AMERICA AS ISOLATIONIST AND WWII

NATIONALISM GRIPS EUROPE AND ASIA

• Seeds of new conflicts had been sown in WWI

• For many nations, peace had not brought prosperity, but revolution and economic depression and struggle

• Postwar years – brought the rise of powerful dictators who believed in nationalism, or loyalty to one’s country above all, and dreams of territorial expansion

FAILURES OF WWI PEACE SETTLEMENT

• The Treaty of Versailles caused anger and resentment.

• Germans saw nothing fair in the treaty as it blamed them for starting the war.

• They also found no security in a settlement that stripped them of their oversea colonies and border territories.

• These problems overwhelmed the Weimar Republic, the gov’t set up in Germany after WWI.

• Similar to this, the Soviets resented the carving up of Russia

FAILURES OF TREATY

• Did not fulfill Wilson’s hope of a world “safe for democracy”.

• The new governments that emerged in Europe faltered.

• Without the democratic tradition, the people turned to authoritarian leaders to solve their economic and social problems.

• The new democracies collapsed, and dictators were able to seize power

STALIN TRANSFORMS THE SOVIET UNION

• Hopes for democracy led top civil war in Russia

• Resulted in a communist state, called the Soviet Union in 1922.

• Lenin died in 1924 and Joseph Stalin took control of the country.

• He focused on creating a model communist state

• Made both agricultural and industrial growth the prime economic goals of the Soviet Union.

• He abolished privately owned farms and replaced them with collectives – large gov’t owned farms. Each was worked by hundred of families

STALIN IN POWER

• Stalin moved to transform the Soviet Union into a great industrial power.

• 1928 – outlined for the first of several “five-year plans” to direct industrialization.

• Economic activity was placed under state management.

• 1937 – Soviet Union was the world’s second largest industrial power, only behind the US.

HUMAN COSTS

• Stalin wanted to purge anyone who threatened his power.

• Throughout his reign, it is estimated that 8-13 million people died under his rule, not including those who died of famine.

• 1939 – established a totalitarian government that tried to exert complete control over its citizens. Individuals have no rights, and the gov’t surpasses all opposition

RISE OF FASCISM IN ITALY

• Benito Mussolini was establishing a totalitarian regime in Italy, where unemployment and inflation caused strikes

• The middle and upper class demanded strong leadership as a result of these strikes.

• Mussolini took advantage as he was a powerful speaker and he knew how to appeal to Italy’s wounded national pride

• Used the fears of economic collapse and communism to win the support of many discontented Italians

FASCISM

• 1921 – Mussolini established the Fascist party. It stressed nationalist and placed the interests of the state above the individuals.

• To strengthen the nation, fascists argued power must rest with a single strong leader and a small group of devoted party members.

• 1922 – Mussolini marched on Rome and when government officials, the army, and the police sided with the Fascists, Mussolini was appointed the head of government

• He extended Fascist control to every aspect of Italian life.

• He succeeded by crushing all opposition and making Italy a totalitarian state

NAZIS TAKE OVER GERMANY

• Hitler followed a path similar to Mussolini.

• After WWI he joined the National Socialist German Workers’ party, or the Nazi party. However, it had no ties to socialism

• He was a powerful public speaker and organizer and quickly became the party’s leader.

• In his book “Mein Kampf” or “My Struggle”, he set forth basic beliefs of Nazism that became the plans for the Nazi Party

NAZISM

• Nazism was the German brand of Fascism, extreme nationalism.

• Hitler dreamed of uniting all German-speaking people in a great German empire

• Wanted racial purification – blonde hair, blue eyed “Aryans” were the master race destined to rule the world.

• Believed that Jews, Slaves, and all nonwhites, were inferior races and should only serve the Aryans

• Third element of Nazism – national expansion.

NAZISM

• Hitler believed that for Germany to thrive, it needed more lebensraum, or living space.

• One of the aims was to secure for the German people the land and soil to which they are entitled on this earth.

• This could only be done by the might of a victorious sword.

• The Great Depression aided the Nazis in coming to war.

• Due to war debts and dependence on American loans and investments, Germany’s economy was crumbling.

NAZISM

• 1932 - 6 million Germans unemployed.

• German people were desperate and turned to Hitler as their last hope

• Mid 1932 – Nazis were the strongest political party in Germany.

• 1933 – Hitler is appointed chancellor (Prime Minister)

• Once in power, he quickly dismantled the Weimar Republic and put the Third reich in place (Third German Empire)

MILITARISTS CONTROL JAPAN

• Nationalistic military leaders were attempting to take control of the imperial government of Japan

• Shared common believed with Hitler in the need for more living space for a growing population.

• Militarists launched a surprise attack and seized control of the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931

• Several months later, Japanese troops controlled all of Manchuria, which was rich in natural resources.

JAPAN

• The League of Nations, whom were made to prevent these acts went out to investigate the situation.

• They condemned Japan and Japan quickly quit the League.

• The success of the Manchurian invasion put the militarists firmly in control of Japan’s government

CONFLICT IN EUROPE AND AFRICA

• Due to the failure of the League of Nations to take action against Japan, the dictators in Europe quickly took notice

• 1933 – Hitler pulled Germany out of the league and in 1935, he began a military buildup, violating the Treaty of Versailles.

• 1936 – he sent troops into the Rhineland, which was demilitarized as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. The League did nothing to stop Hitler

• Mussolini began building his new Roman Empire.

• Targeted Ethiopia – 1935 Mussolini prepared for the invasion

AFRICA AND EUROPE

• The League responded with “collective resistance to all acts of unprovoked aggression”

• When the invasion began, the League was an ineffective economic boycott.

• May 1936 – Ethiopia had fallen. In one last hope Haile Salessie, the Ethiopian emperor appealed to the League for assistance. Nothing was done.

CIVIL WAR IN SPAIN

• 1936, group of Spanish army officers led by General Francisco Franco, rebelled against the Spanish republic

• Revolts broke out and Civil War began

• The war aroused passions not only in Spain, but through the world

• 3,000 Americans formed the Abraham Lincoln Battalion and fought against Franco

• This limited aid was not enough to stop the spread of fascism. The Western democracies remained neutral.

• Franco was backed with troops by Hitler and Mussolini

SPANISH CIVIL WAR

• Forged a close relationship between Hitler and Mussolini and formed an alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis

• Franco was victorious in 1939 and became Spain’s fascist dictator.

• Once again, another totalitarian government in Europe

THE UNITED STATES RESPONDS

• Americans were alarmed by the international conflicts during the 1930s, but believed the US should not get involved

• 1928 – US signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact – a treaty signed by 62 countries and declared that war would not be used “as an instrument of national policy”

• In the early 1930s – there was a flood of books that argued that the US had been dragged into WWI by greedy bankers and arm dealers

• Public outrage led to the creation of a congressional committee.

• The Nye committee fueled the controversy by documenting the large profits that banks and manufacturers made during the war

AMERICA CLINGS TO ISOLATIONISM

• Americans were becoming more determined than ever to avoid war

• The growing isolationist views had an impact on Roosevelt’s foreign policy.

• 1933 when he first took office, he felt comfortable reaching out to the world in several ways

• Recognized the Soviet Union in 1933 and agreed to exchange ambassadors with Moscow.

• Continued the policy of nonintervention in Latin America with his Good Neighbor Policy and withdrew armed forces stationed there

AMERICA AND ISOLATIONISM

• 1934 – Pushed the Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act through Congress.

• Lowered trade barriers by giving the president the power to make trade agreements with other nations and was aimed at reducing tariffs by as much as 50 percent

• To keep the US out of future wars, in 1935, Congress passed a series of Neutrality Acts.

• First two acts outlawed arms sales or loans to nations at war.

• Third act passed in response to fighting in Spain. Extended the ban on arms sales and loans to nations engaging in civil war

NEUTRALITY BREAKS DOWN

• Despite Congressional efforts, Roosevelt found it impossible to remain neutral.

• When Japan launched their attack on China, Roosevelt found a way around the Neutrality Acts.

• Claimed Japan had never declared war against China and did not need to enforce the neutrality acts.

• US continued to send arms and supplies to China.

• Roosevelt spoke strongly against isolationism a few months later.

• He finally seemed ready to stand against aggression, until isolationist newspapers exploded in protest

ISOLATIONISM IN THE US

• The newspapers accused the president of leading the nation into war.

• Roosevelt backed off in the face of criticism, but his speech began to shift the debate.

• However, conflicts remained “over there”

DEBATE

• During this time Americans wanted to stay isolationist

• The class is going to be split into those who believe the US should stay isolationist and those who believe we should be involved in the war

• You are to discuss why you are for or against isolationism and provide facts as to why.

• Use the class notes for the facts (dictators, WWI, foreign trade, depression, etc)

• We will then make a list and give arguments both for and against the proposed idea.