1. OPENING ASSIGNMENT  Under what circumstances should the United States enter into a war?  Give an example to support your answer.

2. Essential Learning Goals & Learning Targets  Essential Learning Goal:  The Second World War caused dramatic changes for the citizens of the US and to the US’ position as a world power.  Learning Target:  I can identify the steps taken to prepare for war by the United States prior to US declaration of war.  I can explain how the US used Cash-and-Carry, and Lend- Lease to support opponents of Hitler’s expansion.  I can identify the terms; isolationism, Atlantic Charter, Axis Powers, and Allies.

3. The US Prepares for War.  Even though not a participant in WWII during 1939-1941 the US began to take steps to help their allies in Europe.  President Roosevelt encouraged Congress to pass the “cash-and-carry” provision as a change in foreign policy.  The new provision would allow the US to sell armaments of rifles, ammunition, and machine guns to Britain so long as those nations paid cash and transported the arms themselves.

4. The US Prepares for War.  The “cash-and-carry” provision was attacked by ISOLATIONISTS as a decision that would lead the US into war.  Congress passed the “cash-and-carry” provision as part of the Neutrality Act of 1939 after six weeks of debate.  In addition the US traded Britain 50 old destroyers, a type of naval ship, in exchange for leases on military bases in the Caribbean and Canada.  The British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called this a “decidedly un-neutral act”.

5. A World War II destroyer

6. The US Prepares for War.  While supporting our allies across the Atlantic Ocean the US began to increase defense spending here in the US.  President Roosevelt asked Congress to increase spending on army bases, naval stations, and training facilities.  By 1940 Nazi Germany had scored a number of high profile victories by defeating France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Norway to control nearly all of western and northern Europe.  Only Great Britain held out on their island sanctuary. The US and Britain signed the joint declaration called the Atlantic Charter in which both sides agreed to; collective security, disarmament, self-determination, economic cooperation, and freedom of the seas.

7. The Arsenal of Democracy  Seeing Germany as a threat to world peace, President Roosevelt addressed the nation in one of his now common Fireside Chats.  He states that if Great Britain fell to the Germans they would be free to conquer the world.  To prevent such a situation the US need to become “the great arsenal of democracy.  WHAT DO YOU THINK ROOSEVELT MEANT BY THIS STATEMENT?

8. The Lend-Lease Act  By 1940 the British had no more cash to spend on the weapons that the US was producing.  President Roosevelt suggested a new plan called the LEND-LEASE policy.  Under this plan the US would not ask for payment on weapons or supplies to “any country whose defense was vital to the United States”.  He compared this to lending a garden hose to a neighbor whose house was on fire.  Isolationists again opposed the act, but the LEND-LEASE ACT passed in Congress in early 1941.

9. Supporting Stalin and the Communists  In 1941 the German army launched its’ invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa).  Doing so Hitler broke the secret agreement (Non- Aggression Pact) that he had made with Stalin in 1939.  In response the United States expanded lend-lease aid to the Soviet Union.  President Roosevelt argued that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” in justifying support of the Communist Soviet Union.  How had America reacted toward Communism in the past?

10. Homework  Chapter 16 Section 4  Read Pages 550 to 557.  Complete the Main Idea Questions (A thru E)  Complete the Skillbuilder #1 – 2 on Page 551.  Complete the Point/Counterpoint Thinking Critically #1 only on Page 552.

11. Daily Review 1.List three ways the President increased defense spending in preparation for the US involvement in WWII. 2.How did Cash-Carry help the British? 3.What comparison did Roosevelt make in explaining the Lend-Lease program to the American people? 4.What did the US give the British in exchange for naval bases in the Caribbean and Canada? 5.What did Isolationists believe about the US and WWII? 6.What did the Atlantic Charter encourage between the US and Britain? 7.List the participants in the Axis Power and the Allies.