America Enters the War, Global Struggles, Chapter 11, PDF

America Enters the War Guide to Reading Connection Angered by American policies that aided Reading Objectives In the previous section, you learned the British...

America Enters the War Guide to Reading Connection Angered by American policies that aided Reading Objectives In the previous section, you learned the British and an embargo on Japanese Explain how Roosevelt helped Britain about the Holocaust the Jews faced in goods, the Japanese attacked the naval while maintaining official neutrality. Germany. In this section, you will dis- base at Pearl Harbor, forcing the United Trace the events that led to increasing cover how the United States was drawn States to declare war. (p. 561) tensions, and ultimately war, between into the war. the United States and Japan. Content Vocabulary hemispheric defense zone, strategic Reading Strategy Despite the Neutrality Act of 1939, FDR materials Organizing As you read about the supported the British with a destroyer- efforts of the United States to stay neutral Academic Vocabulary for-bases deal. (p. 557) in the war, complete a graphic organizer eliminate, policy, primary In the midst of a debate about whether similar to the one below by naming two America should remain neutral, People and Terms to Identify events that shifted American opinion Roosevelt was elected for a third term. America First Committee, Lend-Lease Act, toward helping the Allies. (p. 558) Atlantic Charter Events That Shifted American Roosevelt and Congress continued to Opinion support the British through the Lend- Lease Act and the idea of a hemispheric defense zone. (p. 559) Preview of Events ✦September 1940 ✦March 1941 ✦August 1941 ✦December 1941 September 1940 March 1941 August 1941 October 1941 December 7, 1941 FDR makes destroyers-for-bases Congress passes Roosevelt and Churchill Germans sink Japan attacks Pearl deal with Britain Lend-Lease Act sign Atlantic Charter Reuben James Harbor. The Big Idea , The following are the main History–Social Science Standards covered in this section. 11.7.1 Examine the origins of American involvement in the war, The fate of nations is forever changed by monumental world events. with an emphasis on the events that While Jews faced the Holocaust in Germany, Americans continued to debate isola- precipitated the attack on Pearl Harbor. 11.7.4 Analyze Roosevelt’s foreign tionist policy. President Roosevelt declared the United States officially neutral at the policies during World War II (e.g., Four beginning of the war, but he supported laws that allowed him to help Great Britain. Freedoms speech). He was able to make a destroyers-for-bases deal with Britain and pushed through the Lend-Lease Act. To establish safe shipping in the Atlantic, he developed the idea of a hemispheric defense zone. At the same time, Roosevelt began policies to discourage Japan from attacking the British Empire in the Pacific, restricting exports to Japan and extending aid to China. When Japan sent troops to Indochina, the president added further restrictions. Japan responded by attacking the U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 556 CHAPTER 11 A World in Flames FDR Supports England The Neutrality Act of 1939 President Roosevelt officially proclaimed the United States neutral two days after Britain and France declared war on Despite the Neutrality Act of 1939, FDR sup- Germany. Despite this declaration, he was deter- ported the British with a destroyer-for-bases deal. mined to do all he could to help the two countries in Reading Connection Should presidents be able to work their struggle against Hitler. Soon after the war around the decisions of Congress? Read on to learn how began, Roosevelt called Congress into a special ses- sion to revise the neutrality laws. Roosevelt followed his own instincts to help Britain. He asked Congress to eliminate the ban on arms sales to nations at war. Public opinion strongly sup- On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the ported the president. Congress passed the new law, Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii. The attack sur- but isolationists demanded a price for the revision. prised many Americans. Most people had believed Under the Neutrality Act of 1939, warring nations that Germany posed the greatest danger. could buy weapons from the United States only if they paid cash and carried the arms on their own ships. Destroyers-for-Bases Deal In the spring of 1940, the United States faced its first test in remaining neu- December 7, 1941, dawned like any other Sunday in tral. In May British Prime Minister Winston Churchill Hawaii, where teenager Daniel Inouye lived with his began asking Roosevelt to transfer old American family. Like other Americans who lived through the destroyers to Britain. Britain had lost nearly half its experience, Inouye would never forget what he was destroyers and needed more to protect its cargo ships doing the moment American isolationism ended: from German submarines and to block any German attempt to invade Britain. Determined to give Churchill the destroyers, “ As soon as I finished brushing my teeth and pulled on my trousers, I automatically clicked on the little Roosevelt used a loophole in the provision of the radio that stood on the shelf above my bed. I remem- Neutrality Act that required cash for purchases. In ber that I was buttoning my shirt and looking out the exchange for the right to build American bases on British-controlled Newfoundland, Bermuda, and window... when the hum of the warming set gave islands in the Caribbean, Roosevelt sent 50 old way to a frenzied voice. ‘This is no test,’ the voice cried American destroyers to Britain. Since the deal did not out. ‘Pearl Harbor is being bombed by the Japanese!’” involve an actual sale, the Neutrality Act did not apply. On September 3, 1940, he announced his The Inouye family ran outside and gazed toward the action to an astonished press. naval base at Pearl Harbor: Reading Check Examining How were the “And then we saw the planes. They came zooming up Neutrality Acts revised? out of that sea of gray smoke, flying north toward where we stood and climbing into the bluest part of the sky, and they came in twos and threes, in neat for- mations, and if it hadn’t been for that red ball on their wings, the rising sun of the Japanese Empire, you could easily believe that they were Americans, flying over in precise military salute. ” —quoted in Eyewitness to America Daniel Inouye after What Americans did not realize was that the joining the U.S. Army’s causes of the Japanese attack could be traced back 442nd Infantry ➤ more than 40 years to the tension between the United States and Japan over the Open Door Policy. This ten- sion escalated two years earlier with President Roosevelt’s policies for helping Britain against Germany. CHAPTER 11 A World in Flames 557  Analyzing Political Cartoons Peace Above All Many Americans were willing to help European democracies but did not want to sell them arms. In what ways did the United States assist these nations? debate took place between people who wanted greater American involvement in World War II and those who felt that the United States should remain neutral. At one extreme was the Fight for Freedom Committee, a group which urged the repeal of all neutrality laws and wanted stronger action against Germany. Closer to the center, the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies, headed by journalist William Allen White, pressed for increased American aid to the Allies but opposed armed intervention. Roosevelt’s destroyers-for-bases deal led to the founding of the America First Committee in September of 1940. The America First Committee was a staunchly isolationist group that firmly opposed any American intervention or aid to the Allies. The group had many The Isolationist Debate famous members, including aviator Charles Lindbergh, former governor Philip LaFollette, and Senator Gerald Nye. The committee attempted to In the midst of a debate about whether influence elections and public opinion in support of America should remain neutral, Roosevelt was elected isolationism with speeches and publications. for a third term. Reading Connection Do you believe that holders of The Election of 1940 The heated debate over neu- trality took place in the midst of the 1940 presidential public office should be limited in the number of terms they election campaign. For several months Americans had serve? Read on to find out about Roosevelt’s decision to break wondered whether President Roosevelt would follow with the traditional two terms of office. long-standing tradition by retiring at the end of his second term. With the United States in a precarious Widespread public acceptance of the destroyers- position, many people feared that a change of leaders for-bases deal demonstrated a marked change in might not be in the country’s best interest. Roosevelt American public opinion. Americans were now more decided to run for an unprecedented third term. open to the idea of assisting the Allies. The shift During the campaign, FDR steered a careful began after the German invasion of France and the course between neutrality and intervention. The rescue of Allied forces at Dunkirk. By July 1940 most Republican nominee, Wendell Willkie, did the same, Americans favored offering limited aid to the Allies. promising that he too would stay out of the war but assist the Allies. The voters re-elected Roosevelt by a The Range of Opinion American opinion was wide margin, preferring to stick with a president they hardly unanimous. While most people were open to knew during this crisis period. aiding the Allies, there were those who believed the United States should not offer even limited assistance. Reading Check Analyzing Why did Roosevelt win In fact, beginning in the spring of 1940, a spirited an unprecedented third term in office? 558 CHAPTER 11 A World in Flames Edging Toward War The Lend-Lease Act By December 1940, Great Britain had run out of funds to wage its war against Germany. Since Britain was unable to provide the Roosevelt and Congress continued to sup- cash needed to purchase weapons, President port the British through the Lend-Lease Act and the idea Roosevelt came up with a way to remove the cash of a hemispheric defense zone. requirement of the Neutrality Act. Reading Connection How far from its shores should a With the Lend-Lease Act, the United States would nation defend its borders? Read on to discover how Roosevelt be able to lend or lease arms to any country considered expanded the area of American defense. “vital to the defense of the United States.” This act meant that the United States could send much needed weapons to Britain without cash payment if Britain With the election safely over, President Roosevelt promised to return or pay rent for them after the war. was able to expand the nation’s role in the war. The president warned that if Britain fell, an Britain was fighting for democracy, he said, and the “unholy alliance” of Germany, Japan, and Italy United States had to help Britain in this endeavor. would keep trying to conquer the world, and then Speaking to Congress, the president listed the “Four “all of us in all the Americas would be living at the Freedoms” for which both the United States and point of a gun.” The president argued that the United Great Britain stood: freedom of speech, freedom of States should become the “great arsenal of democ- worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. racy” to keep the British fighting and make it unnec- ; (See page 999 for an excerpt from this speech.) essary for Americans to go to war. History Neutrality Debate The America First Committee strongly opposed the increasingly weak neutrality of the United States. Here an American sol- dier confronts an isolationist marching outside the White House. How did the Lend-Lease Act further weaken the nation’s official neutrality? CHAPTER 11 A World in Flames 559  The America First Committee disagreed, but to Britain. German submarines patrolling the Atlantic Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act by a wide mar- Ocean were sinking hundreds of thousands of tons of gin. By the time the program ended, the United shipping each month, and the British navy simply States had contributed more than $40 billion in did not have enough ships in the Atlantic to stop weapons, vehicles, and other supplies to the Allied them. war effort. Roosevelt could not simply order the U.S. Navy to While shipments of supplies to Britain began at protect British cargo ships, since the United States once, lend-lease aid eventually went to the Soviet was still technically neutral. Instead, he developed Union as well. After calling off the invasion of the idea of a hemispheric defense zone. Roosevelt Britain, Hitler returned to his original goal of carving declared that the entire western half of the Atlantic out lebensraum for Germany in eastern Europe. In was part of the Western Hemisphere and, therefore, June 1941, in violation of the Nazi-Soviet pact, Hitler neutral. He then ordered the U.S. Navy to patrol the launched a massive invasion of the Soviet Union. western Atlantic and reveal the locations of German Although Churchill detested communism and con- submarines to the British. sidered Stalin a harsh dictator, he vowed that any person or state “who fights against Nazism will have The Atlantic Charter In August 1941, Roosevelt our aid.” Roosevelt, too, supported this policy. and Churchill met face-to-face onboard American and British warships anchored near Newfoundland. The Hemispheric Defense Zone Congressional During these meetings, the two men agreed on the text approval of the Lend-Lease Act did not solve the of the Atlantic Charter. It committed the two leaders problem of how to get American arms and supplies to a postwar world of democracy, nonaggression, free Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, December 7, 1941 PaCIFIC Kaena Point FIRST WAVE Kahuku Point OCEaN Opana radar station 4 Kahuku Waialua Haleiwa Field Laie SECOND WAVE 2 Waianae Wahiawa Wheeler Field 7:51, 9:10 A.M. Ford Island Naval Air Station 7:55, 9:02 A.M. Nanakuli Waipahu Kaneohe Ewa Marine Corps Pearl Naval Air Station Air Station Pearl City 7:53, 8:55 A.M. 7:53, 9:05 A.M. H arb or Ewa Beach Hickam Field 7:55, 9:05 A.M. Kaneohe 3 1 Battleship Row O A H U Kailua First wave of Japanese aircraft Honolulu Bellows Field Second wave of 8:30, 9:00 A.M. Japanese aircraft N W 7:51 A.M. Time of initial attack (First wave) E S Diamond Head 8:55 A.M. Time of initial attack (Second wave) Airfield Airfield attacked Radar site Town  trade, economic advancement, and freedom of the Japan Attacks the United States seas. Churchill later said that FDR pledged to “force an ‘incident’... which would justify him in opening hostilities” with Germany. Angered by American policies that aided the An incident quickly presented itself. In early British and an embargo on Japanese goods, the Japanese September a German U-boat fired on the American attacked the naval base at Pearl Harbor, forcing the destroyer Greer, which had been radioing the U- United States to declare war. boat’s position to the British. Roosevelt promptly responded by ordering American ships to follow a Reading Connection Do you know of a situation in “shoot-on-sight” policy toward German submarines. which a person became involved in a dispute because a friend The Germans escalated hostilities with the United or family member was involved? Read on to learn how Japan States the following month when they targeted two and its allies were able to draw the United States into a world American destroyers. One of them, the Reuben James, conflict. broke in two after being torpedoed. It sank into the frigid waters of the North Atlantic, where 115 sailors died. As the end of 1941 grew near, Germany and the Despite the growing tensions in the Atlantic, the United States continued a tense standoff in the North Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was what finally Atlantic. brought the United States into World War II. Ironically, Japan’s decision to attack the United States Reading Check Evaluating How did the Lend- was a direct result of Roosevelt’s efforts to help Lease Act help the Allied war effort? Britain in its war against Germany. 1 6:45 A.M.: The destroyer Ward sinks a Japanese midget submarine near the entrance to Pearl Harbor. 2 7:02 to 7:39 A.M.: Army radar at Opana tracks a cloud of aircraft approaching from the north. An officer at Fort Shafter concludes it is a flight of B-17s due in from California. 3 7:49 A.M.: The first wave of 183 Japanese planes is ordered to attack. The force includes 40 torpedo bombers and 49 high-altitude bombers—each armed with a single projectile—bound for Battleship Row. Other bombers and Zero fighters attack airfields. 4 8:55 A.M.: The second wave of 167 planes renews the attack on airfields and ships. Oil tanks and most ship-repair facilities are ignored, an omission the Japanese later regret. Americans responded heroically to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor: 16 men received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award; 5 were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross; and 69 received the Silver Star. The Navy Cross was awarded to another 51, including Dorie Miller, World War II’s first recognized African American hero, who bravely operated an antiaircraft gun on his ship during the Japanese attack.  America Embargoes Japan Between August 1939 In 1941 Roosevelt began sending lend-lease aid to and December 1941, Roosevelt’s primary goal was to China. Japan had invaded China in 1937, and by help Britain and its allies defeat Germany. He knew 1941, it controlled much of the Chinese coast. that one of the problems Britain faced was the need to Roosevelt hoped that lend-lease aid would enable the keep much of its navy in Asia to protect British terri- Chinese to tie down the Japanese and prevent them tories there from Japanese attack. As German sub- from attacking elsewhere. Despite assistance with marines began sinking British shipping, the British weapons from the United States, the strategy failed. began moving warships from Southeast Asia to the By July 1941, the Japanese had sent troops into south- Atlantic, leaving their empire vulnerable. In response, ern Indochina, posing a direct threat to the British Roosevelt introduced policies to discourage the Empire. Japanese aircraft were now in position to Japanese from attacking the British Empire. strike British shipping in the Strait of Malacca and Roosevelt began by putting economic pressure on bomb Hong Kong and Singapore. Japan. Japan depended on the United States for many Roosevelt responded very quickly to the Japanese key materials, including scrap iron, steel, and espe- threat against the British Empire. He froze all cially oil. Approximately 80 percent of Japan’s oil Japanese assets in the United States, reduced the came from the United States. In July 1940, Congress amount of oil being shipped to Japan, and sent passed the Export Control Act, giving Roosevelt the General Douglas MacArthur to the Philippines to power to restrict the sale of strategic materials (mate- build up American defenses there. rials important for fighting a war) to other nations. Roosevelt made it clear that he would lift the oil Roosevelt immediately blocked the sale of airplane embargo against Japan only if Japan withdrew from fuel and scrap iron to Japan. Furious, the Japanese Indochina and made peace with China. With the war signed an alliance with Germany and Italy, formally against China now in jeopardy because of a lack of oil becoming a member of the Axis. and other resources, the Japanese military began making plans to attack the resource- rich British and Dutch colonies in Southeast Asia. The Japanese also decided to seize the Philippines and to attack the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. They could not risk leaving the United States with a navy in the Pacific to oppose their plans. While the Japanese prepared for war, negoti- ations with the United States contin- ued, but neither side would back down. On November 26, 1941, six Japanese aircraft carriers, two battle- ships, and several other warships set sail for Hawaii. Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor The Japanese government appeared to be continuing negotiations with the United States in good faith. This was part of Japan’s strategy to surprise the United States. American intelligence had decoded Japanese communica- tions that made it clear that Japan had no intention of reaching an agreement and, instead, was preparing to go to war against the United States. ➤ Attack on Pearl Harbor 562 CHAPTER 11 A World in Flames  On November 27, American commanders at the Following the president’s Pearl Harbor naval base received a war warning speech, the Senate voted, HISTORY from Washington, but Hawaii was not mentioned as unanimously, 82 to 0, and the a possible target. It was a great distance from Japan to House 388 to 1 to declare war Student Web Hawaii, and Washington officials doubted Japan on Japan. Activity Visit the would try to launch such a long-range attack. This American Vision: would prove to be a fatal error. Germany Declares War Modern Times Web site The failure to collect sufficient information and the Although Japan was now at at tav.mt.glencoe.com failure of the branches of the U.S. military to share war with the United States, and click on Student the available information left Pearl Harbor an open Hitler did not have to declare Web Activities— target. The result was devastating. Japan’s surprise war on the Americans. The Chapter 11 for an attack on December 7, 1941, sank or damaged 21 terms of the alliance with activity on Pearl ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, including 8 battleships, Japan specified that Germany Harbor. 3 cruisers, 4 destroyers, and 6 other vessels. The only had to come to Japan’s attack also destroyed 188 airplanes and killed 2,403 aid if Japan was attacked, not Americans. Another 1,178 were injured. if Japan attacked another country. Hitler, however, On the night of the attack, a gray-faced Roosevelt had grown frustrated with the American navy’s met with his cabinet to tell them the country now attacks on German submarines, and he believed the faced the most serious crisis since the outbreak of the time had come to declare war on the United States. Civil War. The next day, the president asked Congress Hitler greatly underestimated the strength of the to declare war: United States, and he expected the Japanese to easily defeat the Americans in the Pacific. He hoped that by “ Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was sud- helping Japan against the United States, he could count on Japanese support against the Soviet Union denly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air once the Americans had been beaten. On Decem- forces of Japan....I believe I interpret the will of the ber 11, Germany and Italy both declared war on the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will United States. not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but we Reading Check Examining What finally caused the will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.... No matter how long it United States to become involved in World War II? may take us... the American people in their right- eous might will win through to absolute victory. ” —quoted in Franklin D. Roosevelt: HISTORY A Rendezvous with Destiny Study Central For help with the concepts in this section of American Vision: Modern Times go to tav.mt.glencoe.com and click on Study Central. Checking for Understanding Critical Thinking Analyzing Visuals 1. Vocabulary Define: eliminate, policy, 4. Interpreting Why was the United 6. Analyzing Maps Study the map on hemispheric defense zone, primary, States unprepared for Japan’s attack on pages 560-561. Based on the geography strategic materials. Pearl Harbor? of Oahu, why was the location of Pearl 2. People and Terms Identify: America 5. Organizing Use a graphic organizer to Harbor selected for a naval base? First Committee, Lend-Lease Act, list how Roosevelt helped Britain while Atlantic Charter. maintaining official neutrality. Writing About History Reviewing Big Ideas Help to Britain 7. Persuasive Writing Take on the role of 3. Justifying After Roosevelt made the an American in 1940. Write a letter to destroyers-for-bases deal with Britain, the editor of your newspaper explaining some Americans called him a dictator. why you think the United States should Do you think Roosevelt was right or either remain neutral or become wrong in his actions? Explain your involved in World War II. CA 11WS1.2 answer. CHAPTER 11 A World in Flames 563