Threshold of War
Waldo Heinrich’s book Threshold of War is a complete review of the events of the nine months leading up to American intervention in world war two. While he puts the actions of Roosevelt and his cabinet during the nine months before Pearl Harbor in the global context, his underlying points are what caused the US to begin down the road of war, Roosevelt and his policies leading up to American intervention in the Second World War, and American transformation from isolationism to interventionism.
Heinrichs begins this story in his prologue discussing where he believes the problems leading up to the war began. He begins by saying that before the war ambushed the US it slowly snuck up over many years before crashing down on December 7th, 1941. He states that the world economic crisis and the stock market crash of 1929 began the decent towards war (Heinrichs 3). The economic crisis weakened confidence in world order, upset the foundations of political power, and promoted authoritarian rule. He goes on to write that aggression and pressure for territorial revisions lead international politics. It would take Hitler’s violation of the Munich agreement and resistance by the French and British that would cause war to break out in Europe. Heinrichs notes that Americans sense of security would be unraveled with the conquest of France, siege of Britain, and German alliance with Japan. He finishes by writing that conflicts in East Asia and Europe would join a disconnected world, making the problems global (Heinrichs 3). Theses conflicts would lead to the nine months he discusses in this book, and the eventual outcome of Pearl Harbor and US intervention in the war.
While Heinrichs outlines the nine months leading up to Pearl Harbor in great detail, his underlying focus is on Roosevelt, his policies during this six months, and the gradual rise to interventionism. Heinrichs tends to paint Roosevelt not only in a good light, but also as perceptive. Heinrichs shows that Roosevelt
Heinrichs begins this story in his prologue discussing where he believes the problems leading up to the war began. He begins by saying that before the war ambushed the US it slowly snuck up over many years before crashing down on December 7th, 1941. He states that the world economic crisis and the stock market crash of 1929 began the decent towards war (Heinrichs 3). The economic crisis weakened confidence in world order, upset the foundations of political power, and promoted authoritarian rule. He goes on to write that aggression and pressure for territorial revisions lead international politics. It would take Hitler’s violation of the Munich agreement and resistance by the French and British that would cause war to break out in Europe. Heinrichs notes that Americans sense of security would be unraveled with the conquest of France, siege of Britain, and German alliance with Japan. He finishes by writing that conflicts in East Asia and Europe would join a disconnected world, making the problems global (Heinrichs 3). Theses conflicts would lead to the nine months he discusses in this book, and the eventual outcome of Pearl Harbor and US intervention in the war.
While Heinrichs outlines the nine months leading up to Pearl Harbor in great detail, his underlying focus is on Roosevelt, his policies during this six months, and the gradual rise to interventionism. Heinrichs tends to paint Roosevelt not only in a good light, but also as perceptive. Heinrichs shows that Roosevelt
Cited: Heinrichs, Waldo. Threshold of War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.