Monday- Go over this week's forum posts. Start/continue presentations.
Tuesday- Continue presentations (Soviet Union)
Wednesday-
Thursday-
US After WWI:
US never signed the treaty of Versailles
- Wilson (Democrat) vs Congress (Rep. controlled)
- Join the League of Nations or go back to isolationism?
- Republican Warren Harding won the 1920 Presidential election with a promise to 'return to normalcy'
- The US went back to focusing on America in 1920's and 30's
5 Power Pact- look previous notes
9 Power Pact- Guaranteed Chinese independence and upheld the Open Door Policy
Kellogg-Briand Pact- The US did sign announcing desputes
Neutrality in General
- Neutrality Acts were passed by the US in the 30s in response to the issues in Europe and Asia that eventually led to WWII
- They were caused by the desire to be isolationist in the US following WWI
- Passed to ensure that the US would not become involved in world conflicts like war
- US had very strong history of isolationism
American First Committee-promoted isolationism
US Neutrality Acts during 30s
35- Stopped trading with countries at war
36- Stop loaning money to countries at war
37- Cash and Carry System-weapons not included
39- Cash and Carry System- weapons included
Quarantine Speech 37 -Countries need to work together to quarantine aggressive nations to keep them from expanding
Panay Incident Dec 37
- American gunboat attacked on river in China by Japan
- 3 US troops killed, 45 wounded
- Japan said it was an accident, apologized and paid US $$
- Worsened US-Japanese relations
Bases for Destroyers
- 50 US destroyers were given to GB in exchange for land rights for 99 years on British colonies for naval or air base purposes
- Passed Sept 1940 between US and GB
- Newfoundland, eastern side of the Bahamas, southern coast of Jamaica western coast of St. Lucia, west coast of Trinidad, Antigua, British Guiana and Bermuda were the areas the US received
End of US Neutrality- Lend Lease Act
- The end of neutrality for the US came with the Lend Lease Act passed in March 1941
- Allowed the US to sell, lend or gice war materials to nations the US wanted support
- US gave 50 billion (650 billion today) to allied nations throughout the war
Selective Training and Service Act
- Passed in Sept 1940 and ended in 1947
- Required that men between the ages of 21-35 register for the draft
- Extended to all men aged 18-45 once US entered war
- First peacetime draft in US history
Atlantic Charter
- Signed in Aug 1941 between US (FDR) and GB (Churchill)
- Defined the Allied goals for post-war world
- Many similarities to Wilson's 14 points
Pearl Harbor Dec 7, 1941
FDR's War Speech
- Pearl Harbor was not the only area Japan attacked on Dec 7
- Yesterday JG also launched attack against Malaya (Malaysia)
- Hong Kong
Why did they attack?
- After Japan invaded French Indochina in 1940, US stopped trading with Japan
- Japan signed the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact in April 41 guaranteeing that Japan and USSR would not go to war
- Japan realized they needed US trade to be successful in war
- Only way to force US hand was to hit them hard in a surprise attack forcing them out of the war
- Japan knew that this plan was a huge risk, but thought it was the only way to defeat US
- Plan backfired. Instead, Japan "awoke a sleeping giant"
Backdoor to War Conspiracy
GREAT BRITAIN
WWII
- War declaration on Germany in 39
- Winston Churchill's appointment to prime minister
- Evacuation of British soldiers from Belgium
Battle of Britain 10 July - 31 October 1940
- Hitler wanted air superiority over Royal Air Forces and Britain
- The Luftwaffe targets RAF airfields and raids cities
- The British people show great resistance to the assault
- Germany fails to destroy British air defenses
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