FDR’s Foreign Policy

• London Economic Conference (1933): nations hoped to coordinate an international response to the global depression by stabilizing currency and rates at which they could be exchanged.

• Roosevelt later opposed the conference because it could interefere with his own plans for domestic recovery, and ultimately the conference failed.This strengthened the global trend of nationalism and isolationism, as FDR's ‘every man for himself’ attitude plunged the world into further economy crisis, allowing dictators to become more powerful.

• In addition to the isolationist policies, the US withdrew from Asia and granted the Philippines it's freedom in 1946 because they didn’t want to waste supplies on protecting them if a global conflict were to break out.

• However, FDR formally recognized the Soviet Union, hoping to establish a trade relationship that would outweigh the growing German power in Europe and Japanese power in Asia

• Good Neighbor Policy: started because FDR wanted to improve relations with Latin America. He denounced intervention, ordered US Marines leave Haiti, and got rid of the Platt Amendment in Cuba. In business disputes with Latin America, he always resolved the situation with negotiations — Latin America trusts FDR.

• Roosevelt also suggested the US should stick to being a regional power with interests confined to the Western hemisphere instead of aiming to be a world power — more isolationist beliefs.

• Reciprocal Trade Agreement (1934): created by Secretary of State Hull, who believed tariff barriers

  blocked foreign trade, which could lead to trade wars and eventually real wars

  • This act allowed the president to lower tariffs on any country who reciprocated. As a result, US foreign trade increases drastically, strengthening economic relations with Latin America, and overall serves as an international influence for peace — has isolationist intentions but made the US more involved in global trade.

Pre-World War 2

• Totalitarianism, the idea that the individual must always be obedient to the govt, spread globally.

  • Stalin emerges as a dictator in the communist USSR, executing thousands of people who didn't agree with him (dissidents)

  • Mussolini, a Fascist, comes to power in Italy around 1922

  • Hitler comes to power in Germany around 1933, promising various liberal reforms to the unemployed (which he obviously didn't actually care about)

• Both Japan and Germany withdrew from international organizations and treaties (League of Nations, Washington Naval Treaty). Meanwhile, Mussolini attacked Ethiopia in 1935

• Rome-Berlin Axis (1936): Hitler and Mussolini make an informal alliance to strengthen the bond between the two countries.

• Johnson Debt Default Act (1934): the US felt spiteful that nations who they'd loaned money to during WW1 still hadn't paid them back, so this act prevented nations from borrowing more money from the US — furthers the isolationist sentiment.

• Nye Commission: said the US had only entered World War 1 because greedy

  weapon manufacturers wanted to make a profit — although this was technically true, it was exaggerated in order to shift the blame from the German U-bombers to domestic causes. This would make the recent attacks on Ethiopia and rise of dictators globally seem “normal,” making the icf pasts Starting a war to in order to maintain isolationism.

• Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936 and 1937: passed because the US rearetted their role

  the recent global conflicts. It stated that when the president claimed the existence of a foreign war, certain restrictions would go into effect (i.e bans on giving loans to foreign nations, sailing on their ships, and selling munitions). By not helping their democratic allies at all in order to preserve total neutrality, the US unintentionally gave more power to the dictators.

• Meanwhile, the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, allowing the fascist rebel leader, General Francisco Franco, to overthrow the Loyalist Regime that the Soviet Union supported with the aid of Mussolini and Hitler.

• The Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a small group of American volunteers, was sent to fight the rebels — proof of an American passion for upholding democracy globally, but not enough to bring them into a war just yet. This encouraged the dictators, making them believe they could take control without an international or diplomatic consequences.

• Japan invades China in 1937, but FDR refused to call the attack grounds for war, so the neutrality Legislation isn’t put into effect. That meant Japan was still able to buy munitions from the US.

• Quarantine Speech (1937): FDR suggested a using economic embargoes to ‘quarantine’ the aggressors. lsolationists oppose the idea because it could quickly lead to arm conflict, so FDR

  the plan and looks for other, indirect methods to curb the dictators.

• However, the dictators kept going

  • 1937: Japanese planes sunk the US ship Panay, but eventually apologized for doing so.

  • 1938: Hitler invaded Austria — later that year, at the Munich Conference, the Western democratic countries gave Hitler the Sudetenland in the hopes that it would stop the rapid expansion of his empire; it didn’t.

• Appeasement: Democratic world leaders followed this policy in order to avoid another

  whenever a fascist country did something bad. However, Germany takes advantage of this lenient policy and takes the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia.

• Russia shocks the world when it signs the Hitler-Stalin Pact (1939): created an informal alliance that allowed them to unite against Western countries. Essentially, this allowed for German aggression against Poland and Western democracies without fear of retaliation by Soviet Union.

• World War 2 officially starts on Sep. 1st, 1939, when Germany invades Poland, causing Britain and France to declare war. Although America wanted to help Poland, Britain and France, they didn't want to get involved in the war — US decides they will only help by providing munitions.

• Neutrality Act of 1939: said that European democracies could buy US munitions if they paid in cash and carried it on their own ships (cash and carry policy). This allowed FDR to serve democratic interests while also avoiding war debts, loans, and the sinking of American ships. Additionally, it helped restart the economy following the Great Depression

• Meanwhile, Hitler continued expanding throughout 1940, taking over Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium. The US is now concerned because England is the only country left before Hitler will have total control over Europe — in Sep. 1940, the US passes a conscription law (first peacetime draft).

• Kristallnacht (1938): (night of broken glass) started after the Nazi propagandist Joseph

  Goebbels gives a speech condemning the Jewish, encouraging violence against them —

  leads to almost 100 Jews killed, destroying Jewish businesses and synagogues, and 30000 were sent to concentration camps.

World War 2

• After hearing reports of Nazi genocide, FDR forms the War Refugee Board (1942): to save Hungarian Jews from being deported to the concentration camps in Auschwitz — however, most of the board's work was done after millions of Jews had been murdered, so it didn't make a significant difference. By the end of the Holocaust, 6 million Jews had been murdered.

• Following Hitler’s air attacks on Britain, the US split into two schools of thought

  • America First Committee: said America should instead focus on concentrating all military resources towards defending their own shores — isolationists would do anything to fight the Nazis EXCEPT go to war.

  • Committee to Defend America by Aiding Allies: supported the idea of providing aid to Britain — In 1940, FOR sends 50 warships to Britain, who, in exchange, gives the US some valuable defensive sites — the us is no longer neutral officially

• Election of 1940: FDR runs a 3rd term (which, at this point, is still legal because the two-term limit existed only in tradition). Meanwhile, the Republicans choose Wendell Willkie as their candidate, who condemned FDR's “dictatorship.” However, FDR wins the election because he seems capable of guiding the nation amidst another World War

• Lend Lease Bill (1941): allowed the US to sell unlimited ammunition to countries defending themselves against the Axis powers, and weapons would be returned after the war ended so that there would be no war debts. Although it was praised for keeping the US out of the war, it was somewhat faulty (how would you return used weapons?)

• Eventually, Hitler attacks the Soviet Union in 1941, hoping to take oil and other resources that they could use to defeat Britain — in response, the US sends aid to the USSR

• FDR and British Prime Minister Churchill meet in Newfoundland and create the Atlantic Charter (1941): outlined a path a future disarmament, peace, and a permanent system for security. Lead to the creation of the United Nations and raised awareness about human rights after WW2. Also said there would be no territorial changes contrary to the wishes of the inhabitants and affirmed the right of the people to choose their own govt.

• Meanwhile, Germany continues to sink US ships, which leads the US to repeal the Neutrality Act of 1939.

• Since Japan was still allied with Germany, the US offered to lift its trade embargo on Japan if they stopped attacking China. Japan refused and continued fighting

• Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7th, 1941): Japanese bombers attacked the American base in Hawaii, causing over 3,000 deaths and severe damage to numerous small vessels and aircrafts.

• Soon after, the US declared war on Japan, while Germany Italy declared war on the US.

• Pearl Harbor united Americans to finally enter the war, but also lead to detrimental civil rights violations of innocent Japanese Americans living in the US.