Comprehensive Study Notes on the Interwar Period, the Great Depression, and World War II

The Rise of Global Fascism and Early American Isolationism\n\nThe spread of fascism in Germany, Italy, and Japan during the $1920s$ and $1930s$ represented a direct challenge to the League of Nations and the Treaty of Versailles. Leaders such as Hitler in Germany, Hideki Tojo in Japan, and Mussolini in Italy pursued aggressive expansionist policies. Despite these actions being clearly inhumane and in violation of international agreements, the League of Nations, the United States, and European powers initially adopted a policy of appeasement. Appeasement is defined as the continuous act of allowing a country to perform small aggressive actions repeatedly until they accumulate into a significant threat. In the United States, which was still recovering from the Great Depression, the general public remained largely uninterested in foreign conflicts and preferred a stance of neutrality. This isolationism was underscored by the findings of the Nye Committee, which investigated arms manufacturing during World War I and concluded that the U.S. had entered that war primarily to benefit bankers and the wealthiest citizens, thereby worsening the domestic wealth gap. Consequently, Congress passed the Neutrality Acts of $1935$, which placed an embargo on selling arms to warring nations and warned Americans against traveling on their ships. The Neutrality Act of $1936$ further banned loans to countries in conflict, and the $1937$ act introduced the \"cash-and-carry\" policy, requiring warring nations to pay cash for non-military goods and transport them on their own vessels. Organizations like the America First Committee (AFC), led by figures such as Charles Lindenberg and Senator Nye, held massive rallies and distributed brochures to promote isolationism, though the group was also associated with anti-Semitism. Simultaneously, the Popular Front emerged as a coalition of liberal anti-fascists, including the American Communist Party and various civil rights movements, to support international causes like the Spanish Civil War.\n\n# The Transition to War and Global Alliances\n\nPresident Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) gradually moved the nation away from strict neutrality as he became more sympathetic to the Allies, particularly Britain. In his \"Four Freedoms\" speech, FDR outlined the liberal international order, emphasizing the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear, and freedom from want. Following his election to a third term in $1940$, he oversaw the passage of the Lend-Lease Act, which allowed the U.S. to lend or lease arms to Britain and later the USSR after Germany invaded Soviet territory. The Atlantic Charter, developed between the U.S. and Britain, drew from Wilson\u2019s $14$ Points and FDR\u2019s Four Freedoms, calling for economic cooperation, national self-determination, and post-war political stability. Tensions escalated on the Atlantic through \"Shoot on Sight\" orders following the sinking of the U.S. destroyer Greer by German U-boats. The definitive turning point occurred on December $7$, $1941$, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in response to U.S. trade embargos on oil and other resources following Japanese invasions in Indochina. This attack unified the American public and Congress, leading to an immediate declaration of war. To manage the immense effort, the War Powers Act was passed, granting FDR unprecedented control over the war effort, a phenomenon sometimes described as the \"imperial presidency.\"\n\n# Economic Mobilization and the Homefront Infrastructure\n\nThe mobilization for World War II effectively ended the Great Depression. The Revenue Act of $1942$ vastly expanded the number of citizens paying income tax, providing the government with necessary funding. The War Production Board (WPB) directed the conversion of civilian industries to military use, such as Ford manufacturing tanks instead of cars. The government offered tax incentives to companies for war contributions, even as raw materials like rubber, copper, and oil became scarce. Labor became a critical concern, leading to the rise of prominent labor unions. The National War Labor Board (NWLB) was established to regulate work hours, wages, and conditions, and it possessed the authority to seize manufacturing plants that did not comply with federal regulations. While many unions took a \"no-strike\" pledge, some miners struck due to low wages, prompting Congress to pass the Smith-Connally Labor Act, which allowed the president to prohibit strikes and forbade government assistance to unions. Toward the end of the war, the Servicemen\u2019s Readjustment Act, commonly known as the GI Bill of Rights, was passed to provide education, job training, medical care, pensions, and mortgage loans for returning veterans.\n\n# Social Transformation and Minority Experiences\n\nWorld War II catalyzed significant social changes as over $50\,million$ Americans of all races and classes enlisted. Women entered the military through organizations like the Women\u2019s Army Corps (WAC), WAVES (emergency program), and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), though they were generally excluded from command positions. On the domestic front, the \"Rosie the Riveter\" campaign encouraged women to fill industrial labor shortages. African Americans launched the \"Double V Campaign,\" fighting for victory against fascism abroad and racism at home. In response to a threatened march on Washington by Philip Randolph, FDR issued Executive Order $8802$, which prohibited employment discrimination in the defense industry and established the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC). This era also saw the Bracero Program, where the government facilitated labor contracts for Mexican Americans to meet agricultural demands in the West, though this coincided with racial tensions like the \"Zoot Suit Riots\" and the Sleepy Lagoon murder of Jose Diaz. Native Americans contributed significantly, notably the Navajo \"Code Talkers\" who used their indigenous language to send secure military communications. However, the period was marked by the tragic removal and internment of Japanese Americans under Executive Order $9066$. This mass-hysteria-driven policy was upheld by the Supreme Court in the cases of Hirabayashi v US and Korematsu v US under the guise of \"military necessity.\"\n\n# The Prosecution of War and the Manhattan Project\n\nKey military engagements defined the course of the war. D-Day marked the first major fight involving American troops in Europe; under the command of General Eisenhower, the Allies' victory allowed them to push into occupied Europe, forcing Germany and Italy onto the defensive. In the Pacific, the Battle of Midway severely damaged the Japanese Navy, from which it never fully recovered, allowing the U.S. to begin an island-hopping campaign. A tragic aspect of the era was the Holocaust; while some Jews escaped Europe on ships like the St. Louis, they were often denied entrance to the U.S. due to anti-Semitism in the State Department and general public. Eventually, the War Refugee Board, aided by Henry Morgenthau, assisted in Jewish entry. The war reached its climax through the Manhattan Project, a top-secret endeavor to develop atomic bombs. After FDR\u2019s sudden death, President Truman learned of the project and ordered the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagaski to force a Japanese surrender. The surrender effectively ended the war but left the world facing the costs of war: the destruction of European and Japanese infrastructure, the end of the British Empire as a global power, and the emergence of unresolved disputes between the US and USSR that would lead to the Cold War.\n\n# The Historical Context of the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression\n\nThe interwar period began with the \"Roaring $20s$,\" a decade of cultural shifts and economic contradictions. Post-WWI racial tensions flared during the \"Second Great Migration,\" as African Americans moved to northern cities like St. Louis, Chicago, and Detroit for jobs, leading to competition and violence. The era saw the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural boom in art, literature, and Jazz, featuring figures like Louis Armstrong and Claude McKay. Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) gained $4\,million$ followers by advocating for Black separatism and Pan-Africanism. However, the decade also saw a resurgence of the KKK and the passage of the National Origins Act of $1924$, which set strict immigration quotas. Economic policy returned to laissez-faire principles, exemplified by the Teapot Dome Scandal and court rulings like Adkins v Children\u2019s Hospital, which voided a minimum wage for women. The decade concluded with the Stock Market Crash of $1929$, triggered by excessive credit, overproduction, and $-80\%$ of the world\u2019s automobiles being owned by Americans on credit. President Hoover\u2019s initial response was limited; he passed the Hawley-Smoot Tariff (approx. $50\%$) which backfired, and he oversaw the forceful removal of the \"Bonus March\" veterans by General Douglas MacArthur.\n\n# The New Deal and the Transformation of Government\n\nFranklin D. Roosevelt\u2019s election in $1932$ ushered in the New Deal, which emphasized the \"Three R\u2019s\": Relief, Recovery, and Reform. During his \"First $100$ Days,\" FDR established a \"Brain Trust\" of diverse advisors and launched numerous \"Alphabet Agencies.\" These included the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to insure deposits up to $2,500$, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) for young men, and the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) to stabilize crop prices. The Second New Deal shifted toward long-term reform, establishing the Social Security Act and the Wagner Act, which guaranteed the right to join unions. Despite his popularity, FDR faced opposition from the Supreme Court, which struck down the NRA and AAA, leading to his controversial \"court-packing\" plan to appoint a new justice for every member over $70.5$ years old. Economically, the era saw the rise of Keynesian Economics, or deficit spending, where the government spent more than it received in tax revenue to stimulate the economy. While the New Deal did not fully end the Great Depression, it established the foundation for the modern American welfare state and a regulated economy.