Why didn’t the USA join WW11 in 1939?

World War II began in September of 1939 when both Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany followings its invasion of Poland. While other allied nations such as Canada and Australia joined Britain and France in their fight against Nazi aggression in Europe, the United States remained on the outside.

The United States would not join the Allied war effort until 1941 when it was attacked by the Japanese Empire in Pearl Harbor on December 7th. So, why then did the United States not join the war effort before the Pearl Harbor attack?

In order to understand this decision by the United States, it is first important to understand the foreign policy of the time and lack of support for war by the American public. The world was only 20 years removed from World War I which shocked Americans to the realities of war and the brutality of trench warfare. In general, the American public were not ready for another major conflict after World War I stayed for so long as a stalemate and the cost of life that the First World War caused. The United States in 1939 was not the military powerhouse it is today and it was a considerable risk to the United States to participate in another worldwide conflict.

As well, many Americans viewed the development of dictators in Europe following World War I as a sign that World War I ended in failure and many wanted to remain separate as to not get pulled into another major conflict. In fact, many Americans viewed World War II as a European problem and did not necessarily see America as having a large role to play.

Politically, the United States struggled with the question of joining the war before it did. Some in America believed that the United States should join to support its allies and stop the spread of fascism. This opinion grew in popularity among American politicians after major German advances in Europe, including: the German advances in Denmark, and the surrender of France to German forces. This viewpoint argued that American forces were needed to help Britain fight off the aggressive and powerful German forces. On the other hand, some believed that the advances of the German army in Europe proved that the United States should remain out of the conflict, as the German forces were seen as too strong. For example, Joseph P. Kennedy, who was the American ambassador to Great Britain, held this view and argued that America risked losing if it went up against Nazi Germany. Although the United States did not join direct warfare until 1941 when it was attacked, it did support the Allied effort in the war during the previous years through the Lend-Lease Act. Passed in March of 1941, the Lend-Lease Act allowed President Roosevelt to support the forces of Britain, the Soviet Union and China with ammunition and weapons shipments.

In the end, the United States was forced into the war on December 7th, 1941 when Japan surprise attack the United States at Pearl Harbor. With the help of American troops, the Allies were able to push back Germany in Europe by 1944 and the United States ended World War II in August of 1945 with the atomic bombing of Japan.

The evacuation of children during WW2

THE THREAT OF GERMAN BOMBING

Fear that German bombing would cause civilian deaths prompted the government to evacuate children, mothers with infants and the infirm from British towns and cities during the Second World War. Evacuation took place in several waves. The first came on 1 September 1939 – the day Germany invaded Poland and two days before the British declaration of war. Over the course of three days 1.5 million evacuees were sent to rural locations considered to be safe.

THE FIRST WAVE OF EVACUATIONS

Evacuation was voluntary, but the fear of bombing, the closure of many urban schools and the organised transportation of school groups helped persuade families to send their children away to live with strangers. The schoolchildren in this photograph assembled at Myrdle School in Stepney at 5am on 1 September 1939. The adults accompanying them are wearing arm bands, which identify them as volunteer marshals.

RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS

Evacuation was a huge logistical exercise which required thousands of volunteer helpers. The first stage of the process began on 1 September 1939 and involved teachers, local authority officials, railway staff, and 17,000 members of the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS). The WVS provided practical assistance, looking after tired and apprehensive evacuees at railway stations and providing refreshments in reception areas and billeting halls. Volunteers were also needed to host evacuees.

LEAVING THE CITIES

Children were evacuated from cities across Britain. The children in this photograph are evacuees from Bristol, who have arrived at Brent railway station near Kingsbridge in Devon, 1940. Parents were issued with a list detailing what their children should take with them when evacuated. These items included a gas mask in case, a change of underclothes, night clothes, plimsolls (or slippers), spare stockings or socks, toothbrush, comb, towel, soap, face cloth, handkerchiefs and a warm coat. The children pictured here seem well-equipped for their journey, but many families struggled to provide their children with all of the items listed.

LIFE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

Evacuees and their hosts were often astonished to see how each other lived. Some evacuees flourished in their new surroundings. Others endured a miserable time away from home. Many evacuees from inner-city areas had never seen farm animals before or eaten vegetables. In many instances a child’s upbringing in urban poverty was misinterpreted as parental neglect. Equally, some city dwellers were bored by the countryside, or were even used for tiring agricultural work. Some evacuees made their own arrangements outside the official scheme if they could afford lodgings in areas regarded as safe, or had friends or family to stay with.

NURSERY SCHOOL

Many stately homes in the English countryside were given over for use as nursery schools or homes for young children evacuated from cities across the country. This lithograph print is one of a series of five entitled ‘Children in Wartime’ by artist Ethel Gabain. This work was commissioned in 1940 by the War Artists Advisory Committee, who wanted a record of the civilian evacuation scheme.

RETURNING HOME AGAINST ADVICE

By the end of 1939, when the widely expected bombing raids on cities had failed to materialise, many parents whose children had been evacuated in September decided to bring them home again. By January 1940 almost half of the evacuees returned home. The government produced posters like this one, urging parents to leave evacuees where they were while the threat of bombing remained likely.

ANOTHER WAVE OF EVACUATIONS

Additional rounds of official evacuation occurred nationwide in the summer and autumn of 1940, following the German invasion of France in May-June and the beginning of the Blitz in September. Evacuation was voluntary and many children remained in the cities. Some stayed to help, care for or support their families.

V-WEAPON ATTACKS

The German V-weapon attacks on cities in the east and south-east of England, which began in June 1944, prompted another wave of evacuations from these areas.

RETURNING HOME AT THE END OF THE WAR

For some children, the end of the war brought an end to a prolonged period of fear, confusion and separation. For others, it brought considerable upheaval as they returned to cities and families they barely remembered. But the government’s voluntary evacuation scheme was an enormous undertaking that saw millions of children sent to places of safety, away from the threat of German bombs.

Wwe Best Of Backlash Part 2.

I watched part 1 of Wwe Best Of Backlash on the Wwe Network last night and it was really good I really enjoyed watching it it was on for 3 hours and 22 minutes. I am going to watch Wwe Best Of Backlash part 2 later on tonight on the Wwe Network it is on for 3 hours 15 minutes all the Backlash matches are from years ago on the wrestling in Wwe from when I was younger.

Crawford Park In Monkseaton.

I really enjoyed my walk to Crawford Park on Sunday. I walked from Ludlow Drive where my Mum lives to Thorntree Drive in West Monkseaton walked from the top end where the main road is. All the way down to the bottom end where it brings you out of the street turned back around and walked back up the other end where it brings you back up where the main road is. Then walked back up Thorntree Drive and back up to Ludlow Drive to my Mums house that is my walk that I done on Sunday.

My Cup Of Tea From Amy And Paul From The NTDF Cafe.

Amy always brings me a cup of tea from The NTDF Cafe and I always get a free cup of tea from her. This is my cup of tea in this cup from the Amy from the NTDF Cafe and Paul also brings me food from the NTDF Cafe sometimes to I really appreciate it from both of them I always pay for my cup of tea or hot chocolate or whatever I buy off Amy or Paul and then give them the money for it.

Edible Dinosaurs

Copland’s is the second largest bakery chain in the UK with over 160 outlets and 12 cafes located primarily across Yorkshire, County Durham and Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom. Copland’s produces takeaway food chiefly for the lunch-time trade, specialising in sandwiches, pasties, desserts, cakes, and bread.

Here is one of my tasty finds. I think it resembles a Megalsosaurus bucklandiis. Consisting of shortcake and party coated in chocolate. It is delicious and sumptuous and in just the thing for a summers afternoon.

The handmade product in produced by our local Baker Copelands Bakery, based in Wallsend, Tyne and wear.

This blog was made Simon Schofield