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Five Power Treaty created
The Five Power Treaty was signed three months after the Washington Disarmament Conference. It embodied the main elements of Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes's proposal: limitation of capital ships in a ratio of 5:5:3 for the US, Britain, and Japan. The Four Power and Nine Power Treaty were also created down the road. -
Washington Disarmament Conference
The Washington Disarmament Conference included delegates from the United States, Japan, Great Britain, and six other nations. The goal was a political settlement of the Asian situation. However, the most pressing issue was a naval race between Japan and the US. Japan was eager for an agreement. At the Conference, Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes outlined a plan for naval disarmament. As a result, three months later delegates signed a Five Power Treaty. -
Kellogg-Briand Pact Signed.
Frank B. Kellogg, Aristide Briand, and representatives of twelve other nations met in Paris. Their plan was to sign a treaty outlawing war. They created the Kellogg-Briand Pact as a result of American effort to avoid involvement in the European Alliance System. -
Hawley-Smoot Tariff Enacted
The Hawley-Smoot Tariff was enacted in the 1930s and raised the high American tariff which affected England, France, and Germany. -
Pan-American Conference
At the Pan-Amterican Conference in Uruguay, Secretary of State Cordell Hull signed a conditional pledge of nonintervention. A year later the US renounced the right to intervene in Cuban affairs. By 1936, American troops no longer occupied any part of the Latin American nation. -
Hitler comes to power
Adolf Hitler came to power as the head of a National Socialist movement. He capitalized on domestic discontent and bitterness over World War I. He blamed the Jews for all of Germany's problems and asserted the supremacy of the "Aryan" race. Hitler would create futher tensions and eventually become the leader of Nazi movements all together, causing the death of thousands of Jews. -
First of the Neutrality Acts passed
Congress passed the first of the neutrality acts in 1935, and it banned the sale of arms to nations at war. The act also warned American citizens not to sail on belligerent ships. -
Second Neutrality Act
The second neutrality act passed by Congress in 1936 added a ban on loans to the first neutrality act. -
Creation of the Axis Powers
Germany, Japan, and Italy signed an anto-Comintern pact completing a Berlin-Rome-Tokyo axis. This created the Axis Powers who was aimed to the Soviet Union. In reality, the powers threatened the entire world. -
Third Neutrality Act
The third of the three neutrality acts passed made the previous prohibitions permanent and required, on a two-year trial basis, that all trade other than munitions be conducted on a cash-and-carry basis. -
Hitler Seizes Austria
Hitler no longer had to worry about American interference because of the passing of the Neutrality Acts. In March he seized Austria in a bloodless coup. Six months later he bagan to demand Sudetenland. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact signed
The Pact signed by Russia with Hitler enabled Germany to avoid a two-front war. As a result of the signing, Russia was rewarded with a slice of eastern Poland. -
World War II Begins
Hitler created World War II by invading Poland. England and France declared war. Russia played a key role refusing Western overtures for a front against Germany and signed a nonaggressive traty with Hitler. -
Japan invades Indochina
Japan created a chain of events that led to war in the Pacific. The first of the events that began the chain was the invasion of southern Indochina. -
Roosevelt freezes Japanese assets
Roosevelt responded to the invasion of southern Indochina by freezing all Japanese assets in the United States. It became an permanent embargo due to positive public reaction. -
United States enters the war
The United States entered World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor led by Japan. The whole country united around Roosevelt and wanted revenge for the attack. -
Roosevelt and Churchill work together
Roosevelt and Churchill worked together and signed the Declaration of the United Nations which pledged them to fight together until the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) were defeated. -
Germany is driven out of Africa
Germany had been taking over parts of Africa, especially in Egypt but the British and General George Patton rallied the demoralized soliders and drove Germany back home. -
Roosevelt Dies
The president died in April of 1945. He complained of a head ache and simply slumped forward and died. The stress of war and his deteriorating health led to his death. The nation mourned at the loss and Harry Truman was left to manage the growing rivalry. -
Germany is defeated
Germany surrendered in May of 1945 and that left all eyes on Japan. The country launced a three-pronged attack on the American invasion fleet in Leyte Gulf. The United States Navy responded by rallying to blunt all three Japanese thrusts. They ended up sinking four carriers and ended any further Japanese Naval Threat. -
Japan Surrenders
The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the first drop on Hiroshima, Russia joined the fight against Japan. Japan surrendered on the 14th and signed a formal capitulation agreement.
