From Isolationism to War

After the end of World War One America embraced the policy of isolationism that had kept it out of World War One for so long. America refused to join the League of Nations that, its president fought so hard for. America didn’t even ratify the Treaty of Versailles instead choosing to sign the Treaty of Berlin due to the Senates refusal to ratify the treaty. In the Twenties seemingly unending prosperity and wealth drove Americans to believe that it was all blue skies, causing many to drift even further from Europe, simply being content at home. Yet even then some could argue that the seeds of World War 2 could be seen; Russia was still a Communist dictatorship controlled by dictator Joseph Stalin. In Italy following the March on Rome Mussolini and his Blackshirts had overthrown the Democratic government, and replaced it with a fascist dictatorship.
The New York Stock Exchange Crash changed everything overnight, Europe was transformed and the Normalcy many Americans were so desperate to enjoy disappeared as the America and the World were plunged into the worst economic catastrophe in history. Radicalization became prevalent not just in America but across the world as starving people put out of work looking for solutions to their problems. In Germany, the National Socialist party was swept into power almost overnight. In 1933 Hitler combined the offices of Chancellor and President ending the Weimar Republic and becoming Fuhrer of the Third Reich. Japan began to expand it's influence into China, by capturing Manchuria. Finally after months of Tension between Germany invaded Poland yet at the time Roosevelt stated that “Every effort would be made by his administration to stay out of the war.” Yet to many it seemed that America would once again need to come to Democratic Europe’s aid. Japan too finally invaded China proper causing atrocity after atrocity. This led to the US beginning to give aid to China in a form of Lend Lease of guns and a special Air Force detachment known as the “Flying Tigers” helped to counter the Japanese Zeros. The US helped to sustain the guerilla warfare raging in China by providing much-needed equipment. At the outset of the war in the European Theater American Volunteers began to illegally fight for the Allied cause. However American intervention at this time was still fairly minimal.
After the fall of Poland, the Fall Gleb and the Second Armistice at Compiegne proved to be a wake-up call to those who thought that this would be a quick war. To many Americans, it also ended the hope that Europe would be able to sort this out themselves. The British too also realized the necessity of American intervention, in fact, Churchill’s famous speech, “We Shall Fight them on the Beaches” was, in fact, a call for help from the US. This part of the speech is seen here, “the New World [America], with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.” This lead to America beginning to lend-lease Britain food, munitions, and money in order to sustain itself (then later the Soviet Union after Operation Barbarossa). America also began to take military action and secured neutral Iceland by force in order to secure the North Atlantic in case of war. Finally, America began to punish Japan economically limiting its oil exports to the nation and ramping up the economic support of China. The US, however, was still deeply suffering from the Depression and many were hesitant to join another war, so the Axis would have to attack first in order to justify a declaration of war. Finally, on December 7, 1941, Japan struck at the American Naval base of Pearl Harbor in Oahu speeding up the inevitable American entry into the war. The same day Japan’s European allies also declared war on the US, bringing America fully into World War Two.
https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1940-the-finest-hour/we-shall-fight-on-the-beaches/
https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/wwii/88734.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_1939#September_1,_1939_(Friday)
https://www2.gwu.edu/~erpapers/teachinger/glossary/world-war-2.cfm