1. World War II
#2 American Reactions to The Outbreak of WWII

2. Essential Question:
What was the U.S. response to the outbreak of World War II?
Warm-Up Question:
Germany, Italy, Britain, & USA all experienced an economic depression in the 1930s
Germany & Italy turned to dictators, while the USA & Britain used democracy to elect leaders
How were the totalitarian leaders different from democratic ones?

3. America’s Response to World War II: Read Situation #1 (1930—1938)
Answer: D

4. America’s Response in the 1930s
America’s response to the rise of totalitarianism was isolationism:
Congress passed the Neutrality Acts ( ) that outlawed weapons sales to nations at war & required trade during wartime to be done on foreign ships
Americans protested when FDR tried to convince world leaders to “quarantine” aggressor nations

5. America’s Response to World War II: Read Situation #2 (1939)
Answer: C

6. America’s Response in 1939
To help Britain & France defeat Germany, Congress passed the “cash-and-carry” provision:
Amended the Neutrality Acts to allow arms sales to the Allies
But Allied nations had to agree to pay in cash & transport supplies on their own ships

8. America’s Response to World War II: Read Situation #3 (1940)
Answer: D

9. America’s Response in 1940-1941
By 1940, Britain needed U.S. aid to hold off the German assault:
The Lend-Lease Act allowing the U.S. to send war supplies to Allied nations & transport goods to Europe on armed U.S. ships
FDR began preparing America for a possible war by calling for the 1st ever peacetime draft

10. The United States will become the “Arsenal of Democracy”
Lend-Lease Act of 1941
The United States will become the “Arsenal of Democracy”

11. America’s Response to World War II: Read Situation #4 (1941)
Answer: D

12. America’s Response in 1941
The success of the Axis Powers in Europe brought the USA closer to an undeclared war on Germany
FDR gave the navy & merchant ships authority to fire on u-boats
FDR secretly drafted the Atlantic Charter with Churchill: planned a war strategy if the USA entered WWII & a post-war United Nations

14. America’s Response in 1941
The USA attempted to stop Japanese aggression in Asia:
FDR wanted to protect U.S. territories & allies in the Pacific
The USA created an embargo & stopped selling iron & oil to Japan
Hideki Tojo sent an envoy to negotiate a resolution, but secretly plotted to attack the U.S.

16. America’s Response to World War II: Read Situation #5 (1941)
Answer: C

17. America’s Response in 1941
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941 brought the USA into World War II
On Dec 8, Congress declared war on Japan
On Dec 11, Germany & Italy declared war on the U.S.
The USA had to fight a two-front war in Europe & Asia; Despite the attack by Japan, FDR viewed Germany as the immediate threat