American Involvement in World War II

Pre-World War II American Foreign Policy and Neutrality

• Pre-War Stance and Context: Before entering World War I and World War II, the United States adopted foreign policies that favored democratic nations while remaining officially neutral.
• The Neutrality Act of 1935: This legislation prohibited the trade of weapons to countries currently at war.
• The Neutrality Act of 1937: This act prohibited the United States from loaning money to countries at war.
• Legislative Intent: These acts were enacted by Congress to prevent the United States from being drawn into another world war, following the precedent of global involvement seen in the previous decades.
• International Organizations: The United States did not join the League of Nations proposed by President Woodrow Wilson after World War I, reflecting a historical hesitation toward international peace organizations before World War II.

The Outbreak of War in Europe and the Soviet Front

• Invasion of Poland (1939): The war in Europe began when Adolf Hitler invaded Poland, triggering alliances that forced France and England (Great Britain) to declare war on Germany.
• German-Soviet Relations: Early in the conflict, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact, essentially agreeing to divide Poland between them to create a buffer zone. It was widely believed that both nations were simply waiting until they were prepared to fight each other.
• German Expansion: By the time the U.S. entered the war, Hitler had expanded German control across Europe, including Norway, Greece, and France. Fascist forces had already taken control in Spain.
• Invasion of the Soviet Union (1941): Germany sent troops into the Soviet Union in $1941$. This invasion faced the historical challenge of the vast Soviet landscape and harsh winters.
• The Siege of Stalingrad: Stalingrad was a crucial industrial center named after Joseph Stalin. Its capture was seen as a symbolic victory and a way to neutralize the Soviet Union's industrial capacity. The siege lasted for months, during which residents and German soldiers suffered from starvation. By $1941$ into $1942$, the Soviet Union began pushing German forces back toward Germany.
• The Request for a Second Front: Joseph Stalin repeatedly begged the British and Americans to open a second front in France to relieve pressure on the Soviet Union. The Allies delayed this, causing Stalin to believe the U.S. and UK were intentionally letting the Soviet Union be weakened by Germany.

The Attack on Pearl Harbor and American Entry

• Pearl Harbor Attack (December 7, 1941): Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on the U.S. military base in Hawaii at $7:00\,AM$ on a Sunday. The U.S. was unprepared, with planes destroyed on the airstrips and defenses not alerted.
• Naval Devastation: Nearly two dozen ships in the Pacific Fleet were damaged or destroyed.
• The USS Arizona: This battleship suffered a direct hit to its munitions storage, creating a massive explosion. It accounted for approximately $1,100$ of the total $2,400$ casualties at Pearl Harbor.
• Strategic Survival: A critical stroke of fortune for the U.S. was that its aircraft carriers were out at sea during the attack and were not destroyed.
• Japanese Motivation: The U.S. had been blockading fuel and oil from Japan. Japan aimed to cripple the U.S. Navy to gain free range in the Pacific region.
• Declaration of War: On December 8, $1941$, Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) addressed Congress, famously calling December 7 "a date which will live in infamy." Congress voted overwhelmingly to declare war on Japan, which remains the last time the U.S. officially declared war.

Allied Strategy and the Liberation of Europe

• Germany First Policy: Despite the attack by Japan, FDR and Winston Churchill had agreed in the summer of $1941$ to prioritize the defeat of Germany first upon entering the war.
• Mobilization Challenges: It took the U.S. years to mobilize millions of troops and equipment across the Atlantic. Early efforts were focused on winning the naval war in the North Sea against German submarines to ensure safe troop transport.
• North African Campaign (November 1942): The first American troops landed in North Africa $11$ months after Pearl Harbor to establish a base of operations.
• Italian Campaign (September 1943): Allied troops moved from North Africa into Italy, leading to an Italian surrender, though Stalin still did not view this as the necessary "second front."
• D-Day / Operation Overlord (June 6, 1944): The massive invasion of Normandy, France, involved $160,000$ Allied troops landing on heavily fortified beaches. Soldiers carried up to $80\,lbs$ of gear through hip-deep water under heavy machine-gun fire. This established the landing spot for nearly $3,000,000$ total soldiers.
• Victory in Europe: Paris was liberated by August $1944$. Adolf Hitler committed suicide on May 1, $1945$, and the German government offered an unconditional surrender one week later.

Post-War Planning and the Cold War Origins

• Division of Germany: After the war, Germany was divided. The U.S., Britain, and France occupied West Germany until $1955$, while the Soviet Union established a satellite government in East Germany that lasted until $1989$.
• The Potsdam Conference: Leaders of the U.S., UK, and USSR met in Potsdam, Germany, to plan the post-war world. Decisions included the division of Germany and the division of Korea into communist and non-communist sectors.
• Leadership Dynamics: Harry S. Truman, who became president after FDR's death in $1945$, was the "new fish" at the conference. Winston Churchill was replaced by his successor during the conference. Stalin felt empowered due to the Soviet Union's high casualty rate (estimated between $26,000,000$ and $40,000,000$ people) and their successful push against Germany.
• The Manhattan Project: This was a top-secret effort to develop atomic weapons, so compartmentalized that Vice President Truman did not know about it until he became President. The first successful test occurred in the New Mexico desert.
• Atomic Espionage: When Truman mentioned a new powerful weapon to Stalin at Potsdam, Stalin already knew about its development through espionage, indicating the deep distrust that would fuel the Cold War.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: Before World War I and World War II, did the United States adopt foreign policies that favored democratic nations while remaining neutral?
• Answer: Yes, the best answer is that the U.S. favored democratic nations but remained officially neutral, as evidenced by the Neutrality Acts.
• Question: What was the cause of Japanese-American internment and the dropping of the atomic bomb?
• Answer: The attack on Pearl Harbor was the cause of the other events listed (internment and the eventual use of nuclear weapons in $1945$).