World War II The Great Depression - 1543 Words

Danielle Gentry Gary Damon American History II 10:00 MWF 25 April 2016 World War II Two decades after the first World War happen another world war occurred known as World War II. There were many causes that led up to this war. The Treaty of Versailles ended World War I, but Germany had to accept the responsibility of the war. Therefore, Germany economy went downhill and people were starving because of war debt. The Great Depression had a big effect on a lot of countries; therefore, countries started adopting fascism. Fascism was another problem that helped lead to World War II. Fascism started in the 1920’s in Europe and it meant that each country was run as a dictatorship. This way of government controlled the lives of individuals†¦show more content†¦Hitler took over Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938. This was a violation of the Treaty of Versailles. When Germany, Japan, and Italy became aggressive, countries such as Britain and France wanted to have peace through appeasement. Britain and France didn’t want to go into another w ar so they thought they could make Hitler happy without stopping him. However, Hitler didn’t back down. Where was the United States when all of these events were happening? The United States wanted to stay out of the war because they thought entering World War I was a big mistake. Therefore, Congress passed neutrality acts that banned arms sales and loans to countries at war. The United States didn’t want any potential reason for joining the war. Congress did find a way to allow American trade to continue by cash-and-carry without going into war. â€Å"Under new â€Å"cash-and-carry† provisions in the Neutrality Act of 1937, belligerents could buy supplies other than munitions† (544). Countries would have to pay for the supplies beforehand and carry the supplies on non-American ships. President Roosevelt still had fears about joining the war. He wanted to help other countries but not get involved with world affairs. Roosevelt proposed the Lend-Lease Act in 1940, and Congress passed the act in 1941. Lend-Lease Act provided military aid to foreign nations to help them out during World War II. Countries that received weapons under this law were