not only sell but Lend or Lease armaments to any nation deemed “vital to the defense of the US”

B.) With Lend-Lease established we needed to ensure that American supplies would actually reach Great Britain. Shipping lanes in the Atlantic had become extremely dangerous with German & Italian “Wolf Packs” turning the North Atlantic into a graveyard of ships.1. April, 1941 – American naval vessels began to trail enemy

subs & radio their positions to British warships.2. July, 1941 – American troops occupied ICELAND to prevent

Germany from doing the same and to provide naval protection (convoy) to merchant ships.

3. September, 1941 – The Germans sank the US Destroyer “GREER”. FDR responded by ordering American ships to fire on German submarines “on sight”.

4. November, 1941 after German subs sank one destroyer, the “Reuben James” and hit another one killing many American sailors; FDR gave the order that merchant vessels were to be armed and allowed to sail into belligerent ports.

C.) A series of meetings were held tying the US & Great British more closely together. Some of these were secret and others very public.1. A JOINT BOARD OF DEFENSE – was established

between the US and Canada where our military leaders planned for the defense of North America.a) Created by FDR and Prime Minister Mackenzie King of

Canada

2. ATLANTIC CHARTER – FDR met CHURCHILL for the 1st time in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on board the pride of the British navy “HMS Prince of Wales”. It was here the two men drew up the Atlantic Charter, the war aims for the allies.a) A world Free of Aggressionb) A world in which every nation would have the right to adopt

its own form of governmentc) Nations everywhere had to work together to free all people

from the burden of FEAR & WANT.

V. THE ROAD TO PEARL HARBORA. September 1940 Japan signed the TRIPARTITE PACT, a loose

defensive alliance w/ Germany & Italy. Even though the wars in Europe and the Pacific were largely separate conflicts.

1. July, 1941 – Japanese troops moved in and took over the French colony of French INDOCHINA (Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia)

2. FDR froze all Japanese assets in the US & established a complete trade embargo

a) This move severely limited Japan’s ability to purchase essential supplies including OIL.

b) Japan would either have to repair relations w/ the US or to find those missing supplies by attacking British and Dutch holdings in the Pacific.

c) Prime Minister, Prince Konoye, seemed to want compromise but he was ousted from office & replaced by GENERAL HIDEKI TOJO who began to plan for the attack on the US.

3. Tojo sent diplomats to Washington to the State Department to “pretend” to negotiate.

a) US had broken Japanese codes w/ OPERATION MAGIC (Dept. of Navy’s decoder) & knew that the Japanese were going to attack us “somewhere” after November 29.

b) Most officials were convinced that the Japanese would move first against British or Dutch possessions to the south.

c) American intelligence took note of a Japanese naval task force that began sailing east in the general direction of Hawaii on November 25 & radioed a routine warning to the US naval facility at Pearl Harbor.

d) Because Hawaii was so far away, few believed that such an attack was possible.

B. At 7:55 AM on Sunday December 7, 1941, a wave of Japanese bombers attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor.1. 300 Carrier Based Planes attacked the naval and air

bases on Oahua) 8 battleships were hit & the USS Arizona went down w/ over

1,000 men still onboard.b) Japanese bombers destroyed the American airfields & planesc) Over 3,000 American sailors & soldiers were killed or woundedd) Destroyer: USS PHOENIX lost only 1 man during the attack &

didn’t lose another for the rest of the war. The ship was nicknamed the “LUCKY PHOENIX”

2. The attack was so bad because Pearl was prepared for an act of SABOTAGE and all the battleships, planes, etc. were grouped together to protect them.

3. Also on December 7th Japanese planes attacked: WAKE, MIDWAY, GUAM & THE PHILIPPINES

4. DEC. 8, 1941 – FDR addressed a special session of Congress & asked for a declaration of war against Japan.

a) “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly & deliberately attacked by naval & air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

b) US Senate voted UNANIMOUSLY for war; the House of Representatives had one vote against war

i. JEANETTE RANKIN OF MONTANA – she lost her seat in the House as a result of her anti-war feelings – she was a pacifist & protested war right though the Vietnam Conflict before she died.

5. Great Britain & the Governments in Exile (France, Denmark, the Netherlands, etc) declared War against Japan

6. Soviet Union did not declare war on Japan & Japan did not declare war on the Soviet Union (since the Soviets beat the crap out of them Twice along the Manchurian Soviet border)

7. Dec. 11, 1941 – GERMANY & ITALY declared war on the US – whereupon Congress declared war on them.

Read “Where Historians Disagree” on pages 734 & 735

Read “America in the World” on page 726