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Between the Wars and World War Two Chapter Outline www.ck12.org CHAPTER 5 Between the Wars and World War Two Chapter Outline 5.1 WILSON DESIRES "A JUST PEACE" 5.2 RISE OF FASCISM AND TOTALITARIANISM IN EUROPE 5.3 ISOLATIONISM 5.4 ROOSEVELT’S RESPONSE TO A TROUBLED WORLD 5.5 ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR PROPELS THE UNITED STATES INTO WORLD WAR II 5.6 COUNTRIES INVOLVED IN WORLD WAR II AND MAJOR THEATERS OF WORLD WAR II 5.7 WARTIME STRATEGY 5.8 INDIVIDUAL SACRIFICES WERE MADE BY MANY 5.9 IMPORTANT INDIVIDUALS OF WORLD WAR II 5.10 JAPANESE AMERICANS OUTCASTED IN WAKE OF PEARL HARBOR 5.11 WOMEN ANSWER THE CALL AT HOME AND ABROAD 5.12 WORLD WAR II AND AFRICAN AMERICANS 5.13 WORLD WAR II AT HOME 5.14 MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DURING WWII 5.15 TENNESSEE’S IMPACT ON WORLD WAR II 5.16 MANHATTAN PROJECT 5.17 AMERICAN RESPONSE TO THE HOLOCAUST 5.18 YALTA AND POTSDAM CONFERENCES 5.19 FORMATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS AND CORDELL HULL 5.20 REFERENCES Students analyze the inter-war years and America’s participation in World War II. US.54 ... Examine the impact of American actions in foreign policy in the 1920’s, including the refusal to join the League of Nations, the Washington Disarmament Conference, and the Kellogg Brand Pact. (H, P) US.55 ... Gather relevant information from multiple sources to explain the reasons for and consequences of American actions in foreign policy during the 1930’s, including the Hoover Stimson Note, the Johnson Debt Default Act, and the Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1937, and 1939. (H, P) US.56 ... Analyze the reasons for and consequences of the rise of fascism and totalitarianism in Europe during the 1930’s, including the actions of Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin. (H, P) US.57 ... Examine President Roosevelt’s response to the rise of totalitarianism, including the Quarantine Speech, 248 www.ck12.org Chapter 5. Between the Wars and World War Two the Four Freedoms Speech, the Atlantic Charter, and Lend-Lease. (E, P) US.58 ... Explain the reasons for American entry into World War II, including the attack on Pearl Harbor. (H, P) US.59 ... Identify and locate on a map the Allied and Axis countries and the major theatres of the war. (G) US.60 ... Explain United States and Allied wartime strategy and major events of the war, including the Bataan Death March, Midway, “island hopping,” Iwo Jima, Okinawa, invasion of North Africa and Italy, D-Day, and the Battle of the Bulge. (C, G, H, P) US.61 ... Identify the roles and sacrifices of individual American soldiers, as well as the unique contributions of special fighting forces such as the Tuskegee Airmen, the 442nd Regimental Combat team, the 101 st Airborne, and the Navajo Code Talkers. (C, H) US.62 ... Identify the roles played and significant actions of the following individuals in World War II: (H, P) • Franklin Roosevelt • Winston Churchill • Joseph Stalin • Harry Truman • Adolph Hitler • Benito Mussolini • Hideki Toj¯ o¯ • Dwight Eisenhower • George C. Marshall • Douglas MacArthur US.63 ... Describe the constitutional issues and impact of events on the United States home front, including the internment of Japanese Americans (Fred Korematsu v. United States of America). (C, P) US.64 ... Examine and explain the entry of large numbers of women into the workforce during World War II and its subsequent impact on American society (such as at Avco in Tennessee), as well as the service of women in the armed forces, including Cornelia Fort. (C, E, P, TN) US.65 ... Examine the impact of World War II on economic and social conditions for African Americans, including the Fair Employment Practices Committee, the service of African Americans in the armed forces and the work force, and the eventual integration of the armed forces by President Truman. (C, E, H, P) U S.66 ... Describe the war’s impact on the home front, including rationing, bond drives, movement to cities and industrial centers, and the Bracero program. (C, E, G, H) US.67 ... Describe the major developments in aviation, weaponry, communication, and medicine (penicillin), and the war’s impact on the location of American industry and use of resources. (E, G) US.68 ... Explain the importance of the establishment and the impact of the Fort Campbell base, Oak Ridge nuclear facilities, TVA, Alcoa influences, and Camp Forrest as a POW center. (E, G, P, TN) US.69 ... Write an opinion piece evaluating the Manhattan Project, including the rationale for using the atomic bomb 249 www.ck12.org to end the war. (H) US.70 ... Examine the American reaction and response to the Holocaust. (C, H, P) US.71 ... Explain major outcomes of the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences. (G, H, P) US.72 ... Identify and explain the reasons for the founding of the United Nations, including the role of Cordell Hull. (P, H, TN) Primary Documents and Supporting Texts to Read: excerpts from the Announcement of Dropping the Atomic Bomb, Harry Truman; Letter to President Franklin Roosevelt, Albert Einstein Primary Documents and Supporting Texts to Consider: excerpts from “Quarantine Speech,” Franklin Roosevelt; “Four Freedoms” speech, Franklin Roosevelt; Announcement of War with Japan, 1941, Franklin Roosevelt. 250 www.ck12.org Chapter 5. Between the Wars and World War Two 5.1 Wilson Desires "A Just Peace" Wilson Desires "A Just Peace" As the war drew to a close, Woodrow Wilson set forth his plan for a "just peace." Wilson believed that fundamental flaws in international relations created an unhealthy climate that led inexorably to the World War. His Fourteen Points outlined his vision for a safer world. Wilson called for an end to secret diplomacy, a reduction of armaments, and freedom of the seas. He claimed that reductions to trade barriers, fair adjustment of colonies, and respect for national self-determination would reduce economic and nationalist sentiments that lead to war. Finally, Wilson proposed an international organization comprising representatives of all the world’s nations that would serve as a forum against allowing any conflict to escalate. Unfortunately, Wilson could not impose his world view on the victorious Allied Powers. When they met in Paris to hammer out the terms of the peace, the European leaders had other ideas. PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE No provisions were made to end secret diplomacy or preserve freedom of the seas. Wilson did gain approval for his proposal for a League of Nations. Dismayed by the overall results, but hopeful that a strong League could prevent future wars, he returned to present the Treaty of Versailles to the United States Senate. FIGURE 5.1 Council of Four at the WWI Paris peace conference, May 27, 1919 (L - R) Prime Minister David Lloyd George (Great Britain) Premier Vittorio Orlando, Italy, French Premier Georges Clemenceau, President Woodrow Wilson LEAGUE OF NATIONS FAILS Unfortunately for Wilson, he was met with stiff opposition. The Republican leader of the Senate, Henry Cabot Lodge, was very suspicious of Wilson and his treaty. Article X of the League of Nations required the United States to respect the territorial integrity of member states. Although there was no requirement compelling an American declaration of war, the United States might be bound to impose an economic embargo or to sever diplomatic relations. 251 5.1. Wilson Desires "A Just Peace" www.ck12.org Lodge viewed the League as a supranational government that would limit the power of the American government from determining its own affairs. Others believed the League was the sort of entangling alliance the United States had avoided since George Washington’s Farewell Address. Lodge sabotaged the League covenant by declaring the United States exempt from Article X. He attached reservations, or amendments, to the treaty to this effect. Wilson, bedridden from a debilitating stroke, was unable to accept these changes. He asked Senate Democrats to vote against the Treaty of Versailles unless the Lodge reservations were dropped. Neither side budged, and the treaty went down to defeat. Why did the United States fail to ratify the Versailles Treaty and join the League of Nations? Personal enmity be- tween Wilson and Lodge played a part. Wilson might have prudently invited a prominent Republican to accompany him to Paris to help ensure its later passage. Wilson’s fading health eliminated the possibility of making a strong personal appeal on behalf of the treaty. Ethnic groups in the United States helped its defeat. German Americans felt their fatherland was being treated too harshly. Italian Americans felt more territory should have been awarded to Italy. Irish Americans criticized the treaty for failing to address the issue of Irish independence. Diehard American isolationists worried about a permanent global involvement. The stubbornness of President Wilson led him to ask his own party to scuttle the treaty. The final results of all these factors had mammoth long term consequences. Without the involvement of the world’s newest superpower, the League of Nations was doomed to failure. Over the next two decades, the United States would sit on the sidelines as the unjust Treaty of Versailles and the ineffective League of Nations would set the stage for an even bloodier, more devastating clash. FIGURE 5.2 WASHINGTON NAVAL ARMS CONFERENCE AND THE KELLOGG-BRIAND PACT On the international scene, two themes dominated American diplomacy. The first was to take steps to avoid the mistakes that led to World War I. To this end, President Harding convened the Washington Naval Arms Conference in 1921. The United States, Great Britain, and Japan agreed to a ten-year freeze on the construction of battleships and to maintain a capital ship ratio of 5:5:3.
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