March 25, 2007

A.P. Test

On May 11, I am expecting what hasn't been on the test so far to be on there. As far as essays and DBQ's go I think they will mainly focus on
  1. Intervention in World War II
  2. Containment of Slavery
  3. The New Deal/FDR
  4. Jacksonian Democracy

March 18, 2007

Intervention in World War II

During World War II, Germany was slowly but surely conquering neighboring nations. One of the few nations they had yet to control in Europe was Great Britain. President Franklin Roosevelt thought that if Great Britain were to fall Europe would be completely controlled by Germany. However, the Neutrality Acts prevented the US from intervening. The America First Committee (AFC) and Charles Lindbergh tried to prevent the US from entering, let alone intervening in the war. Eventually, President Roosevelt was able to help Great Britain without violating the Neutrality Acts.

The Neutrality Acts had a lot of restrictions on the US from assisting any foreign nation during the war. The Neutrality Act of 1935 forbade the US from selling arms to foreign countries. However, materials needed to make weapons such as steel and oil could be traded. The Neutrality Act of 1936 stopped the US from giving out loans and credit to foreign countries. The Neutrality Act of 1937 restricted oversea traveling. Lastly, the Neutrality Act of 1939 allowed foreigners to but raw materials from the US but only in cash and they had to transport their materials themselves. All four of these Acts put an extreme barrier around all aspects of intervention. However, President Roosevelt was able to work around them.

The America First Committee and Charles Lindbergh tried everything they could to stop President Roosevelt from interfering in the war. The AFC was a large group with about 800,000 members who didn’t support entering or getting involved in World War II. They strongly agreed with every Neutrality Acts. They started a petition to enforce the original Neutrality Act of 1939 because it was amended in 1941. In addition, Charles Lindbergh tried to manipulate people away from the supposed “manipulation” of the government into intervening in the war. Lindbergh believed that the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans would prevent the any nation from going to war with the US. However, this assumption is false. If Germany conquered Great Britain Germany would have had control of the Atlantic Ocean. Then Germany could have attacked the US from the east then had Japan attack from the west.

President Roosevelt was able to come up with three policies to help Great Britain without breaking the Neutrality Acts. The “Cash and Carry” policy allowed any foreign country to by weapons from the US as long as they paid with cash and transported it themselves. This mainly helped Great Britain because the controlled the sea. The “Lend-lease” policy gave Britain credit for supplies, and it cancelled out the “Cash and Carry” policy. This actually broke the Neutrality Act of 1936 because the US was indeed giving out loans. The “Destroyers for Bases” policy gave Britain 50 US Navy destroyers in return to establish military bases on British-controlled Caribbean Islands. This was a much needed asset, because many British ships were being sunk by German submarines.

Overall, even though President Roosevelt had many obstacles in his path he was able to maneuver his way around them. Germany had two things that could have helped them succeed. The Neutrality Acts would have helped, but President Roosevelt was able to work around them. In addition, the America First Committee and Charles Lindbergh would have helped, but they didn’t. Germany’s effort in trying to control all of Europe came to a halt with President Roosevelt’s three policies.