America and the End of Neutrality SWBAT: EXPLAIN WHY THE U.S. MAINTAINED NEUTRALITY AND WHY ULTIMATELY, THE U.S. WAS PULLED INTO THE WAR. HOMEWORK: STUDY FOR VOCAB QUIZ. DO NOW: WHAT REASONS DO YOU THINK ROOSEVELT WOULD HAVE GIVEN FOR STAYING OUT OF WWII?

U.S. Declares Neutrality  After the cost of WWI (both in terms of money and human life), the U.S. was hesitant to become involved in another European war.  Americans believed that maintaining isolationist and non- interventionist attitudes would be best.  The U.S. passed a variety of neutrality acts between 1935 and 1941 to keep us out of war.

Loss of U.S. Neutrality Neutraility Act of 1935 Pearl Harbor (Dec., 1941) Lend-Lease Act (March, 1941) Neutraility Act of 1937 (Cash and Carry) Neutraility Act of Tensions War

Neutrality Act of 1935  Imposed a general embargo on trading in arms and war materials with all parties in a war.  What is an embargo?  It also declared that American citizens travelling on warring ships travelled at their own risk.  The act was set to expire after six months.  Roosevelt invoked the act after Italy's invasion of Ethiopia in October 1935, preventing all arms and ammunition shipments to both countries.  What is the problem with this kind of act?

Neutrality Act of 1936  The Neutrality Act of 1936, passed in February of that year, renewed the provisions of the 1935 act for another 14 months.  It also forbade all loans or credits to belligerents.

Neutrality Act of 1937  Included the provisions of the earlier acts, this time without expiration date, and extended them to cover civil wars as well.  Also U.S. ships were prohibited from transporting any passengers or articles to warring countries, and U.S. citizens were forbidden from traveling on ships of belligerent nations.  Added a “cash and carry” policy:  Allowed warring nations to buy U.S. arms as long as they paid cash and transported them in their own ships.  Its purpose: to instill a sense of neutrality between the United States and European countries while still giving aid to Britain.  Remember: before this policy, it was illegal to sell anything or loan money to belligerent countries.

Meanwhile in Europe… Problems begin to Worsen…

The Fall of France and the Battle of Britain  Failing to fortify the Ardennes Forest, German troops bypass the Maginot Line and march towards Paris.  France is out of the war.  Battle of Britain has successfully fought off the German Luftwaffe, but is still fighting alone.  Winston Churchill will continue to ask Roosevelt to enter the war, but Roosevelt refuses.

Back to U.S. Neutrality: Lend Lease Aid  This act empowered the president to "sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of, to any such government [whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States] any defense article."  In effect, it allowed Roosevelt to authorize the transfer of military materials to Britain with the understanding that they would ultimately be paid for or returned if they were not destroyed.  It allowed the U.S. to help Great Britain without actually committing to sending troops overseas.

Stalin Switches Sides  Great Britain was not the only nation to receive lend-lease aid.  In June 1941 Hitler broke his nonaggression pact with Stalin and invaded the Soviet Union.  Acting on the principle “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”, Roosevelt became allies with Stalin.

The Loss of U.S. Neutrality- Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor  On the morning of December 7, 1941 the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor.  The base was attacked by 353 Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers Sailors at Pearl Harbor watch as the USS Shaw explodes Dec. 7, 1941

Pearl Harbor Clip  How would you describe the reaction of the men stationed at Pearl Harbor?  What role do African Americans seem to fill? 

Aftermath of Pearl Harbor Top: USS Arizona sinks Top: USS California sinks. Left: USS Shaw explodes.

The Toll  All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four being sunk.  The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti- aircraft training ship, and one minelayer.  188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed;  2,402 Americans were killed and 1,282 wounded.  The USS Arizona would be the biggest cause of causalities.  The explosion killed 1,177 of the 1,512 crewmen on board at the time, over half of the lives lost during the attack

The Result  The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters.  The following day (December 8), the United States declared war on Japan.  Domestic support for non-interventionism disappeared.  Germany and Italy declare war on the U.S. on December 11, which was reciprocated by the U.S. the same day.  By the end of December 11, 1941, the U.S. was officially at war.

So who’s on whose side?  Allies  United States  Britain and her empire  Free French Forces  USSR  And over a dozen other nations. Axis Germany Italy Japan Hungary Romania Bulgaria

Effect on Japanese Americans  Paranoia and fear lead to distrust of Japanese Americans.  Despite the fact that 2/3 of Japanese Americans were second generation or more, Americans put pressure on Roosevelt to do something.  On Feb. 19, 1942 Franklin Roosevelt authorized the internment of all Japanese Americans with Executive Order 9066, despite the lack of any concrete evidence that Japanese Americans were loyal to their ancestral land.  Internment last until 1945.

Question:  Do you think the United States should have waited to be attacked before declaring war? Consider:  The reputation of the U.S.  The influence of isolationists  The events at Pearl Harbor