Preparing for Ohio’s American History State Test Student Review Guide
Unit 5. From Isolation to World War II (1930-1945)
Learning Target 21
Analyze the reasons for American isolationist sentiment in the interwar period.
During the 1930s, the U.S. government attempted to distance the country from earlier
interventionist policies in the Western Hemisphere as well as retain an isolationist
approach to events in Europe and Asia until the beginning of World War II.
Following World War I, the United States was reluctant to become entangled in
overseas conflicts that would lead to another war. The U.S. previously had used the
Monroe Doctrine and the Roosevelt Corollary to justify intervention into Latin American
affairs. However, the U.S. retreated from these policies during the1930s with the Good
Neighbor Policy. Under this policy, the U.S.
emphasized cooperation and trade rather
than military force to maintain stability in the
Western Hemisphere.
By the mid-1930s, signs in Europe and Asia
pointed to a new world war. The U.S. passed
laws asserting U.S. neutrality to prevent the
country from being entangled in a foreign
war. The Neutrality Acts of 1935 and 1937
banned export and transportation of arms to
nations at war. The Neutrality Acts were
attempts to isolate the country from the
problems erupting in Asia and Europe.
The U.S. tried to maintain its isolationist
approach when war broke out in Europe. But
the U.S. aided countries fighting against fascist
aggression. The U.S. introduced the “cash and
carry” policy, negotiated the destroyer-for-bases
deal and enacted Lend-Lease, all of which supported Britain and France in their fight
against the Axis powers. The U.S. also helped write the Atlantic Charter in 1941, a
document that established goals for the post-war world.
The expansionist policies of Japan and the bombing of Pearl Harbor ended U.S.
isolationist policies. The U.S. declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941, one day
after Japan bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
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