Heimler's History: American Foreign Policy Between World Wars

Learning Objective

• Goal: Explain the similarities and differences in attitudes about the nation’s proper role in the world post-WWI.

Post-World War I Isolationism

• Shift to Isolationism: After WWI, America adopted an isolationist stance to avoid European conflicts.
  • Warren G. Harding's Presidency:
    • Campaign promise of a "return to normalcy."
    • Focus on domestic healing and avoiding international entanglements.

Foreign Policy Actions

• Tariffs:
  • Fordney-McCumber Act (1922): Increased tariffs on imported goods.
  • Smoot-Hawley Tariff (1930): Further raised tariffs, decreasing international trade.
• Kellogg-Briand Pact:
  • Signed by 63 nations to renounce war.
  • Lacked enforcement mechanisms and effectiveness.

Challenges to Isolationism in the 1930s

• Rise of Totalitarian Regimes:
  • Italy: Benito Mussolini and the Fascist Party.
  • Germany: Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.
  • Japan: Militaristic authoritarian regime.
• Aggressive Actions:
  • Japan's invasion of Manchuria (1931).
  • Germany's occupation of the Rhineland (1936), Austria (1937), Czechoslovakia (1938).
  • Italy's conquest of Ethiopia (1936).

Debate Over U.S. Involvement

• Isolationists vs. Interventionists:
  • Isolationists: Cited high casualties of WWI and profits by corporations as a reason to stay out.
  • Interventionists: Argued the Atlantic Ocean was no longer a barrier due to technology like submarines and airplanes.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Intervening Isolationism"

• Sympathetic to Britain: Supported involvement but lacked public support.
• Aid to Allies:
  • Cash and Carry Program: Allowed sale of arms to belligerents paying cash and using their own transport.
  • Destroyers for Bases: Exchanged destroyers for land rights with Britain.
  • Lend-Lease Act (1941): Allowed lending arms to Britain on credit.

Pearl Harbor and Entry into World War II

• December 7th, 1941: Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor led to U.S. entry into WWII.
• Declaration of War: Roosevelt requested war against Japan, leading to Germany declaring war on America.

Conclusion

• Shift from isolation to involvement marked by events and policies leading up to WWII.

End of notes on American Foreign Policy Between World Wars as presented by Heimler's History.