U.S. Isolationism

1) The Great Depression shattered notions of American imperialism as the country returned to the isolationism that had defined U.S. foreign policy during much of the 19th Century (1800s).

U.S. Isolationism

2) The intense concentration on foreign policy practically vanished during the 1930s in the face of nation’s greatest domestic crisis.

U.S. Isolationism

Ex. – The protectionist and shortsighted Hawley-Smoot Tariff of 1930 virtually eliminated world trade, ironically sinking Europe and American deeper into the Depression.

T A R I F F

T A R I F FTRADE

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U.S. Isolationism4) Mired in the Depression,

many Americans now viewed U.S. participation in the First World War as a catastrophic mistake. It was obvious that the War was a significant factor in causing the Depression and the rise of fascist dictators only further proved that the treaty of Versailles was a colossal failure.

U.S. Isolationism6) Reflecting America’s storm-cellar

isolationism, Congress passed the Neutrality Acts to prevent U.S. involvement in future European wars. The Act stipulated that when the President declared that there was foreign war, a series of restrictions went into effect:

-No American could (A) legally sail on a belligerent ship, (B) sell or transport war supplies to belligerent nation, or (C) make loans to a belligerent nation.

Rise of Fascism

1) Fascism = A form of dictatorship that values the nation or race over the individual. Slightly resembling Socialist economic systems, the government often employs substantial control over the economy to create a minimum standard of living for all citizens.

Rise of Fascism

2) Totalitarianism = A form of dictatorship that has total control over all aspects of life and suppresses all forms of opposition through state sponsored terror and censorship.

Rise of Fascism

3) The destabilizing impact of World War I and the monumental crisis of Great Depression enabled a number of demagogic leaders to establish fascist and totalitarian regimes across Europe during the 1920s and 30s.

Rise of Fascism

4) After Vladimir Lenin died in 1924, Joseph Stalin assumed control of the Soviet Union and ruled the so-called Communist nation with an iron fist.

Rise of Fascism

5) The potential of an Italian civil war enabled the fascist party of Benito Mussolini to come to power in 1922. Wealthy and powerful Italians supported the right-wing fascists to prevent the rise of the left-wing communist revolutionaries of the lower classes.

Rise of Fascism

8) In Germany, Adolph Hitler masterfully exploited skyrocketing unemployment and the punitive Treaty of Versailles to awaken German nationalism. He gradually assumed control of the Nazi Party and was elected as Chancellor in 1933.

Causes of World War II

A) Aggression by the totalitarian powers of Germany, Italy, Japan (the Axis Powers)

Causes of World War II

B) Nationalism – all of the Axis powers firmly believed in the supremacy of their nation. This attitude often fueled their acts of conquest.

Causes of World War II

C) Failures of the Treaty of Versailles – the punitive nature of the treaty humiliated Germany and made it economically unstable. Growing poverty and unemployment fueled an angry and vengeful form of nationalism to grow in the ranks of the Nazi Party.

Causes of World War IID) Weakness of the

League of Nations – acts of military conquest by Germany, Italy, and Japan clearly violated several international treaties, but the League failed to take any significant action against these belligerents.

Causes of World War II

E) Appeasement – Britain and France adopted a policy of “appeasement” in order to avoid another war. Allowing Hitler and Mussolini to expand their empires only further fueled their aggression and desire for conquest.

Causes of World War IIF) U.S. isolationism – Many

Americans believed that the Great Depression was partially caused by U.S. involvement in the First World War. This led many to support an “isolationist” foreign policy that kept the nation out of European affairs. Much like Western European appeasement policies, U.S. isolationism only gave Hitler and Mussolini greater confidence to further expand their empires without consequence.

Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

1) During the summer of 1939 the British and French were desperately negotiating with the Soviet Union in the hopes of securing a mutual defense treaty to halt Germany.

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Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

2) In late August, the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin shocked the Western world by announcing a non-aggression treaty with Hitler. The two dictators agreed to split Poland and resolved not to attack one another. (They were not military allies)

Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

3) Stalin believed that the non-aggression pact protected the Soviet Union (Russia) and ensured that Hitler would attack the Western European democracies (Britain, France, and others

Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

4) Stalin believed that the war between fascism and democracy would leave all of Europe vulnerable to the Soviet Communist state. However, Stalin correctly suspected that Hitler would eventually turn on him and the non-aggression pact bought valuable time.

Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

5) When neighboring Poland refused to return German territory that was taken under the Treaty of Versailles, the Nazi war machine blazed across the border at dawn on September 1, 1939

Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

6) Britain and France were finally pushed over the brink and were forced to declare war on Germany. The Second World War had finally begun. However, the allies were powerless to aid Poland as it was besieged by German forces in the west and Soviet forces in the east.

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The Fall of France

1) Defenseless Poland fell to Nazi and Soviet forces after only three weeks of fighting in the fall of 1939. A temporary calm settled in the winter of 1939 /1940 as Hitler prepared for a knockout blow to France.

The Fall of France

3) Hitler’s military masterfully employed what became known as the German “Blitzkrieg” (German for “lightening war”). This strategy involves quickly overrunning enemies with sudden and surprise attacks with relentless pursuit to prevent their organization of an effective defense.

The Fall of France

4) France was forced to surrender by late June of 1940. Most British forces were able escape in a last minute evacuation form the French port of Dunkirk.

The Fall of France

5) Only Britain remained in Hitler’s warpath across Europe and the crisis brought forth the sound leadership of Winston Churchill as Prime Minister.

The Fall of France

6) The Axis Powers formed in September of 1940 when Japan joined the fascist alliance between Germany and Italy.

The Lend Lease Act

1) The Battle of Britain represented the series of bombings and intense air battles between the German Luftwaffe and the British Royal Air Force (RAF) between August 1940 and May 1941.

The Lend Lease Act

2) Hitler believed that an invasion of the British Isles would be unsuccessful without gaining air superiority over the RAF. The German Luftwaffe continuously bombed England for over nine months in an attempt to eliminate the RAF and to terrorize the civilian population.

The Lend Lease Act

3) The British Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously declared, “the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin…Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say, ‘This was their finest hour.’”

The Lend Lease Act 4) Continual German

bombings forced British civilians to seek refuge in their storm cellars, basements, and newly constructed bomb shelters. Thousands of civilians in London descended into the subways for protection as their city burned above.

The Lend Lease Act

5) The desperate British could no longer afford the demands of the Cash and Carry policy and U.S. neutrality policies seemed to be helping Hitler to defeat our ally.

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The Lend Lease Act

6) The Lend Lease Act was passed by Congress in March 1941 to “lend” unlimited U.S. war supplies to the British on the condition that they would be returned after the war. Roosevelt compared it to “lending a garden hose to a next-door neighbor whose house is on fire.”

The Lend Lease Act

7) Roosevelt tried to calm the fears of isolationists by claiming that the United States would be, “the Great Arsenal of Democracy,” and that we intended to “send guns, not sons.”

The Lend Lease Act

8) However, this strongly represented an economic declaration of war against the Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan.