Manifest Destiny
- given right of expanding toward the West, used to legitimize conquering of native Americans
- this idea was applied to the foreign realm in 1917, that America had a divine role to stabilize, democratize and profit from many parts of the globe.
Possible causes for change in US foreign policy: from Isolation to Intervention
- the fading of the idea of staying out of Europe politics which was advocated by the Founding Fathers in the 18th and 19th century
- the rise of interventionist presidents like Roosevelt and Wilson
- the significant change in the power/position of the US in international affairs (geographical size, population. economic capacity)
- the emergence and propogation of the idea of Manifest Destiny in foreign policy
The Roaring Twenties
- 1925: the US was producing over 70% of the world’s oil
- NY replaced London as the centre of the world’s economy.
- an era of prosperity and consumerism, the nations wealth more than doubled (1920s)
number of drivers rose from 8mil to 23 mil.
The Great Depression
- after the October 1929 crash of Wall Street, the US went into the worst economic downturn in its history.
- by 1933 15 mil Americans were unemployed and nearly half of the nations banks failed
- GDP had fallen to half of its value
- industrial production declined by more than 50%
Foreign Policy during the great depression
- during the 1930s foreign policy went back to its isolationist roots
- 1939, came out of the depression thanks to military spending.
World War II
September 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland
- 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union and Germany signed a treaty of non-agression
- by 1941 the Nazis controlled most of continental Europe
Japan/Pearl Harbour
- 1941, Japan invaded most of southeast Asia including parts of China, and French Indochina
- US responded by halting oil exports to Japan and denouncing the invasion of China which went against the US open door policy
- attack happened on December 7, 1941.
What was the goal of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour?
To neutralize the US Pacific Fleet before they could intervene to prevent Japanese expansion in Southeast Asia
What effect did Pearl Harbour have on Congress?
Galvanized support in Congress for the US to enter the War, something FDR was advocating for before the attack
Congress declared War on December 8, 1941.
Interactions with Stalin during WWII
- The Soviets were devastated from Hitler’s attack
- 1942-43, Stalin begged the US and Britian to open a second from in France (which was occupied by Germany). US and B refused (Roosevelt and Churchill)
When did the US/UK open a second front?
In June 1944, when the Germans were being defeated by the Russians
Post War Order
- the war had decreased unemployment, increased industrial productivity (by 96%) and increased weekly wages (50%)
- war led to innovation and the creation of new technologies
- most of Europe was greatly weakened by the war, but the US was not.
- the American dollar was the basis for the world economy, now acting as a reserve currency for most countries
What international bodies were created as a result of WWII?
UN, World Bank, IMF and GATT(later WTO).
Atomic Bomb
- on August 6th and 9th, the US used nuclear weapons to attack Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan surrendered aug 15th
Why was the development of nuclear weapons important for the US
important as a demonstration of US superpower capabilities, game changer in international relations
