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Kellogg-Briand Pact
Outlawed war as an instrument of national policy but proved unenforceable. It expanded foreign investments in Central and Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and western Europe. -
Neutrality Acts
Legislation passed between 1935-1937 that made it harder for the United States to become involved in conflicts overseas. This was created to try and keep the United States out of war. -
Italy invades Ethiopia
Benito Mussolini, the Fascist leader of Italy, had adopted Adolf Hitlers plans to expand German Territories by acquiring all territories it considered Germany. Mussolini followed this policy when he invaded Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). The aim of invading Ethiopia was to boost Italian national prestige, which was wounded by Ethiopia’s defeat of Italian forces at the Battle of Adowa in the nineteenth century (1896), which saved Ethiopia from Italian colonisation. -
Munich Accord
An agreement between Germany, France, and Great Britain. This agreement allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland in agreement that Germany would not acquire anymore land afterwards.The year after, German troops occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia. -
Hitler Launches his Blitzkrieg across Europe
Adolf Hitler launched his Blitzkrieg war tactics that revolutionized fighting in modern history. Blitzkrieg is a term that describes a method of extremely offensive warfare aimed at designing a swift and effienct attack to blow away ememy forces. This tactic limited casulties for the offensive and provided a swift victory. Germany used this to blow through enemy countries in Europe. -
America First Committee
Isolationist organization founded in 1940 to keep the United States out of World War II. The group was one of the largest antiwar organizations in the country with 800,000 members at it's peak. -
Selective Training and Service Act of 1940
The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 was passed to increase the numbers of the US military. All men between the ages of 21-45 had to register for the draft, marking the first peacetime draft in the history of the United States. -
Lend-Lease Act
The Lend-Lease Act allowed the US to lend or lease war supplies to any nation deemed vital to the defense of the United States. This allowed the United States to remain “neurtral”, while still helping the allied powers. -
Atlantic Charter
The Atlantic Charter was a joint declaration released by the US and Great Britain that provided a broad definition of their war aim for WWII. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military attack made by the Japanese Naval Service on the American naval base in Honolulu Hawaii. The attack only lasted a few hours as the Japanese bombed the base in two different strikes in succession. In just under two hours they destroyed 180 aircrafts, almost a dozen ships and caused about 2,400 American casualties. This attack on the once neutral United States signaled the beginning of the war for the Americans in the Pacific