World War II (part 1)

Events Leading to World War II

Though World War II began in September of 1939, the United
States did not officially enter the fight until 1941. 
Before this time, despite stating an official policy of neutrality,
the United States helped the Allied Powers―Great Britain,
the Soviet Union, and China―by lending money and
supplies needed for the war effort. 
The U.S. became fully invested in the war only after the
Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. 
The next day, at the urging of President Franklin D.
Roosevelt, Congress declared war on Imperial Japan.
 Isolationism
Isolationism can be defined as any policies that keep a nation from getting
involved in military alliances, as well as the belief that a nation should avoid
all wars that do not include territorial self-defense.
The United States followed a policy of isolationism after World War I. During the
1930s, the United States passed a series of laws called the Neutrality Acts
that were based on this policy. These laws were partially a response to
growing conflicts in the countries of Europe and Asia that eventually led to
the outbreak of World War II.
The Neutrality Acts of 1935 prohibited American trade with any nation that was
participating in a war. In 1937 and 1939, President Roosevelt convinced
Congress to pass new laws that allowed the U.S. to trade with other nations
that paid cash and transported their own goods.
On October 5, 1937, President Roosevelt gave a speech known as the
Quarantine Speech. In this speech, Roosevelt called for an international
"quarantine of the aggressor nations" and expressed a desire to end the
isolationist policies that had existed since the end of World War I.
Isolationism
 Lend-Lease Act
Before the Lend-Lease Act was passed, the U.S. had operated under the
Neutrality Acts of the 1930s, which stated that the U.S. should not help
belligerent nations, though the acts did allow some aid to countries that could
pay in cash and transport their own goods, also known as "cash and carry."
By 1941, however, Great Britain was running out of money, and President
Roosevelt was determined to help them. He asked Congress to enact a
policy that would allow the U.S. to give, lease, lend, or sell war supplies to
countries fighting in the war.
The Lend-Lease Act of 1941 was a piece of federal legislation that allowed the
United States to give aid to countries fighting in World War II. At the
beginning of 1941, the United States was not yet fighting in the war, but the
federal government believed it should help the war effort in some way. Above
all, the United States wanted to give aid to Great Britain.
The video below is of a speech given by President Roosevelt on April 4, 1941, in
which he discusses how the U.S. planned on helping Great Britain through
the Lend-Lease program.
Lend-Lease Act
Executive Order 8802
On June 25, 1941, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed
Executive Order 8802, which
prohibited racial
discrimination in war related
industries. 
This order was largely in
response to pressures from
activists such as A. Philip
Randolph. 
Randolph was a civil rights
leader who worked to end
racial discrimination in the
war industries and the
armed services.
 Economic Impacts
Entry into the war in 1941 pulled the
United States economy completely out
of the Great Depression. Though
government spending during the New
Deal of the 1930s helped the economy,
it could not compare with the massive
flow of spending which started as soon
as the United States entered the war.
The United States began to ration supplies
such as gasoline, nylon, food, and
rubber in order to conserve these items
for the war effort.
Factories switched from production of
consumer goods to production of
military goods. Many women and
African Americans entered the
workforce for the first time, taking over
jobs left vacant by enlisted men who “Rosie the Riveter” symbolizes the millions
were fighting overseas. of American women who worked in heavy
industry during this time. 
Executive Order 9066
Executive Order 9066 was signed by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. It
called for the creation of military zones that could
exclude certain types of people. Though the order
made no explicit reference to a particular group, it
was quickly aimed at Japanese Americans living
on the West Coast. The order was also used to
place people of other ethnic backgrounds into
camps, namely Italians and Germans.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, racial prejudice was
turned against Japanese Americans because
many people in the United States did not trust that
citizens of Japanese descent could remain loyal to
the U.S. These feelings of suspicion coupled with
Executive Order 9066 directly resulted in the
creation of 10 internment camps in various
locations around the country. Approximately
110,000 Japanese Americans were displaced from
their homes in the western United States and
forced to relocate to these camps.
Japanese Internment
 Inter-War Period
The years between World War I
and World War II, 1918 to
1939, are referred to as the
inter-war period. 

Because of the political and

economic turmoil that
followed the end of World
War I, some countries looked
to extreme political regimes
that could help change a bad
situation. 

Military dictatorships arose in

some countries in Europe,
with perhaps the most
notable example being the
Nazis, a group who came to
power in Germany in the
1930s. 
Facism
Fascism is a political ideology which
became popular in some
countries following World War I.
As a form of dictatorship,
governmental power was placed
in hands of one person, and
individual freedoms were denied.
The rise of fascism can be attributed
to the economic and emotional
burdens following World War I
as well as the fear of the spread
of communism. People believed
a strong government was the
answer to their fears, and ultra
right-wing regimes like the Nazi
Party seemed like better
alternatives to communism.
 Nazi Germany
The National Socialist German Workers'
Party, also known as the Nazi Party,
was a political party with fascist
elements which grew in popularity in
Germany during the 1920s. The
leader of the Nazi Party was a man
by the name of Adolf Hitler who came
to power when he became chancellor
of Germany in 1933.
Unlike other fascist regimes, namely
Mussolini's regime in Italy, Nazi
Germany enacted a series of racist
policies which took rights away from
certain citizens. Hitler believed that
the Jewish people of the world were
an inferior race and should be
destroyed. The hatred of Jewish
people is known as anti-semitism.
Germany Re-arms
When Adolf Hitler came to
power in 1933, he
immediately began to
re-arm Germany, a
blatant violation of the
disarmament clauses
of the Treaty of
Versailles.
On March 7, 1936, Hitler
further violated the
treaty by sending the
German Army into the
Rhineland. According
to the treaty, the
Rhineland was to
remain a de-militarized
zone.
 Invasion of Ethiopia
Also known as the Second
Italo-Ethiopian War, this
conflict began in October of
1935 and lasted until May
of 1936. Prime Minister
Benito Mussolini ordered
the invasion of Ethiopia in
an attempt to gain more
power and territory for
Fascist Italy.
Ethiopia's military technology
was no match for Italy,
allowing Italy to conquer
Ethiopia quickly. This war
was another example of
how imperialist ideas
influenced many countries
during the inter-war years.
Spanish Civil War
Political conflict in Spain led to the beginning
of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. This war
involved the clash between the Spanish
Republicans and the Nationalists, a fascist
group led by General Francisco Franco.
Italy and Germany supported the Nationalists
and sent aid in the form of soldiers and
weapons. The Soviet Union and
international volunteers gave aid to the
Republicans. One major benefit of the
Spanish Civil War for Italy and Germany
was the ability to test new weapons prior
to the start of World War II.
In 1939, the Nationalists claimed victory, and
Franco took control of the Spanish
government.
 Munich Agreement
On September 30, 1938,
representatives from
Britain, France, and
Italy met with Hitler in
the city of Munich. 
They agreed Germany
could annex the
Sudetenland area of
Czechoslovakia.
Czechoslovakia did not
take part in the
negotiations. 
Six months later, Hitler
invaded and took over
the rest of
Czechoslovakia.
 Japan's Inter-war Years
Unlike Germany and Italy, the Japanese Empire did not become a fascist dictatorship in
the 20th century; it remained imperialistic. Many people in Japan felt the country had
not benefited much from winning World War I and began to look to more extreme
ideologies as a way to fix the country's problems. The military gradually gained more
influence over Japan between the wars and overshadowed the nation's democratic
government.
In 1931, the Japanese army occupied Manchuria (northern China), and it began invading
the rest of China in 1937, beginning what is known as the Second Sino-Japanese
War.
The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought from 1937 to 1941. The Nanking
Massacre was a well-known event that began on December 7, 1937. During the
massacre, Chinese civilians, including women and children, were brutally killed and
submitted to other atrocities. The massacre lasted for six weeks and resulted in the
deaths of nearly 300,000 Chinese. This incident resulted in increased tensions
between Japan and the United States.
 Invasion of Poland
In years before World War II, Germany's leader, Adolf Hitler, wanted his
country to control more land. To this end, Hitler pursued a policy of
territorial aggression during the late 1930s.Examples of German
aggression included the remilitarization of the Rhineland, the
annexation of Austria, and the occupation of Czechoslovakia. At first,
Hitler's actions were met with very little resistance by other nations
because world leaders wanted to avoid another world war. This policy
is often referred to as "appeasement."
Following the invasion of Czechoslovakia, world leaders began to
understand that the policy of appeasement had failed. The French and
British agreed to enter into an alliance with Poland, who seemed to be
the next likely target of Germany's expanionist aims. Germany
invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. On September 3, both Great
Britain and France declared war on Germany in retaliation.