The Second World War: FDRs Foreign Policy

A. Recognition of the Soviet Union

1933 granted diplomatic recognition of the Soviet Union
US desired foreign trade

B. Philippine Independence
Tydings McDuffie Act (1934): Promised the Philippines complete independence

within a decade
C. The Good Neighbor Policy
US would be the neighbor who respects himself and the rights of others
Became the label for his Latin American Policy
D. Totalitarian Aggression
Totalitarian
o centralized control by an autocratic authority
o the political concept that the citizen should be totally subject to an

absolute state authority

o Examples: Germany, Russia, Japan, and Italy
Japanese in China
o 1931 Seized Manchuria
o 1937 Attacked China; Rape of Nanking
Estimated 300,000 killed
20,000 women raped/murdered
o December 12, 1937: US gunboat Panay was sunk by Japanese bombs on

Yangtze River
3 dead
43 injured
Italians in Africa
o 1935 Italy invaded Ethiopia
o Dreamed of another Italian empire
o Leader: Benito Mussolini (Il Duce)
Abolished democracy
Destroyed liberty
All on the promise of jobs and glory
German Expansion
o Germany building an enormous new army, making weapons at a

frightening speed and menacing neighbors

o March 1936 militarization of Rhineland
 o March 1938 - seized Austria
o Sept. 1938 Munich Pact
An attempt to appease Hitler
Dismember Czech. and give a piece to Germany (Sudetenland)
March 1939 Hitler seized the rest of Czech.
The appeasement was a failure
Sept. 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland
WWII begins
Germany and USSR (Soviet Union) sign non aggression

agreement
Sept. 3, 1939 Great Britain and France declare war on Germany

E. Rise of the Isolationism in the United States

Most government officials and citizens in the 1920s were isolationists

Felt US should avoid alliances and agreements with other nations

Nye Committee Investigated US entry into WWI

o Findings

International bankers drew US in WWI

Munitions Industry Pressed for American entry into war

Isolation dominated US foreign policy in 1930s

F. Neutrality Legislation

Neutrality Act, 1935 Authorized the President to bar/bear arms sales to warring

nations

1936 Extended neutrality legislation: put limits on sale of arms to belligerents

Cash and Carry a country has to pay cash for goods before they left our shores

o The country at war had to carry the goods on its own ships

G. Destroyer Base Deal

 FDR traded 50 old destroyers for the use of 8 British naval bases

Legally tried to help allies secure supplies

H. Lend - Lease

US would lend or lease whatever war supplies we could make

Supplies sent to any nation President considered vital to defense of the US

I. Atlantic Charter

FDR and Churchill met wanted a better future for the world

US and Great Britain were seeking no territorial gain

o Real reason for the meeting Churchill wanted American troops to join

FDRs answer is no

J. Effects of the War on the 1940 Election

Republican Nominee Wendell L. Wilkie

o Opposed the New Deal

Democratic Nominee FDR

Both wanted to aid Great Britain

FDR won the election

o First person elected President for a third term

K. The Battlefield is Everywhere

New Warfare: Blitzkreig lightning war Adolf Hitlers new strategy

o Depended heavily on air power - struck like lightning from the sky

Used the fastest new vehicles

 o Airplanes, tanks, trucks, motorcycles

Struck quickly at the heart of enemy territory, overwhelming them

1940 (In England) Winston Churchill became Prime Minister

L. US Prepares for War

FDR warns the US to rearm

Wanted billions of dollars to create a two ocean navy

Also, size of the air force greatly increased

M. Japanese American Relations

1931-1940: Japanese military aggression was militarily unopposed by the US

1940: Japan became a partner of Germany and Italy

July 1941: Japan attacked and expanded through China

US Response: Embargo on all trade with Japan

US and Japan met

o Sticking Point: China

o Japan wanted US to cut off aid to China

o US demanded Japan to withdraw from China

Japan had a choice: Give up the dream of an empire or go to war

o They chose war

N. America at War: Attack on Pearl Harbor

Sunday, December 7, 1941: Japan attacked the airfield and naval base at Pearl

Harbor
 Surprise Attack: 180 American warplanes destroyed (120 crippled), 18 naval

vessels were sunk or heavily damaged

More than 70 civilians and 2403 servicemen were killed

1177 crewmen of the USS Arizona died in the attack

Next day FDR Japans Day of Infamy plunged the US into war

O. War on the Home Front

Selective Service

o Draft was started in 1940

o By Pearl Harbor: 1.6 million in army

Millions more volunteered as a result of the attack

P. Internment of Japanese Americans

March 1942 close to 120,000 Japanese Americans were rounded up and

confined to camps

Were placed in camps because of the threat of possible acts of espionage and

sabotage

Q. Wartime Agencies

1940 Industry: Just emerging from depression

1942 - American Production: Equal to Germany, Italy and Japan combined

1944 production was double of Germany, Italy and Japan combined

During WWII, the government regulated industry and controlled the economy to

achieve maximum production and efficiency

Full employment inflation occurred

R. Role of Women and Minorities

Women

o 1945 258,000 women were serving in the armed forces

o 18 million women were part of the American workforce

o Women were needed as workers

o Took a wide variety of jobs in industry

Examples: shipyards, airplane factories, ammunition factories, rail

yards, truck drivers, etc.

Minorities

o African Americans

About 1 million African Americans served in WWII

African Americans served in segregated units in the early stages

of WWII

Many African Americans migrated to industrial areas (cities) for

jobs

o Latino Americans

Over 500,000 Latino American served and were not segregated

S. Conservation and Rationing

Rationing was used to assure availability of scarce items to all citizens

Individuals received coupons for a share of the rationed items

The US and allies needed everything the US could produce

T. American Strategy
 Get Hitler First

o If Germany won in Europe, US would face aggressor nations alone

Second Front

o First Front: Russia

o Known as D Day

o Russians wanted a second front in Europe

o Wanted allies to invade lands held by Axis powers

o Instead, Allies decided to invade North Africa in July 1942

U. Invasion of North Africa

Germany led by Desert Fox General Erwin Rommel

British Led by Monty General Bernard Montgomery

November 4, 1942 - Montgomerys army broke through Rommels Africa Korps

November 8, 1942 - US and British Force struck from west and north

V. Invasion of Italy

July 10, 1943 250,000 US and British troops land on Sicilian coastlines

Germans Escaped to the Italian mainland

Italians

o Sick of war

o Mussolini forced to resign (eventually shot and killed)

Allied troops tied up thousands of German troops and weakened them elsewhere

W. Battle of the Atlantic

 German submarine wolf packs sunk tons of allied supplies

o Main years: 1942-1943

Subs had to be beaten and soon

Radar and sonar were invented - both could destroy subs

X. Control of the Air

British and US forces heavily bomb Germany, but used different strategies

British Saturation Bombing: bombed whole areas

US Pinpoint Bombing: Attacked in daylight and could focus bombs on crucial

factories

Y. Attack on the European Continent: D-Day

US and Great Britains invasion of France

o Objective: 2nd front in Europe

Directed by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of

Allied Forces in Western Europe

June 6, 1944: D-Day invasion began

o Conditions needed: low tide, half moon, good weather, morning invasion

Atlantic Wall height, trenches and other weapons

Higgins Boat was used to get the soldiers from the big boat to the shore

D-Day Code Name: Operation Overlord

Allies achieved a tactical surprise; landings were a success

Secured beachhead one of the greatest Allied achievements of the war

 Generals Montgomery (Britain) and Eisenhower lead Allied forces through

Europe towards Germany

Z. Re - conquest of France

By the end of July 1944, the Allies controlled 1500 square miles of France

Paris Liberated on August 25, 1944

By mid Sept. all of France had been cleared of Germans

Destruction of Caen, France July 1944

Hedgerows made The Breakout difficult which was unexpected

FDR elected to a fourth term

WWII Taking its toll on FDRs health

AA. Battle of Germany

Dec. 16, 1944 Battle of the Bulge: Germanys final bid to break the Allies

Germans penetrated 60 miles creating a bulge in the Allied lines

Foul weather aided the Germans

o American planes grounded

o Brutally cold temperatures

o Patton and Montgomery stopped the advancing Germans

o By the end of January, the Bulge was pinched off

o German losses 120,000 of their best remaining men

o It was also the single most costly American battle of the war

AB. Yalta Conference

Pres. Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met at Yalta to discuss the Nazi surrender
 Stalin tough and clever bargainer

o Most of Stalins promises were lies

Western democracy needed Stalins armies

AC. Death of FDR

Worn down by wartime burdens

Health continued to decline

Died April 12, 1945 while resting in Warm Springs, Georgia

The nation grieved

AD. Collapse of Germany

March 1945: Allies were closing in

US and GB from west, Russia from east

Churchill: Shake hands with the Russians as far east as possible

Concerned with Soviet domination of Eastern Europe

Russia and US troops met at the Elbe River on April 25, 1945

Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker

May 8, 1945 Germans surrendered; Celebrated as V-E Day

AE. The War in the Pacific

Extent of Japanese Conquests

o Controlled a 4500 mile area of the Pacific

o Allied policy in Pacific after Pearl Harbor: active defense

AF. Island Hopping

 General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz Commanders of Allied forces in the

Pacific

The Allies invaded strategic islands, and bypassed others

May 3-8, 1942: Battle of Coral Sea Results: Draw

o First Naval battle where the opposing ships never saw one another

June 4, 1942: Battle of Midway US Victory

o Japans first great naval defeat big turning point

August 7, 1942 Battle of Guadalcanal: US Victory

o Our troops first exposure to land battle with the Japanese

o The fighting was fierce and brutal the Japanese would not surrender

October 20, 1944: Re-conquest of the Philippines begins

o Led by MacArthur, the US crashes the Japanese and knocks their navy out

of the war

February March 1945: Iwo Jima [Sulfur Island]~ 650 miles from Tokyo US

Victory

o US: Operation Detachment

o Goal Secure airfield

o Heavy losses: 6821 US deaths

o Less than 300 Japanese troops will be captured (22,000 troops to start)

o Flag raised: Mt. Suribachi

March 9-10: Tokyo Firebombing: Operation Meetinghouse

o Targeted industrial sites, but has a very populated area

 o Utilized 334 B-29 Superfortress airplanes

o 100,000 died in the attack, 1 million homeless

April-June 1945: Okinawa US Victory

o Brutal fighting Japan considered it a home island

o 12,513 Americans died

Within striking distance of Japan: Victory is in sight

AG. The Atomic Bomb

Developed after Germans and Italians surrendered: Manhattan Project

The Little Boy and The Fat Man

Potsdam Declaration (Ultimatum)

o Allies warned the Japanese: the alternative to surrender is prompt and

utter destruction.

August 6, 1945 a bomb is dropped on Hiroshima

August 9, 1945 a bomb is dropped on Nagasaki