Social History of Isolationism in America 1930s-Outbreak of American involvement in World war II

U .S . Isolationism

The Father of his nation George Washington warned Americans not to "entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition " He said this in his farewell address in 1796 setting the stage for isolationism to take root in the U .S . Many of the founding fathers shared his opinion

Thomas Paine in his famous essays Common Sense is credited for inspiring the first non-interventionists . Paine was against the formation of permanent alliances . By the Second Continental Congress , these ideas had taken hold as the Congress stuggled

to form an alliance with France and only agreed to do so when it saw that the French aid was vital to victory in the American Revolutionary War

Washington 's successor , John Adams , also advocated non-interventionism by avoiding a possible war with Post Revolution France . Many Americans demanded war but Adams refused and sought negotiations instead . However his non-interventionist stand would lead to his downfall against Thomas Jefferson in the next elections

Even at the end of the Nineteenth century , the U .S . to turn a blind eye towards matters in other parts of the world . The progressive tendencies of the nation were largely suppressed since the nation thorough most of its history was bent towards survival and protection of its own interests

It was not until the Wilson administration that the United States took an international interventionist stand . The U .S . would be involved in World War I and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and founding the League of nations under Wilson 's leadership . Ironically , despite the president 's spearheading of these efforts the U .S . congress voted to stay out of the League of Nations . the United States population again turned to non-interventionism during the 1920s , opposing any action by the government that would drag the country into another European war

Until December 7 , 1942 the United States did its best to stay out of World War II . Numerous policies were implemented to try and coerce the combatants to stop fighting without resorting to entering the war itself . After the harsh lessons of World War I the American Public was sick of war , especially wars that did not involve the country directly

However , the Imperial Japanese Navy would have something else in mind On that infamous day Japanese bombers entered Pearl Harbor in what by the Japanese Naval Aviation Arm 's finest hour . The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor would be Japan 's greatest victory over the U .S . but would also be their death knell . America would waken from its isolationism and join the war on the side of the allies

American Isolationism has its roots in post-World war I America Entering the war on the side of the Allies , U .S . Soldiers were blooded and exposed to the cruelties of trench warfare . Thousands of young Americans , albeit a fraction of those killed from other countries like France or Germany , were slaughtered in meat grinder human wave assaults Despite entering the war towards the end of the conflict towards the end of the war , or perhaps because of it , the Americans Expeditionary Force (A .E .F . suffered heavy casualties . By the end of the war over 116 ,700 were dead and some 205 ,690 were wounded

Further complicating maters , Woodrow Wilson 's efforts to forge a lasting peace were frustrated . Despite his gargantuan efforts the victorious allies were bent on punishing the defeated Central Powers as severely as possible . The treaty Versailles resembled a victors list of demands upon a conquered foe rather than a real peace treaty . People believed that with such vindictiveness coming from the Allied powers America spilled its blood simply to further the aims of its European allies

Another factor in Isolationism was the Red scare . The rise of Lenin and his Bolshevik cohorts in Russia greatly alarmed the Democratic West Even in the U .S . thousands of miles and a great ocean apart from the Communists there was widespread fear of communism and its attendant anarchy and political agitation . In fact , the fear was so great that after World War I the Russian Civil war saw American soldiers fighting along side white Russians in an effort to suppress Lenin and the Bolsheviks

The Red Scare reached its height on May Day of 1920 when conservative Americans led by A . Mitchell Palmer , then attorney general , feared a massive communist uprising which , thankfully , did not materialize . The Red Scare was fueled by the actions of communist and radical leftist elements in the United States and in the efforts of the government to stifle protest and obtain positive public opinion for American entry to World war I

One of the most obvert elements of this effort was the passage of the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 . The Espionage Act would criminalize interference with military operations while the Sedition Act forbade the use of profane , scurrilous or abusive language about the government , flag or armed forces of the United Stated during the war The U .S . postal service also refused to deliver materials which were considered subversive to the war effort . The wars end resulted in a reduction of these efforts . However , the retuned in full force because of the Russian Revolution and the Red Terror that followed

Another contributing factor was the economic prosperity of the Roaring Twenties , contrasted with the sheer destitution of the thirties following the Great Depression

The roaring twenties were said to have begun starting with the election of Warren G . Harding to the White House . After Wilson failed efforts to lay the foundations for a lasting peace , Harding and his Republican Party promised a return to normalcy and with the trauma of World War I he was swept to office

The post war boom in the 1920s was a period of unbalanced prosperity The prices of agricultural goods and wages fell while industrial goods like radios , cars , and movies enjoyed a boom . The uneven distribution was also geographical , the standard of living in urban and suburban regions saw dramatic improvement while rural areas became more improvished . Rural populations declined in favor of nearby towns and cities . Wages nearly doubled

The boom itself was fuelled by the extension of credit to a dangerous degree , similar to the wanton lending that led to the sub-prime crash being endured today except on a much larger scale . The stock market rose to historic heights which following the Stock Market Crash of 1929 were severely inflated

The 1920s were the last years of Robber baron capitalism , the government began to assert itself as the regulator of economic affairs . The government took new powers and duties including the construction and funding of the U .S . highway system . Federal control of the money supply started an unprecedented expansion of credit . The increased credit resulted in the boom of the 20s and the eventual bust

We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land ' said President Hoover upon his election . Judging from the times (1928 ) he was correct in his assessment . However , the stock market crashed and the national economy descended into the pits that are now remembered as the Great Depression Like the Seven years of Famine in Biblical Egypt did to the Seven years of plenty , the Great Depression would wipe out the gains made during the Roaring Twenties

The Great Depression was a decade long period of economic slowdown . It was a decade of unemployment , soup kitchen and bread lines . Sheer poverty meant that no one could buy manufactured goods despite the fact that prices hit all time lows . Poverty was so bad that as many as ? of the working age population was on welfare . The economic downturn was so bad that it soon affected the whole world

Despite Hoover 's great efforts to alleviate the people 's suffering his administration was derided by critics and the term Hooverville was synonymous to disreputable socialized housing communities filled the jobless and criminally bent . Roosevelt 's New Deal program would bring some much needed relief but it was not until World War II that the economy had fully recovered

The cause of the Great Depression is still open to debate . With regard to the 1929 crash historians tend to point out that structural factors and the stock market crash are largely to blame for the crash . However economists point to Britain 's decision to return to the pre-World War I Gold Standard as the reason behind it . Some still believe that the Wall Street Crash of 1929 known as Black Friday was pulled the trigger on the Great Depression . The massive cost of World War I was also partly to blame because it destabilized the world and made it less capable of responding to crisis

The Stock Market in 1929 played a role in the initial depression said acclaimed economist Milton Friedman . Indeed the idea of watching Billions of shares suddenly plummet in value was a horrifying sight Lacking any true economic fundamentals and inscribed with a lemmings mentality , many `investors ' tried to sell shares to recover what they could of their investments . This led to even more selling and even lower share prices as people tried to get what they could for their stocks The extreme positivism of the Twenties gave way to sheer negativism

However , The Great Depression was not a sudden collapse . The stock market even recovered after the crash and by April 1930 had recovered to early 1929 levels . Government and Business was still active spending more in the first half of 1930 than the previous year . It was the consumer , stung by the decline in their investments , that cut back on their expenditures . Drought also savaged the agricultural country side in 1930 . Credit was still available at affordable rates but people were now reluctant add new debt

The weakening of the American economy dampened the rest of the world and pulled then down as well . Some countries resisted the slow down better than others . Russia for one , already isolated by its Communist Government and Ostracized by the rest of the World , was hardly affect and even posted significant growth . Germany on the other hand , dependent on others to bootstrap its recovery , was savaged to the point of bankruptcy . By 1933 the world had hit rock bottom , Billions in assets had been wiped out and the post World War I recovery was a bygone memory

Here is where the Great Depression contributed to Isolationism . Many countries at that time were dependent on international trade and commerce to bootstrap their economy . The Philippines , then known as the Philippine Islands , for example , was entirely dependent on the U .S . to purchase its entire harvest of Sugar and Tobacco . The Smoot-Hawley Tariff act of 1930 worsened the depression by reducing international trade with its Tariffs . Retaliatory tariff barriers from other nations further aggravated the problem . The tariffs were so extreme that the 1931 tariff was pegged at 50 from 25 .9 in the 1920s

In Dollar terms , American exports fell to 1 .7 billion in 1933 from 5 .2 billion . Given that prices also declined , the physical volume of exports still fell by almost half . Farm goods such as cotton , tobacco and lumber were among the hardest hit . The decline in farming exports caused a significant number of American farmers to default on their loans . This led to a bank run on small rural banks that symbolized the early days of the Great Depression

Both Milton Friedman and Ben Bernanke agree that the failure of the American Federal Reserve System to rein in the money supply as it fell by some 30 from 1930 to 1931 . With less money floating around businessmen could no longer get new loans and could not renew old ones forcing a slowdown in investments . The Federal Reserve at the time was not under the control of President Hoover or the U .S . treasury rather it was the province of member banks and businessmen and it was up to these groups to change fed policy

Upon his election Roosevelt blamed the excesses of big businessmen for the unstable economic bubble . He asserted that the problem was the concentration of power in the hands of big business . His proposed remedy known as the New Deal was a plan to empower labor unions and farmers and raise taxes on corporate profits . Regulations and government control became the of the day . One New Deal institution that stands to this day is the Securities and Exchange Commission

The prewar context of America was bleak . The efforts of the Roosevelt administration to lead the nation to a recovery were severely hampered by the global economic slow down . There were few markets for American exports and those that remained had such high tariffs that American products were not competitive . Worse , the thirty 's were the prelude to war . Japan was already beginning to eat away China and her other neighbors while Germany and Italy were saber-rattling and taking what they could from the appeasement minded European powers

Breadlines and soup kitchens were still prevalent . Hoovervilles still housed thousands of desperate impoverished people who lost their Jobs in the great depression . The movie Cinderella Man emphasized how the actions of one boxer could inspire a nation so mired in depression and despondency . Many still lived on welfare . Is it any wonder then that the American public was reluctant if not utterly unwilling to commit to a foreign war

When World War II broke out in earnest on September 1 , 1939 , American patriots like Charles Lindbergh , Geral Nye and Rush Holt advocated American neutrality . The America First Committee tapped into the massive desire of the American public to remain out of a second European war Thousands upon thousands were attracted to join their ranks . But until American soil was attacked on Decmeber 7 , 1942 they held the pulse of the nation and American legions would not , yet , march to fight for other nations

However in the interim , men like famed pilot Charles Lindbergh fought tooth and nail for their beliefs in non-interventionism . Lindbergh was such a supporter isolationism that he was branded a Nazi sympathizer for his unwillingness to sanction entry to the war . As if to solidify his non-interventionism he became a charter member of the America First Committee . Whose sentiments were representative of that of a significant number of Americans

For his efforts to convince the American people not to join the war people created propaganda pamphlets attempting to tie him to alleged Nazi intrigues including the fact that the Nazi 's in Germany were praising his efforts . There was even a scandal of him and his cohorts being photographed out of context performing the Bellamy salute . His desire to keep the U .S . out of the war also earned him a reputation as an anti-Semitic ' even though he was late sympathetic to the harsh treatment of the Jews under the Nazis . A part of his non-interventionist view drew weight from the 19th century Monroe Doctrine that proposed that America should stay out of European wars

Linbergh was an avowed supporter of Eugenics and much of his personal bias against Communism was expressed in terms of racial preference . He believed that Communism was an ideology that would destroy the racial strength of Europe . He would use America 's fear of Communism to further his agenda . In fact , he predicted that American intervention in the war would lead to an Iron Curtain being thrown over Europe . This prediction proved true

Despite his efforts to keep America from intervening in the war Lindbergh advocated a strong and able military . He advocated a strong military machine along with his belief in making the U .S . an impenetrable fortress that could resist attacks from foreign powers

The highlight of Lindbergh 's career in non-interventionism was when he was elected as spokesperson for the America First Committee (AFC . The AFC was established in 4 September 1940 by then Yale Law Student Douglas Stuart along with Gerald Ford , Sargent Shriver and Potter Stewart . At its peack the AFC had over 800 ,000 charter members in 650 chapters Until its death in 11 December 1941 It would be the most virulent anti-war organizations in history

The AFCs first major act upon organizing was to petition for the enforcement of the 1939 Neutrality Act and to force President Roosevelt to keep his pledge to keep the U .S . out of the war . Its leaders also staunchly opposed the lend-lease bill and the convoying of American ships along with placing economic sanctions against Japan

By this time the war was already in full swing in Europe and Japan However , most Americans wanted to stay out of the conflict and the AFC was there to tap into this anti-war feelings . Until the attack on Pearl Harbor , the AFC actually had the pulse of the nation

As its spokesman , Lindbergh advocated a hemispheric defense . He believed that the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans would prevent invasion . The strengthening of air power and establishment of coastal defenses were to be the priority . The Best hope of the nation would be to build a strong national defense . Finally , he pressed people to believe that they were being asked to involve themselves in a war that was not their own

Given the economic downturn and poverty the was the rule of thumb in those days , it was only natural that the American Public was reluctant to engage in war again . There as little enough money to support the economy much less fund another expensive and bloody overseas effort

Furthermore , it was largely perceived that the War in Europe was just that , a European problem . Germany and Italy were , in the early 1930s laughable in terms of military power . Even after their incredible victories in the early part of the war they were still seen as easily within the power of the Allies to oppose . Some sectors also believe d that it was just their comeuppance for being so vindictive at the end of the previous war

When Nazi Germany shocked the world with its invasion of Russia in 1941 American were amazed but did not want to intervene believing that it was better for the Nazis and Communists to fight each other and for America not to get involved besides the sheer size of Russia seemed to guarantee the defeat of Germany

It was not until the horrors of the Holocaust became apparent that American Public Opinion swung towards intervention in Europe . The though of millions of Jews being murdered in cold blood chilled the American public . Also , as the nation began to realize the benefits of mobilizing for war public support swung towards joining the war effort . After all even if the War industry deprived the consuming public of goods it also provided jobs

On the Asian front , there was even less interest in joining the war Most of the fighting was either in the Chinese mainland or against European colonies . Like in Europe there was no reason for American troops to be involved in defending oppressive European colonizers in Asia . The American colony in Asia was in the Philippine Islands and was not yet under attack . The general view was that America was better of not being involved in the fighting

All this changed when Pearl Harbor was attacked and hours apart , the Philippine Islands were attacked . With American territory in jeopardy the American Public was compelled to act . And soon its armies and navies were mobilizing to crush imperialist Japan

Society in Isolationist America can best be seen in the life of Charles Foster Kane in the movie citizen Kane . In that movie , directed and starring Orson Welles . The private life of Kane is uncovered to reveal the meaning behind his dying words Rose Bud . The movie presents flashbacks of a person who was forced to abandon his mother and his entry into the world of low-quality yellow journalism

When he takes control of the news he hires all the best journalists from his rival news and presses them into his employ . He then attempts to rise to power by marrying the President 's niece and tries to campaign for governor . However , his plans fail amidst scandal and disenchantment . When he attempts to remarry his personality cause the marriage to fail

Defeated Thompson believes that he had failed . Rosebud is revealed to be the snow sled that Kane had used when he was a child . Back when he was poor but happy . The film represents the hollow power that money gives to people

The movie was about William Randolph Hearst , a major movie magnate at that time who was not flattered by the interpretation of him presented in the film . Many of the essential facts in the movie were based upon his life

In relation to Isolationist America , Citizen Kane 's Kane was the signature robber baron . He got rich quickly on the wings of 20s America and established an empire founded on the economic bubble of those times However just as he economic foundation is nothing more than air , Kane 's life is also little more than air . His Mansion is just a libation to his ego and he fails to command the respect and obedience of those around him . Many of whom pander to him simply for his money and the power it brings

Isolationism was relegated to the gutters of American socio-political consciousness following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the sudden treacherous attacks on American interests by Japanese , Italian and German national socialists . After end of World War II isolationism was a thing of the past . The U .S . would take a leading role in the new United Nations . Owing to the World wide economic boom that followed the allied victory and the rapid recovery World War II gave the U .S . still lethargic from the great depression , the U .S . was in a unique position to be a world power . It would exercise its leadership of the free world for decades to come

In fact , today the opposite is true . America is perceived as overly impassioned in intervening in the internal affairs of other states . The propaganda line today is that the U .S . invaded Iraq to liberate it from its oppressive dictator Saddam Hussien . Pakistan is now under heavy pressure from the U .S . to reform and release Musharaff 's emergency powers in favor of returning to democracy . North Korea and Iran are also under pressure to reform and to quit trying to develop nuclear weapons

Critics believe that President Bush should mind his own businesses and attend to local problems like the sub-prime crash rather than waste money and lives intervening in places like Iraq . Bush 's motives have been lambasted as being less than pure and often related to his close associates in big business . However , his actions have nevertheless cast the U .S . as the world 's Global Police Man

To Summarize , American Isolationism has its roots way back to the foundation of the Unicted States , Americans believed that they were better off minding their own business than getting involved in Europe or any where else . America in the past has had its own myriad problems and difficulties just to survive . Adding the burden on international responsibilities did not bode well to the American Public

This desire to be isolated from the reset of the world was aggravated by the economic slow down that resulted from the Great Depression . Poor and expectant of government welfare payments , Americans did not want the trickle of money they were receiving to be taken away to fund yet another American Expeditionary Force

Works Cited

Washington , George "GEORGE WASHINGTON 'S FAREWELL ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES " available at www .willstar .com (last accessed 31 Dec 07

Barry , Tom . A Global Affairs Commentary : The Terms of Power (New Mexico : Foreign Policy in Focus , November 6 2002 ) available at www .irc-online .org (last accessed at 30 Dec 07

World War I casualty reports available at (last accessed 31 Dec 07

Murray , Robert K . The Red Scare , Westport : University of Minnesota Press (1955

Espionage Act of 1917 (18 U .S .C . 2388 Laws of the United States

Sedition Act of 1918 (1918 Amendments to 3 OF The Espionage Act of 1917 , Act of May 16 , 1918

Genesis 41

Jensen , Richard J "The Causes and Cures of Unemployment in the Great Depression " Journal of Interdisciplinary History 19 (1989 ) 553-83 online in JSTOR

George Washington "GEORGE WASHINGTON 'S FAREWELL ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES " available at www .willstar .com (last accessed 31 Dec 07

Tom Barry . A Global Affairs Commentary : The Terms of Power (New Mexico : Foreign Policy in Focus , November 6 2002 ) available at www .irc-online .org (last accessed at 30 Dec 07

World War I casualty reports available at HYPERLINK "http /www .Fas .org " www .Fas .org (last accessed 31 Dec 07

World War I casualty reports available at HYPERLINK "http /www .Fas .org " www .Fas .org (last accessed 31 Dec 07

Murray , Robert K . The Red Scare , Westport : University of Minnesota Press (1955 ) 74

Laws of the United States , Espionage Act of 1917 (Act of June 15 1917 , ch . 30 , title I , 3 , 40 Stat . 219 ,amended by Act of May 16 , 1918 ch . 75 , 40 Stat . 553-54 , reenacted by Act of Mar . 3 , 1921 , ch . 136 , 41 Stat . 1359 (codified at 18 U .S .C . 2388 Laws of the United States

Sedition Act of 1918 (1918 Amendments to 3 OF The Espionage Act of 1917 , Act of May 16 , 1918 , ch . 75 , 40 Stat . 553-54 (repealed by Act of Mar . 3 , 1921 , ch . 136 , 41 Stat . 1359

Genesis 41

Jensen , Richard J "The Causes and Cures of Unemployment in the Great Depression " Journal of Interdisciplinary History 19 (1989 ) 553-83 online in JSTOR

Is Lindbergh a Nazi ? Available at HYPERLINK "http /www .charleslindbergh .com /pdf /Lindbergh .pdf " \o "http /www .charleslindbergh .com /pdf /Lindbergh .pdf http /www .charleslindbergh .com /pdf /Lindbergh .pdf (last accessed 1 Jan 08

The air defence of America available at http /www .charleslindbergh .com /pdf /TheAirDefenseofAmerica .pdf ...