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Stimson Doctrine
The Stimson Doctrine stated that America will not recognize Japanese takeover of parts of China; the policy was also endorsed by the League of Nations. -
Lausanne Conference
The Lausanne Conference canceled 90% of reparations owed by Germany; the remainder was paid off in October 2010 with a final payment of $94 million. -
Good Neighbor Policy
At the Montevideo Convention, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared the "Good Neighbor Policy"; U.S. would not interfere in Latin American affairs. -
London Economic Conference
The London Economic Conference was a meeting of representatives of 66 nations from June 12 to July 27, 1933, at the Geological Museum in London. Its purpose was to win agreement on measures to fight the effects of the Great Depression, revive international trade, and stabilize currency exchange rates. The Conference was "torpedoed" by U.S. President Roosevelt in early July, when Roosevelt denounced currency stabilization. -
Nye Committee holds hearings on causes of World War I
The Nye Committee, officially known as the Special Committee on Investigation of the Munitions Industry, was a United States Senate committee chaired by U.S. Senator Gerald Nye. The committee investigated the financial and banking interests which underlay United States' involvement in World War I, and was a significant factor in public and political support for American neutrality in the 1930s -
Neutrality Act of 1935
The Neutrality Act of 1935 banned trading in arms and war materials with all parties in a war. It also declared that American citizens traveling on warring ships traveled at their own risk. This law was set to expire after six months. -
Neutrality Act of 1936
The Neutrality Act of 1936 renewed the provisions of the 1935 act for another 14 months. It also forbade all loans or credits to nations at war. It did not include civil wars, however, so many companies traded with Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War. -
Neutrality Act of 1937
The Neutrality Act of 1937 stated that the Neutrality Act of 1935 applied to civil wars. -
Second Sino-Japanese War
Japan invades China, with full-scale war and many atrocities against Chinese; Japan conquers major cities and seacoast; Americans strongly sympathetic to China; Roosevelt does not invoke neutrality laws. -
United States denies MS St. Louis permission to dock
The MS St. Louis was a German ocean liner most notable for a single voyage in 1939, in which her captain, Gustav Schröder, tried to find homes for 915 Jewish refugees from Germany, after they were denied entry to Cuba, the United States and Canada, until finally accepted in various European countries, which were later engulfed in World War II. -
The Invasion of Poland; Beginning of WWII
The Invasion of Poland was a joint invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent, that marked the beginning of World War II in Europe. The United States maintained their neutrality in WWII until the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941. -
Roosevelt requests Cash and Carry policy
Cash and Carry was a policy requested by US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a special session of the United States Congress on September 21, 1939, after the outbreak of war in Europe. It replaced the Neutrality Acts of 1936. The revision allowed the sale of material to nations at war as long as the recipients arranged for the transport using their own ships and paid immediately in cash, assuming all risk in transportation. -
Roosevelt makes "destroyers-for-bases" deal with Britain
In the Destroyers-for-Bases Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, fifty U.S. Navy destroyers were transferred to the British Royal Navy from the United States Navy in exchange for land rights on British possessions. -
Congress passes the Lend-Lease Act
The Lend-Lease Act was a program under which the United States supplied France, Great Britain, China, and later the USSR and other Allied nations with food, oil, and materiel between 1941 and August 1945. This included warships and warplanes, along with other weaponry. -
Atlantic Charter statement released
The Atlantic Charter was a statement that defined the Allied goals for the post-WWII world. It was drafted by the leaders of the U.K. and the U.S. and later agreed to by all the Allies of World War II. The Charter stated the ideal goals of the war: no unwanted territorial changes; restoration of self-government; reduction of trade restrictions; global cooperation for social and economic issues; freedom from fear and want; freedom of the seas; and decreased use of force.
