Pre-World War II History

As I’m sure most people know Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Germans from August 2 1934 to April 30 1945, but do you know that as Fuhrer of Germany he was the driving force behind the start of WWII. During his reign he tried to bring Germany back to the powerful country it had been before the First World War. In this paper I will prove that Hitler’s actions lead to start of WWII, and I plan to prove how his direct disregard of the Treaty of Versailles pushed the world into WWII.

Chapter 25 discusses the United States and the Second World War from 1939-1945. The United States wanted to stay out of international affairs but the newly elected Roosevelt advocated for an active role in it. Though he wanted a role in this, his priority was to attack the domestic causes of the depression which appealed to many poor Americans who were suffering from the Great Depression and had just lost everything. During this time, fascist governments threatened military aggression and the rise of Hitler created a controversial and war-like atmosphere. Hitler had a goal to avenge the defeat of WW1 which lead to the accusations of Jews, and the eventual full-blown Holocaust. Neutrality acts were put into place during this time to prohibit the exchange of arms to nations during the war.

Neutrality Acts (1935, 1937, 1939) – The desire for the United States to remain at peace carried into the 1930s, as political turmoil increased in Europe and Asia. Congress passed Neutrality Acts in 1935, 1937, and 1939. These acts were designed to keep the United States out of any turmoil bubbling on foreign soil. The American people wanted to avoid becoming entangled in another world war.

President Roosevelt realized that Britain needed aid or else the U.S. would become a lone “free” nation in a fascist-dominated world. The American military needed to be mobilized in order to assist the Allies or democracy would be in grave danger. Roosevelt plead his case to the American people in his famous “Quarantine Speech” in which he called for an end to dangerous isolationism; however, his speech was not well-received and he was criticized for his desire to “entangle” the U.S in European foreign affairs (Document D). With Britain the only remaining power fighting against Germany, Roosevelt felt compelled to offer aid in some way. In 1940, Roosevelt boldly transferred fifty World War I destroyers to Britain in exchange for eight valuable defense bases stretching from Newfoundland to South America. As bombs dropped over Britain, Americans began to realize that their interests were intricately tied to Britain’s and that they must offer aid or else the battle would come to American soil soon. The goals of American foreign policy were reversed when Congress repealed the now defunct Neutrality Acts and officially ended their Neutrality. The U.S. began openly selling weapons to Britain on a “cash-and-carry” basis so as to avoid attacks on American ships. When this was not enough, Roosevelt devised the

Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party used nationalism to great effect in Germany that spured the Second World World. After WWI, many Germans blamed the new government for accepting the unfair treaty as conditions became miserable. People who could not find jobs began to drift into the Communist and National Socialist parties established by Hitler. They decided that it was the necessary solution. In 1933, Hitler came to power as dictator of Germany and preached a racist brand of fascism. He promised to end the humiliating conditions caused by the German defeat in WWI. He knew how to win people's obedience and trust, through their fears and insecurities. He almost immediately got Germany back into the factories and began secretly building up army and weapons. His real motives were to expand German territory and dominate Europe and the whole world that became the prelude to another war.

As Franklin Roosevelt began to have more internationalist views, Americans, under no circumstances, wanted to be drawn into another foreign war. The result was a relative stand still in American foreign policy. Congress pacified isolationists by passing the Neutrality Act of 1935, which was designed to isolate America from the growing Nazi monster. First, it created an embargo on the sale of arms to all belligerent nations and second it stated that American citizens that traveled on belligerent ships were doing so at their own risk. The Act was basically an attempt to prevent the World War I nightmare from happening again. Roosevelt was required to sign the bill though he would have rather it had different provisions regarding the embargo of arms to belligerent nations. He was in favor of creating selective embargoes

Major acts of mobilization were imbedded in Roosevelt’s various policies. More specifically, the Neutrality Act of 1939, the Burke-Wadsworth Act, the Lend-Lease Act and other executive orders all alluded toward an eventual admittance into the war. For example, Roosevelt had already responded to the European war by issuing a proclamation of neutrality. Simultaneously, he notably took a number of steps to indirectly aid Britain’s cause. Thus, the Neutrality Act of 1939, the fourth Neutrality Act passed through Congress, shifted the nation’s gears by permitting belligerents to purchase war materials, provided that they paid cash and carried the goods away on their own vessels. German cargo ships would be denied this fortunate opportunity since the American ports in the vicinity of the

With such events occurring quickly in such a small time period, the second World War came as a massive shock. Yet again, Americans called for isolationism and neutrality as they believed America should focus on ending the Great Depression, not worrying about and dealing with the international issues of other nations and peoples. By analyzing Document 5, it is clear that many Americans still believe in isolationism during the Great Depression. Bennett Champ Clark states in his Defense of the First Neutrality Act that “the desire to keep the United States from becoming involved in any war between foreign nations seems practically unanimous among the rank and file of American citizens.” Americans influenced the US foreign policy yet again as the First Neutrality Act was passed in 1935. By analyzing Document 6, it is clear that President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the choices he made were still influenced by isolationist sentiment as he states in his Quarantine Speech that “it is my determination to adopt every practicable measure to avoid involvement in war.” However, it is clear in President Roosevelt's speech that he knew that entering the war was inevitable as he states that the “peace of the world and the welfare and security of every nation, including our own is today being threatened by that very thing (war).” Although the United States tried its best to not enter the second World War for many years, it could not avoided by the end of 1941. On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese. The federal government’s response to this attack can be analyzed in Document 7, President Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor Address to the Congress of the United States. In response to the attack, Roosevelt calls for Congress to “declare . . . a state of war has existed between the United States and the

During the 1930s, American’s public opinion and policy toward isolationism was contributed from the psychological and physical effect of the Great Depression and the tragic losses in World War I. Isolationists “advocated non-involvement in European and Asian conflicts and non-entanglement in international politics” ("American Isolationism in the 1930s - 1937–1945 - Milestones - Office of the Historian"). Neutral Acts were aimed to prevent Americans from being drawn into foreign wars. Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany, invaded Poland; which sent France and Britain into war honoring their commitments to Poland. France and Britain were not prepared for war and needed aid. Although the United States proclaimed neutrality, President Roosevelt

During the early 1940's many European, countries and the United States, were recovering from World War I and the depression. Due to the fact that no one initially could or wanted to control Hitler's dictatorial power his extreme racism got out of control and he was able to slaughter millions of Jews. Though eventually Hitler brought destruction upon himself, if other countries would have stopped him in the early stages, World War II may have never happened. Though countries might have wanted to stop Hitler in Germany; they had their own county and people to worry about. The economic troubles prevented England and other European nations from taking part in international issues, and Hitler took full advantage of their weak conditions. This

He made the Nazis and started to seize land from other countries. Quickly, Germany had 1.25 million German soldiers. World War was started by Germany in an unprovoked attack on Poland. After this attack, Britain and France declared war on Hitler and Germany. The United States wasn’t always in World War II.

Hitler wanted living space for the German people in Eastern Europe. He was very aggressive about foreign policy and was considered to be the primary cause of World War II in Europe. He led a large-scale rearmament and on 1 September 1939 and invaded Poland. This resulted in the French and British declaring war on Germany. In June 1941, Hitler made the order to invade the Soviet Union. By the end of 1941 the European Axis powers and German forces occupied most of Europe and North Africa.

Yet another factor that led to this decision of Neutrality by President Roosevelt was the American Economy. The health of the American economy could not be jeopardized, whatever was happening elsewhere. It was Roosevelt’s view that the United States would fare well (economically speaking) whether Europe went to war or not. Gold was flowing in from Europe’s capitals, orders were mounting daily for equipment and supplies of all kinds, and America was building a battleship for Stalin. For most of the 1930’s the United States traded as openly with Germany and Japan, as it did with any other country. Japan relied on fuel oil and scrap iron until 1941. Germany was one of the United States’ most important markets during the 1930’s. American investments in Germany increased by forty percent

     The war progressed as the Nazi party took over Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, and France on a series of blitzkriegs. No country could hold up to the power of the Nazi’s. The French tried to fight, but proved no match for Hitler’s Army. Roosevelt wanted to expand aiding to the Allies, but public support was hard to gain. He said, “We must be the great arsenal of democracy.” Congress approved a Lend-Lease Act which put the United States at an economic warfare against Germany. Tensions ran high when the American freighter Robert Moor was sank by a German U-boat off the coast of Africa (Roark 644). Roosevelt then issued a “shoot on sight” policy for escort vessels (Roark 644). An event that stirred the attention of many was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Hitler. This broke the Nazi-Soviet pact and would change the United State’s stand in war.

American isolationists were concerned at this new turn of events, however, there was enough support for President Roosevelt’s initiative for it to pass. The Neutrality Act of 1939 ended the arms embargo and permitted the sales of munitions on a ‘case and carry basis.”