HISTORY 1DD3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 25: War Production Board, Missouri Compromise, War Manpower Commission
22 Jun 2018
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Chp 25 Identifications
FDR and the Good Neighbor Policy
● Background Info: During the Great Depression, FDR put US economic interests
foremost and showed little interest in international economic cooperation.
● However, in Latin America, FDR did adopt the “Good Neighbor” policy and signed a
formal convention that “no state has the right to intervene in affairs of another.”
● FDR withdrew troops; urged US banks to loosen their hold on Haiti’s banking system;
renounced the Platt Amendment; reduced US intervention in Panama; helped
Batista (Cuba) indirectly rather than through military; and conceded Mexico’s right
to nationalize companies, settling for economic compensation.
● The Good Neighbor Policy did not change prevailing views nor ended intervention,
but made relations better. Better relations would help later in WW2 and Cold War.
Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, and Fascism
● Mussolini and his Fascist party seized power as early as 1922 as Italy’s economy lay
in ruins. He suppressed dissent, imposed one-party rule, and launched offensives to
Ethiopia and Albania in the 1930s.
● Likewise, Hitler’s National Socialist (Nazi) Party made use of hard times and
resentment of the Treaty of Versailles to gain strength. Hitler was named
Chancellor in Jan 1933 and imposed a brutal dictatorship and “purification” of Jews.
● Violating the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler re-militarized the Rhineland, proclaimed an
Anschluss (union) with Austria, and took back Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia).
● France, Britain, and US murmured their disapproval, but appeased Hitler. The
Munich Pact (1938) acknowledged Germany’s claim to Sudetenland and was
praised in the US for having avoided war.
Beginnings of Japanese Expansionism
● In Japan, a militarist govt. came in and launched expansion campaigns to gain the
raw materials needed for heavy industry.
● Japan, by 1939, had gained control of Manchuria as well as large parts of China
after a war in 1937. Weak protests from the US had little impact.
The American Mood and the Gathering Storm (~1939)
● Background Info: By the 1930s, most Americans agreed that their entry into WW1
was a mistake that should never be repeated.
● The feeble responses to aggression reflected American sentiment of avoiding another
“mistake” war entry. FDR responded by focusing on the US economy (New Deal)
and passing a series of Neutrality Acts (1935-1937).
● The Senate investigation headed by Gerald P. Nye concluded that banking interests
had tricked America into WW1. To prevent a repeat of being dragged into the war
because of financial loans, the acts also outlawed arms sales and loans.
● Some went further. Had the Ludlow Amendment (1938) been passed, a national
referendum would have been required when declaring war (except from direct
attack).
● However, tension began to build after Stalin and Hitler signed a German-Soviet
Non-aggression Pact (1939) and divided Poland amongst themselves. Britain and
France warned Hitler that they would help Poland if he attacked.
● Public opinion was largely divided, and more and more people began to lean towards
interventionism. FDR sent messages to Hitler and Mussolini (who both mocked
FDR’s messages). FDR also began to increase military production and budget in the
US.
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America and the Jewish Refugees
● Hitler began to discriminate Jews with the Nuremburg Laws (1935) and escalated
into violence in 1938 when the Nazis unleashed a frenzy of destruction against Jews
in the Kristallnacht. Jews began to leave Germany by the thousands.
● However, Americans did not sympathize with Jews, and 75% said no to increasing
the quota on immigration. This nativism became clear in 1939 when the St.Louis
with 900 Jewish refugees asked permission to dock in FL, only to be turned away and
sailed back to Germany.
● On the other hand, many prominent Jews came to America and played key roles in
developing the US. Refugees included Henry Kissinger (future Secretary of State),
Leo Szilard, James Franck, and Enrico Fermi (nuclear physicists).
War begins in Europe, “Neutrality” in America
● When Poland refused to return to Germany Danzig, Nazis stormed in.
● Two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany.
● FDR asked for neutrality, but did not tell the people to be neutral in their minds like
Wilson had. FDR persuaded Congress to amend the Neutrality Acts to fit the
public mood of preventing a Nazi victory while staying out of war.
● The “cash-and-carry” amendment allowed belligerents to purchase arms if paid in
cash and transported on their own ships.
● But this system favoring the Allies did not stop Hitler from Blitzkrieg (lightening
war) as Germany quickly overwhelmed most of Europe, including France.
● Targeting Great Britain next, Hitler used the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) to
terrorize cities and civilians in the Battle of Britain. Britain’s new PM, Winston
Churchill, pleaded for more US aid. Americans, shocked by bombings on civilians,
wanted to accept his plea, but a large minority still insisted that war was not
American interest.
Election of 1940
● Another major speculation in 1940 dealt with the election.
● If FDR ran and was elected, he would break with tradition and become the first
president to be elected three terms. FDR only announced the day before the
Democratic convention that he would re-run. Republicans nominated an
internationalist, Wendell Willkie.
● FDR played the role of a crisis leader too busy to engage in politics by appointing
Republicans Henry Stimson and Frank Knox as secretaries of war.
● FDR signed the first peacetime draft in US history and engineered a “destroyers-
for-bases” swap with England (sent 50 ships in exchange for leases on British
bases). Although not intended to bring war, some isolationists were furious.
● Arch-conservative America First Committee isolationists (financed by Henry
Ford) and interventionists went head to head.
● Reassured by promises not to send an American boy to fight in a European war, 55%
of the voters chose to give FDR a third term!
American Intervention Sentiments
● Next, FDR proposed a “lend-lease” system, tying them financially to Britain, as in
WW1. After Hitler invaded Stalin’s USSR in 1941, FDR also allowed supplies to flow
to communist USSR. “I would hold hands with the Devil” to beat Hitler.
● FDR also allowed US Navy to help Britain track down German U-boats and kept
Greenland and Iceland away from the Nazis.
● A few months later, FDR and Churchill met and documented the Atlantic Charter
(1941), condemning aggression and affirming the right of self-determination.
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find more resources at oneclass.com
● After a U-boat sank and killed 115 American civilians, FDR called Congress to permit
the arming of merchant ships. Virtually none of the Neutrality Acts remained.
Pearl Harbor (1941) and American Entry into War
● Background Info: Hitler’s triumphs in Europe encouraged Japan to expand further.
● Seeing Germany as the main danger and not having enough navy strength, FDR did
only enough to frighten off the Japanese until US could have a “two-ocean navy”.
● Both Japan and US hoped to avoid war. Japan wanted a Greater East Asia Co-
Prosperity Sphere but the US wanted to keep its Open Door Policy in China.
● Decades of “yellow peril” propaganda made the Japanese look like pushovers in
the American eye. Therefore, no one took initiative to prevent war with Japan.
● In 1940, hoping to coerce Japan out of China economically, the US banned the long-
standing trade treaty that sold aviation fuel and scrap metal to Japan.
● However, Japan responded stubbornly, signing the Tripartite Pact with Germany
and Italy. Also, with Britain occupied with Germany, Japan gambled by expanding to
gain the raw materials it needed rather than backing out of China.
● As Japan’s fuel meters dropped and the expansionist Gen. Hideki Tojo became PM,
Tojo set a deadline of first week of December as an attack on US if they did not
yield.
● The US deciphered Japan’s top diplomatic code and alerted all commanders in the
Pacific, but the US could not figure out where they would strike.
● Many expected the Japanese to continue southward and attack the Philippines, but
Japan went for the knockout punch by attacking Pearl Harbor, HI. Japan launched
simultaneous attacks on PHI, MAL, and HK.
● America, because of its own prejudices, had underestimated Japan’s skill and will.
But Japan miscalculated too, and instead of compromise, America declared war.
● Germany and Italy, as part of the Tripartite Pact, declared war on the US. US
reciprocated, launching itself into a war it was not ready for.
● By the end of 1942, U-boats had sunk over 1000 Allied ships and bottled up
Chesapeake Bay for six weeks! Japan continued to expand and forced American
troops on the Philippines onto a small island. It seemed as if Germany would expand
Southeast and Japan would expand inland to meet in India before US could
intervene.
Organizing for War
● Background Info: Congress passed a War Powers Act which granted the president
unprecedented authority over all aspects of the conduct of war.
● FDR formed the Chiefs of Staff made up of representatives from the army, navy,
and air force (which grew from a minor corps to achieve virtual autonomy).
● The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) became a forerunner to CIA.
● The War Production Board (WPB) allocated materials, limited civilian goods, and
distributed contracts to manufacturers.
● The War Manpower Commission (WMC) supervised mobilization of men.
● The National War Labor Board (NWLB) mediated disputes between mgmt. and
labor.
● The Office of Price Administration (OPA) rationed scarce products and imposed
price controls to limit inflation.
● In 1942, FDR persuaded James Byrnes to leave the Supreme Court and become
“assistant president”. In 1943, he was formally appointed to head the Office of
War Mobilization (OWM) and coordinated production, transportation, and
distribution.
● By late 1942, a third of the economy was committed to war production.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Background info: during the great depression, fdr put us economic interests foremost and showed little interest in international economic cooperation. However, in latin america, fdr did adopt the good neighbor policy and signed a formal convention that no state has the right to intervene in affairs of another. Fdr withdrew troops; urged us banks to loosen their hold on haiti"s banking system; renounced the platt amendment; reduced us intervention in panama; helped. Batista (cuba) indirectly rather than through military; and conceded mexico"s right to nationalize companies, settling for economic compensation. The good neighbor policy did not change prevailing views nor ended intervention, but made relations better. Better relations would help later in ww2 and cold war. Mussolini and his fascist party seized power as early as 1922 as italy"s economy lay in ruins. He suppressed dissent, imposed one-party rule, and launched offensives to.
