Ww2 Dbq

1) The reason for US neutrality in the 1920s and 1930s was because the US has always been accustomed to isolation. They wanted to go back to “normalcy.” They tried to refrain the country from getting involved in foreign affairs that would require resources. There was a lot of social changes going on during this period of time for groups such as women having the ability to vote and African Americans being more seen as equal. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, certain novels and journals were making claims regarding the idea that some manufacturers were pushing the country into World War One in order to obtain a profit from it. The senate started to investigate these claims, but in the end did not find any evidence that made this statement factual.
2) Personally, I feel the point at which the US actions were no longer neutral was probably at the point of Japan’s expansion. Neutrality was considered as certain situations started arising in the late 1930s. President Roosevelt found it imperitave to remain neutral and refused to invoke the Neutrality Acts. He found such actions unnecessary due to the fact that neither Japan or China had declared war. He wanted to make things better by aiding these regions through a cash and carry policy. People that did not agree with his actions were isolationists that believed we should remain completely uninvolved with other countries. As well as this, the passing of the 2nd Neutrality Act could have influenced diminishing neutrality. This act allowed the US manufacturers to sell resources of military supplies to other regions as long as they paid in cash.
I disagree with the Cash and Carry act because it made the country more susceptible to a downfall and used up some resources that we needed ourselves as a country.
The country was supplying the other nations with supplies and resources to the allies of the war, making it harder for the country to defend itself. However, I do support the US aid to China because in Asia, the military nationalists began to overtake the government in Japan. Japan was invading other regions in order to obtain more natural resources they provided. Japan even invaded China in 1937. The President at the time had supported China, and once again wanted to remain neutral because neither had explicitly declared war yet. He wanted to support and help China. He used his method of cash and carry in order to allow China to pay for their necessary supplies, and utilized British ships to transport them to the Chinese. Roosevelt had also put economic sanctions on Japan and implemented a restraint on the war goods being sold. I believe the end-Lease Act was useful because it helped Britain protect themselves. It allowed the president to sell military supplies to give more defensive support to the other nations, without the requirement of them having to pay in cash. Many of the Americans opposed President Roosevelt’s policies because they knew the chance of the country soon becoming involved within the conflicts were
likely.