The Threat of Totalitarianism

America Confronts Dictatorship in the 1930s

The Rise of Fascism*Mussolini introduced fascism to Italy

in 1922*Hitler followed suit with the rise to power of the National Socialist Workers (Nazi) Party; elected chancellor in January 1933*Fascists embraced the power of the state over the individual and the concept of “race warfare” – contributed to anti-Semitism*Fascists rebuilt Germany and Italy through public works and a military build-up made possible by close cooperation with industry and labor (as in the New Deal?)*Both leaders flaunted the League of Nations and aggressively sought to expand their power:1935 – Italy invades Ethiopia1936 – Germany reoccupies the Rhineland, both countries support Franco in Spain’s civil war1938 – Germany occupies Austria1939 – Germany invades Czechoslovakia after being appeased by Britain/France at Munich

Soviet “State Socialism”• After a brutal civil war (1918-22), the Bolsheviks

emerged victorious over czarist forces and established the first communist dictatorship

• Soviet leaders (Lenin, Stalin) embraced Marxism in theory but also created a strong state to encourage the growth of communism worldwide

• Under Stalin (1924-1953), the USSR engaged in a crash program of industrialization (through Five-Year plans) and collectivization of agriculture

• Private property ownership was effectively ended and the Soviet state dictated economic activity

• Stalin’s purges of the 1930s targeted the middle class, the military, and even the Communist Party itself – an estimated 10 million dead by 1940

• Hitler modeled his concentration camp system after Stalin’s gulag labor camps; Stalin and Hitler hated each other but were willing to sign a temporary Non-Aggression Pact in 1939

Japan: Empire of the Rising Sun

• After building an industrialized, Westernized state in the late 1800s, Japan built an empire for itself by defeating China (1890s) and Russia (1904-05)

• Growing demand for raw materials to feed its factories led Japan to build up a powerful army and navy, the leaders of which effectively controlled the Imperial Cabinet; Emperor Hirohito was a revered “puppet”

• Japan’s militaristic culture shared much in common with Nazi Germany – both were based on cultural superiority and glorification of the state

• The warrior code of bushido still prevailed in Japanese military culture – honor valued above all

• Japan occupied Manchuria in 1931 and invaded China proper in 1937; Japan’s aggression and brutal treatment of the Chinese raised growing fears among the Western powers

• Japan joined Germany and Italy in the Axis (1940)

Dictatorship in America?• As threats mounted overseas, demagogues

arose in the United States who promised to take America in a new (and better?) direction

• Father Charles Coughlin, a popular weekly radio commentator from Detroit, called for a “social justice” program to redistribute wealth; he blamed Jews for America’s social-economic ills

• Huey Long of Louisiana emerged as a populist leader; his “Share Our Wealth” program proposed a massive transfer of money from rich to poor; many feared he would challenge FDR for the presidency in 1936; his assassination ended that threat

• Upton Sinclair (author of The Jungle) ran for governor of California in 1934 promising to “End Poverty in California” (EPIC)

• These men represented a clear move to the Left and raised the specter of a socialist-style dictatorship emerging in the United States

The Biggest Threat of All?

FDR: Dictator in Waiting?• FDR’s landslide re-election victory in

1936 reflected the birth of a “New Deal” coalition of labor, minorities, and women that prefigured long-term Democratic majority status in American politics

• FDR used his new clout to strike back at the Supreme Court in 1937 by proposing his infamous “court-packing” scheme

• FDR’s critics assailed him for threatening constitutional separation of powers; FDR backed down but got what he wanted – a more liberal Supreme Court

• Conservative critics accused FDR of being a “traitor to his class” and moving America toward socialism (sound familiar?)

• FDR ultimately respected limits on his power and the will of Congress, but faced a new challenge from external threats by the late 30s

American Isolationism • Americans remained predominantly

isolationist in the face of growing external threats

• The Nye Committee (1935) blamed America’s entry into World War I on U.S. industry’s greed for war profits

• Congress passed the Neutrality Acts (1935-39) to restrict any assistance to belligerents (even to nations that were victims of aggression)

• The America First Committee organized a grass-roots movement to pressure Congress and the President to keep America out of war no matter what – Charles Lindbergh emerged as its primary spokesman – he personally admired Hitler and the Nazi government and spoke openly against the “Jewish influence” in Western civilization

Preparing the Nation for War• 1937 – FDR’s called for a “quarantine” of aggressor

nations in the wake of Japan’s invasion of China• 1939 – Congress amended the Neutrality Acts to allow

for “cash and carry” aid for Britain and France after World War II started in Europe

• 1940 – Congress passed legislation authorizing the first peace-time draft in American history, as FDR called on America to become the great “arsenal of democracy”; the U.S. offered Britain “destroyers for bases”; FDR was also re-elected for a precedent-shattering third term

• 1941 – Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act at FDR’s urging, authorizing military assistance to Britain and (as of June 1941) the USSR; FDR and British PM Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter committing the U.S. and UK to shared war aims based on democratic principles