From Neutrality to War: The United States and Europe, 1921–1941

At first the major players in this effort were American peace societies, many of which were part of larger international movements. Their agenda called for large-scale disarmament and an international treaty to abolish war. Their efforts bore fruit, as 1922 saw the signing of a major agreement among the great powers to reduce their numbers of battleships. Six years later most of the world's nations signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, in which the signatories pledged never again to go to war with one another.

However, events in the early- to mid-1930s led many Americans to believe that such agreements were insufficient. After all, they did not deter Japan from occupying Manchuria in 1931, nor four years later did they stop the German government from authorizing a huge new arms buildup, or Italy from invading Ethiopia. The U.S. Congress responded by passing the Neutrality Acts, a series of laws banning arms sales and loans to countries at war, in the hope that this would remove any potential reason that the United States might have for entering a European conflict.

When in 1939 war did break out between Germany on the one hand, and Britain and France on the other, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dutifully invoked the Neutrality Acts. However, he believed that this was a fundamentally different war from World War I. Germany, he believed (and most Americans agreed with him) was in this case a clear aggressor. Roosevelt therefore sought to provide assistance for the Allies, while still keeping the United States out of the war. He began by asking Congress to amend the neutrality laws to allow arms sales to the Allies. Later on, after German forces overran France, the president asked Congress for a massive program of direct military aid to Great Britain—an initiative that Roosevelt dubbed "Lend-Lease." In both cases the legislature agreed to FDR's proposals, but only after intense debate.

The question of how involved the United States should become in the European war deeply divided the country. On the one hand, Roosevelt and the so-called "internationalists" claimed that a program of aid to Great Britain and other countries fighting against Germany would make actual U.S. participation in the war unnecessary. On the other side stood those who were called "isolationists," who believed that the president's policies were making it increasingly likely that the country would end up in another disastrous foreign war. This debate was still raging when Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. At this point it was clear that, like it or not, the United States would be a full participant in the Second World War.

Perspective Timelines—Construct a digital timeline that includes competing perspectives on significant events typically included during this era of world history. For example, instead of labeling 1928 with "Kellogg-Briand Pact," place the event on the timeline then include a quote from a primary source that supports and one that opposes the agreement. The compelling question "To what extent were international agreements successful?" can be answered with the timeline and analyzed through a change over time lens. Different groups can respond to different compelling questions or, ideally, construct their own compelling question that they then respond to using inquiry-based research. Combined with storyboard software, students can record voice overs and use images to construct a response to a compelling question while addressing change over time analysis.

Digital Mapping—Use digital mapping software in combination with EDSITEment’s Chronicling America to plot news reports on neutrality and connections within and across time and place on topics chosen by students (i.e. isolationists, internationalists, East Coast compared with Midwest newspaper editorials, change over time in one region or on a topic regarding U.S. foreign policy, etc.). 

Podcasts—Based on research on individuals involved in deciding U.S. foreign policy during the interwar period, conduct a Podcast in which one student interviews and others take on the role of the people they have researched. Using the guiding questions provided above and those generated by students, multiple audio recordings can be created and serve as review for unit assessments.  

Meeting of the Minds Seminar—Drawing upon primary sources analyzed during inquiry-based research, students take on the role of individuals alive and involved in decision making during the interwar era to simulate a foreign policy meeting. Small groups including 4-5 different individuals with competing perspectives can be formed with each group working toward the creation of a policy proposal.