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Kellogg-Briand Pact
The Kellogg- Briand Pact was a treaty signed by 62 countries, including the US, and it made war illegal. It illustrated the intensity of American isolationism during the interwar period. -
Japanese Manchurian Invasion
Japanese militarists believed that japan needed more living space for the growing population, so they launched a surprise attack and seized control of the Chinese province of Manchuria. -
Neutrality Acts
The Neutrality Acts were a series of laws enacted in 1935 and 1936 to prevent U,S arms sales and loans to nations at war. -
Invasion of Mainland China
The Japanese invaded China, which launced the second Chinese- Japanese war. China had economic help from Germany, the Soviet Union, and the US. -
Panay Incident
The Panay Incident was a japanese attack on the American gunboat panay, which was anchored in a river outside of China. The Japanese claimed they didn't see the American flag painted on the side of the gunboat, and they apologized, and paid an indemnity. It still caused US opinions to turn against the Japanese. -
Cash and Carry Act
Bill designed to replace the Neutrality Acts, the only revision allowed the sale of material to belligerents, as long as the recipients arranged for there transport and paid in cash. -
Building up Defenses
Even though the U.S had been very isolationist for the past years, Nazi victories in 1940 changed U.S thinking, and congress boosted defense spending. -
Fall of France
Italy entered the war on the side of Germany and invaded Frace from the south as the Germans closed in on Paris from the North, this forced French Officers to surrender. French General Charles de Gaulle set up a government-in-exile in England. -
Destroyer Deal
The Destroyer Deal was a legal cover for the Americans to aid the British against Germany without violating the Neutrality Act. -
The Battle of Britain
Germany launced an air war on Britain using 2,600 planes called the Luftwaffe. Every night for two months, bombers pounded London. The British RAF fought back brilliantly, and Hitler called off the Invasion of Britain. Still both sides continued to bomb eachother's cities. -
Selective Service Act
Congress passed the nation's first peacetime military draft- the Selective Training and Service Act, which required 16 million men between the ages of 21 and 35 to register. 1 million of those were drafted for one year. -
Arsenal of Democracy Speech
President Roosevelt warned American during a radio fireside chat that if Britain fell, the Axis powers would be left unchallenged to conquer the world. To prevent such a situation, the U.S had to help defeat the Axis threat by becoming the "Arsenal of Democraccy". -
Lend Lease Act
Under this plan, the president would lend or lease arms and other suppplies to any country whose defense was vital to the U.S. Isolationists argued against the plan, but most Americans favored it, and Congress passed it. -
U-Boat Wolf Packs
To prevent delivery of Lend-Lease shipments, Hitler deployed hndreds of Germans submaries, called U-Boats, to attack supply ships. Wolf packs were successful in sinking as much as 350,000 tons of shipments in a single month. In June 1941, president Roosevelt granted the nevy permission for U.S warships to attack German U-Boats in self defense. -
Supporting Stalin
Hitler broke an agreement with Stalin not to go to war by invading the Soviet Union. Roosevelt began sending Lend-Lease supplies to the Soviet Union under the principle that "My enemy's enemy is my friend". -
Invaion of French Indochina
French indochina was invaded by the Japanese to prevent the Republic of China from importing arms and fuel through French Indochina. This caused Japan to gain even more power and control over surrounding nations. -
U.S Embargo
Japanese Leaders declared that Japan mst either persuade the U.S to end its oil embargo of seize the oil fields in the Dutch East Indies, which would mean war. -
Atlantic Charter
Roosevelt and Churchill met secretly and made a joint declaration of war aims, called the Atlantic Charter. Roosevelt desclosed to Churchill that he couldn't ask Congress for a declaration of war against Germany, but "he would wage war" and do "everything to force an incident". -
Shoot on Sight
After a German submarine fired on a U.S destroyer, Roosevelt ordered the navy to shoot the German submarines on sight. This caused more German attacks on U.S ships. -
Tripartite Pact
Also known as the Axis Pact, this treaty was signed in Berlin by Nazi Germnay, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan to establish the alliance of the Axis Powers. -
Pearl Harbor Attack
Over 180 dive bombers blasted target after target over Pearl Harbor- the largest U.S naval base in the Pacific. The area was heavily devistated. The Japanese killed 2.403 Americans and wounded 1,178 more, and also damaged nearly the whole U.S Pacific fleet. This caused outrage and panic to America. Even former isolationists supported an all out war effort.
