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Warm-up for the brain: The United States is facing the Great Depression in the 1930's. How might this affect U.S. foreign policy prior to World War Two? Remember, foreign policy deals with how the U.S. interacts with other countries / issues outside the United States.
Class Discussion! Prepare a response to the following prompt: "Based on prior learning, what are reasons that Americans would want to maintain an isolationist position during the interwar period (1918-1939)?" |
Familiarization. Take notes and answer questions regarding foreign policy in the 1930's prior to World War Two.
Issue #1: Mukden Incident and the Hoover-Stimson Note (Stimson Doctrine)
Read here about the Mukden Incident and the Hoover-Stimson Note, also known as the Stimson Doctrine. Answer the corresponding questions in your module worksheet.
Issue #2: The Johnson Debt Default Act of 1934
Read and Remember! This act, sponsored by Senator Hiram Johnson, forbade loans from the U.S. to countries that had defaulted on their debts owed from World War One. This meant that almost no European country could get a loan from the United States in order to finance a war effort. This act drove the United States into further isolation from Europe and left the western Allies unprepared and unwilling to act against aggressive political moves by Adolf Hitler.
Issue #3: The Neutrality Acts
Read here about the Neutrality Acts and how this foreign policy affected the U.S. prior to World War Two. Remember, the "Neutrality Acts" grew less and less neutral as the country drew closer to entry into World War Two.
Issue #4: Isolationism in the United States.
Read here on isolationism in the United States in the 1930's. Answer the corresponding questions in your module worksheet.
Read here for information on the America First Committee and its stance on U.S. policy in World War Two. Answer the corresponding questions in your module worksheet.
Listen to (or read the transcript of) this speech by Charles Lindbergh of aviation fame and then listen to (or read the transcript of) Sen. James Byrnes' counter to Lindbergh. Write a summary on who made a more convincing speech and why. Be sure to state which position each took - isolationist or interventionist.
Read here for information on the America First Committee and its stance on U.S. policy in World War Two. Answer the corresponding questions in your module worksheet.
Listen to (or read the transcript of) this speech by Charles Lindbergh of aviation fame and then listen to (or read the transcript of) Sen. James Byrnes' counter to Lindbergh. Write a summary on who made a more convincing speech and why. Be sure to state which position each took - isolationist or interventionist.
Interpret political cartoons.
Explain what measures you think could have been taken from 1918-1939 to have prevented World War Two. Make sure you think carefully about your ideas and don’t forget to look at your ideas from an opposing viewpoint in order to counter arguments against your ideas.
In the 1930's the combination of the Great Depression, the rise of totalitarianism, and imperialist ambition led to a series of actions meant to keep the United States out of foreign conflict. Organizations such as the America First Committee and its key spokesman, Charles Lindbergh, were part of a country which was heavily isolationist. President Roosevelt, aware of the dangers of the events overseas and the effects they would have on the country wanted to help the allies against totalitarian and imperialist aggression. However, he faced an isolationist Congress that he needed in order to facilitate his New Deal programs, his primary concern during the Depression.