February 19
Isolationism

Senator Gerald Nye, whose 1934-1936 hearings into the role the munitions industry played in the US entrance into World War I helped pave the way for the passage of the 1935 Neutrality Act. The measure symbolized 1930s isolationism.
Historians have long debated the causes and intensity of 1930s isolationism. The reading we focus on for today--Daniel Rodgers' chapter on the New Deal--challenges conventional wisdom in arguing that an intellectual internationalism persisted throughout the 1930s. For documents, though, we'll be looking at the more traditional debate over neutrality policy.
READING:
bullet Rodgers, Atlantic Crossings, pp. 409-484.
bullet Reading Notes
bullet World War II time line (for background)

DOCUMENTS:

bullet FDR quarantine speech (1937)
bullet Neville Chamberlain's "Peace in Our Time" address (in RealAudio)
bullet British House of Commons--debate over Munich agreement
bullet FDR addresses the Pan-American Union on international affairs (1939)
bullet FDR's "Four Freedoms" speech (1941)

 

 euraftermunich.jpg (130134 bytes)
eurlate39.jpg (32397 bytes)

Two views of the changed European boundaries after the Munich agreement. Click on each map for an enlarged version.

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