A World In Flames

1. A World In Flames America enters the war

2. FDR Supports England • The Neutrality Act of 1939 • Replaced the acts of 1935 and 1937 and allowed countries at war (Great Britain) to buy weapons from the US on a cash-and-carry agreement • Destroyers for Bases Deal • In exchange for the right to build American bases on British-controlled Newfoundland, Bermuda, and islands in the Caribbean, Roosevelt sent 50 old American destroyers to Britain.

3. The Isolationist Debate • The Range of Opinion • Some Americans wanted to either: • Immediately declare war on Germany • Continue to aid the Allies • Remain totally neutral and send aid to neither side. • The Election of 1940. • Roosevelt chose to run for an unprecedented third term rather than step aside as tradition dictated • With the world in crisis, the American people decided it was not a good time to change their leadership

4. Edging Toward War • After re-election Roosevelt announced the “four freedoms” that the US should help Britain protect: • Freedom of Speech • Freedom of Worship • Freedom from Want • Freedom from Fear • The Lend Lease Act • Allowed the US to lend or lease military supplies to countries “vital to the defense of the US” • Great Britain was considered vital and they promised to repay the US after the war • The act allowed Roosevelt to send arms to Britain without them having to pay cash

5. Edging Toward War • The Hemispheric Defense Zone • The Neutrality Act of 1939 and the Lend-Lease Acts were useless when German submarines were sinking British ships • Roosevelt declared the entire Western half of the Atlantic neutral and ordered the Navy to patrol and protect ships from attack • The Atlantic Charter • Agreement made between Churchill and Roosevelt to protect democracy, non-aggression, free trade, economic advancement, and freedom of the seas after the war.

6. Japan Attacks the United States • America Embargoes Japan • To help Great Britain protect its territories in and around Asia, Roosevelt introduced policies to prevent Japan from attacking British Empire holdings. • Export Control Act of 1940-restricted the sale of strategic materials such as scrap iron, steel, and oil • The Axis Powers- In response, Japan signs an alliance with Germany and Italy. • Roosevelt “lend-leases” military supplies to China and freezes all Japanese assets in the US • Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor

7. Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor • While Japan continued to make peaceful negotiations with the United States, they were actually secretly planning an attack. • There were several warnings that were misread by US officials about the impending attack. • By the time the Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Hawaii figured out what was happening, it was too late. • December 7, 1941- “A date which will live in infamy!”

8. Pearl Harbor • 21 ships of the US Pacific fleet sunk • 8 battleships • 3 cruisers • 4 destroyers • 6 other vessels • 188 airplanes destroyed (mostly while they were still on the ground) • 2,403 Americans killed • The next day, the senate voted 88 to 0 and the House 388 to 1 to declare war on Japan.

9. Germany Declares War • December 11, 1941- Germany declares war on the United States. • Hitler believed that Japan would easily beat the United States in the Pacific and then help Germany fight the Soviets