World War 2 Essay Response

In general, the United States did little in response to acts of aggression in Europe and Asia because Americans did not want to be pulled into another European war. The general mood of isolationism forced Roosevelt to follow a foreign policy based on neutrality. Congress passed a series of Neutrality Acts to keep the United States out of war. Based on the popular view that arms merchants and big business had brought the United States into World War I, these acts outlawed arms sales and loans to nations at war. Small groups of Americans responded to particular acts of aggression (such as the invasion of Ethiopia and the Spanish civil war) with outrage, providing aid to victims of those acts.

Much of Europe had fallen to German, and Soviet aggression. France, Britain's chief ally, had surrendered to Germany. The British army had been forced to retreat from the continent. The outcome of the battle was crucial because Britain was the last powerful nation in Europe fighting against Germany. Britain's victory led Hitler to call off the invasion of Britain indefinitely.

To help Britain and France defeat Germany, Congress passed the Neutrality Act of 1939, which permitted Americans to sell arms to nations at war as long as the nations paid cash. To get needed goods and arms to a nearly cashless Britain, Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act, which allowed the president to lend or lease arms and other supplies to \"any country whose defense was vital to the United States.\" When Japan took over French military bases in Indochina, the United States placed a trade embargo on Japan. When German submarines began to take a toll on British shipping, the United States authorized the use of naval warships to protect lend-lease shipments. Roosevelt and Churchill met secretly and agreed on the Atlantic Charter, a set of principles for fighting the war. The United States took action to ensure that it would be prepared to fight in the war if necessary. Congress passed a peacetime draft and increased defense spending.

Think About: - the pledges made in the charter (collective security, disarmament, self-determination, economic cooperation, and freedom of the seas) & the circumstances that would allow those pledges to be fulfilled These points indicate the following assumptions and expectations: The Allies would win the war. Nazism, fascism, and totalitarianism would be defeated. Territory would change hands only as a result of the inhabitants' wishes. Governments would reflect their citizens' wishes. Nations would conduct free trade and would cooperate in other matters. Aggressor nations would be disarmed. A system would be established to ensure and defend a secure peace based on freedom from want and fear.

Think About: - the goals of the Japanese government & the actions and reactions of the United States in relation to Japan Japan's main goal in the war was to expand, namely into Asia. After taking Manchuria, Japan aimed at gaining more lands and resources, many of which were under colonial control. In protest of Japan's attacks on French military bases in Indochina, the United States cut off trade with Japan, placing an embargo on oil, a necessary resource for Japan's war effort. In response to the oil embargo, Japan planned to bomb the United States, while peace negotiations continued unsuccessfully. Japan finally attacked Pearl Harbor and drew the United States into the war.