1. Chapter 33 Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War

2. The London Conference
Summer of 1933, 66 nations sent delegates to the London Economic Conference
Delegates hoped to coordinated an international response - global depression
Stabilize currencies and rates which they could be exchanged
FDR opposed conference b/c didn’t want any interference with his own plans to fix US economy
W/out support from US conference fell apart
Collapse strengthened global trend towards nationalism
Made international cooperation difficult

3. Freedom for (from?) the Filipinos and Recognition for the Russians
Continuing nation's isolationist policies – FDR withdrew from Asia
Congress passed Tydings-McDuffie Act, 1934, provided independence to the Philippines by 1946 – didn’t want to have to support the Philippines if Japan attacked
1933, FDR formally recognized the Soviet Union
Opened up trade and fostered friendship to counter-balance the threat of German power in Europe and Japanese power in Asia

4. Becoming a Good Neighbor
FDR - Good Neighbor policy
America would not intervene or interfere with Latin American countries.
All marines left Haiti, 1934
Released some control over Cuba and Panama
When Mexican gov’t seized American oil properties in 1938, FDR held to his policy and a settlement was worked out (1941)

5. Secretary Hull's Reciprocal Trade Agreements
Congress passed Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act, 1934
Designed to lower tariffs
Allowed Pres. to lower tariffs with a country if that country also lowered theirs
Negotiated pacts with 21 countries by 1939
Trade agreements dramatically increased U.S. foreign trade
Paved way for American-led free-trade international economic system after WWII

6. Storm-Cellar Isolationism
Following Gt. Dep.  totalitarianism spread throughout Europe
Joseph Stalin took control of Communist USSR  killed hundreds of thousands of political opponents
Benito Mussolini took control of Italy in 1922
Adolf Hitler took control of Germany in Most dangerous b/c of tremendous power and impulsive
1936, Nazi Hitler and Fascist Mussolini became allies -  Rome-Berlin Axis
1934, Japan terminated  Washington Naval Treaty and accelerated their construction of large battleships
Mussolini attacked Ethiopia in 1935
Americans maintained isolationist attitude - thought oceans that surrounded country would protect them.
1934, Congress passed the Johnson Debt Default Act, preventing debt-dodging nations from borrowing further from the US

7. Congress Legislates Neutrality
Congress sought to keep US out of war by passing the Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937
Acts stated that when the president proclaimed the existence of a foreign war, certain restrictions would automatically go into effect.
Countries involved in a war (victim or aggressor), no American could legally sail on one of their ships, sell or transport munitions to them, or give them loans
Because America did not help its democratic friends, America actually helped provoke the aggressors

8. America Dooms Loyalist Spain
Spanish Civil War,
Started when Spanish rebels, led by Franco, rose against the left-wing republican government in Madrid
Aided by Mussolini and Hitler
Overthrew Loyalist regime, supported by USSR
War was "dress rehearsal" for WWII - involved many of the same countries
Small group of American volunteers fought for Loyalists
US wanted to stay out of war  Congress amended neutrality legislation to apply an arms embargo to both Loyalists and rebels

9. Appeasing Japan and Germany
1937, Japan invaded China. 
FDR refused to call invasion a "war", so the neutrality legislation did not take effect.
If he had called it a war, he would have cut off munition sales to the Chinese  consequence Japan could still buy war supplies from US
FDR gave Quarantine Speech, 1937
Proposed economic embargos against the aggressive dictators
Public opposed - FDR did not follow through with his plan
1937, Japan’s planes sunk US ship - Tokyo apologized and US accepted
1935, Hitler violated Treaty of Versailles  - introduced mandatory military service & 1936 took over demilitarized Rhineland.
March 1938, Hitler invaded Austria.  (Note: Austria actually voted for the occupation, fully aware that if it resisted, Germany would forcefully take over Austria.)
Germany,  Sept. 1938, Western European democracies allowed Germany to keep Sudetenland (part of Czechoslovakia) - hoped this would stop Hitler from taking over other countries.
In March 1939, Hitler took over all of Czechoslovakia

10. Hitler's Belligerency and U.S. Neutrality
August 23, 1939, USSR signed nonaggression treaty with Hitler
 Hitler-Stalin pact meant Germany could make war on Poland & Western democracies without fear of retaliation from USSR
Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. 
Britain and France, honoring commitments to Poland, declared war on Germany – start of WWII
US strongly anti-Nazi but wanted to stay out of war
Britain and France needed materials from US, so Congress passed Neutrality Act of 1939
European democracies buy US materials if they transported goods on own ships & paid cash – “Cash and Carry” policy
US to avoid loans, war debts, and the sinking of American ships.
Demand for war goods helped end the recession of , and it solved decade-long unemployment crisis

11. The Fall of France
Months after the fall of Poland - known as the "phony war“
France and U.K. were not really militarily involved in the war
USSR took over Finland despite Congress loaning $30 million to Finland
Phoney war ended - April-May 1940 when Hitler took over Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium
France fell in June 1940
When France surrendered, Americans realized that England was all that stood in the way of Hitler controlling all of Europe.
FDR and Congress quickly set out to build large air fleets and a two-ocean navy
Sept. 6, 1940, Congress passed conscription law – US first peacetime draft 
At  Havana Conference of 1940, US agreed to protect Latin America from German aggression

12. Refugees from the Holocaust
Nov. 9, 1938, mobs of Germans attacked German Jews
Kristallnact, "night of broken glass“
Following these attacks, thousands of Jews sent to concentration camps
FDR created War Refugee Board after learning of Nazi genocide
Created to help victims of Nazis and other Axis powers
By the war's end, over 6 millions Jews had been murdered in the Holocaust

13. Bolstering Britain
After France fell to Germany, Hitler launched air attacks against Britain in August 1940 (Battle of Britain)
During Battle of Britain, radio broadcasts brought the drama from London air raids directly into US homes.
Sympathy for Britain grew, but not enough to push the US into war
Most powerful group of those who supported aid for Britain was the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies
Isolationists organized the America First Committee - America should concentrate what strength it had to defend itself
Sept. 2, 1940 – FDR transferred 50 destroyers left over from WWI to Britain. 
In return, Britain US 8 valuable defensive base sites in the Western Hemisphere.
This was a violation of America's neutrality obligations

14. Shattering the Two-Term Tradition
1940 Election - Republicans chose Willkie 
Condemned FDR's alleged dictatorship & opposed New Deal
FDR decided to run for 3rd term,
Argued that in time of war, country needed his experience
FDR won election

15. A Landmark Lend-Lease Law
Fearing collapse of Britain - Congress passed the Lend-Lease Bill in 1941
Under pretense of defending America
Allowed US to lease arms to democracies that needed them. 
Guns & tanks returned after war
Opponents of bill said arms would be destroyed and unable to be returned after the war.
Bill marked abandonment of any pretense of neutrality
Hitler saw the Lend-Lease Bill as an unofficial declaration of war
Until then, Germany had avoided attacking U.S. ships
 May 21, unarmed US merchant ship destroyed by German submarine outside the war zone

16. Charting a New World
Before attack on Pearl Harbor, 2 events marked the course of WWII:
Fall of France - June 1940
Hitler's invasion of USSR - June 1941
Hitler decided to invade USSR – June 22, 1941
Hoped to take oil and other resources of USSR & then concentrate on Britain
FDR sent military supplies to the USSR.
August 1941 – FDR & Churchill met and came up with the eight-point Atlantic Charter at the Atlantic Conference
Discussed goals of the war
Promised there would be no territorial changes contrary to the wishes of the inhabitants
Affirmed right of a people to choose their own form of government
Declared for disarmament of the aggressors

17. U.S. Destroyers and Hitler's U-boats Clash
B/c Germany kept sinking arms shipments, FDR decided to have US warships escort supplies to Britain (July 1941)
After series of US boats were sunk by German U-boats, Congress voted in November 1941 to repeal the Neutrality Act of 1939
Enabled merchant ships to be legally armed and enter combat zones with munitions for Britain

18. Surprise Assault on Pearl Harbor
Since September 1940, Japan had been allied with Germany
Japan's war effort was dependent on trade with US
Late US imposed the first of its trade embargoes on Japan
Offered to lift the embargo if Japan ended its war with China  did not agree to US's terms
"Black Sunday" Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor, killing 2,348 people.
Most of US's battleships were significantly damaged
3 Pacific-fleet aircraft carriers were spared because they were out of the harbor.
Dec. 8, the U.S. declared war on Japan
Dec. 11, 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on US
US followed suit by declaring war on them.

19. America's Transformation from Bystander to Belligerent
Pearl Harbor united Americans in their desire to go to war
Prior to attack, most Americans only supported policies that might lead to war
Did not want Britain to fall to Germany
Wanted to stop Japan from expanding