U.S. History / Unit 8: World War II and the Early Cold War
8.1 The Road to World War II
Notes
In the 1930s, totalitarian dictators rose to power and expanded by force while democracies hesitated.
- Germany: Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Italy: Benito Mussolini (fascism). Soviet Union: Joseph Stalin (communism). Japan: military leaders invaded Manchuria (1931) and China (1937).
- Appeasement: giving in to demands to avoid war. At Munich (1938), Britain and France let Hitler take part of Czechoslovakia.
- War began in Europe when Germany invaded Poland in September 1939.
- Isolationism: Congress passed Neutrality Acts in the 1930s to keep the U.S. out of war.
- As Britain stood alone, FDR moved toward aid: cash and carry (1939) and Lend-Lease (1941), calling the U.S. the "arsenal of democracy."
- Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, killing about 2,400 Americans. The U.S. declared war on Japan; Germany and Italy then declared war on the U.S.
| Allies | Axis |
|---|---|
| U.S., Britain, Soviet Union, China, others | Germany, Italy, Japan |
Practice
The policy Britain and France followed at Munich in 1938 is called:
They gave in to Hitler's demands hoping to avoid war.
The Lend-Lease Act of 1941 showed that the United States:
The U.S. lent or leased war supplies to Britain and later the Soviet Union.
Which event brought the United States directly into World War II?
Congress declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941.
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