Welcome to the fifth edition of our Blog. In the previous chapter, we talked about Winston Churchill and the United Kingdom before the start of the WWII. Today we take a look at the United States and Franklin Roosevelt.
Franklin Roosevelt and the US
Franklin D. Roosevelt was born in New York on 30th January 1882. He was originally from a wealthy family which enabled him to have a good education. He graduated from the prestigious Harvard University and later passed the Bar Exam. Roosevelt became a member of the Democratic Party at a very young age and in 1910 he won the election for the US Senate.
In 1913, he became the Assistant Secretary of the Navy of the United States where he stood out as a highly qualified and energetic worker. He got a more active role after the USA entered the First World War in 1917 thanks to which he became recognized among the general public. This recognition served as a base for him to become the governor of New York in 1929, where he continued to leave a positive impression. Because he was head of the largest state, he was a logical Democratic Party presidential candidate. Elections were held in 1932 at the height of the Great Depression. Roosevelt used that by mobilizing the poorest segments of society that produced the crisis: unemployment, ethnic minorities and ordinary laborers for the first time in the history of the United States. With a powerful 57% he won the mandate and in 1934 he came out with a program of reforms known as the “New Deal”.
That gained him such popularity that he won the presidential elections in 1936, 1940 and 1944 (only a few months before his death). To this day, he remains the only US president who was elected more than twice.
The First World War left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Americans. Americans were dying in Europe for other countries without any benefits for themselves, and the economic cost was high. Despite the absolute superiority of Germany in the first phase of the Second World War and the difficult position of the United Kingdom, public opinion had not changed.
Roosevelt used this to push the “Land-Lease Act” which enabled the United Kingdom (and later the Soviet Union) to “buy” weapons, ships, aircrafts, tanks and other equipment for the war without having to pay (the payment was to come after the end of the war). The US offered ships to convey all the equipment across the Atlantic, which was in some way how the United States entered the war. The situation changed in December 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and thus declared war on the United States. What happened was incredible. With no diplomatic obligations, Hitler declared war on the United States after the Japanese attack. Roosevelt was given free rein on both of the large battlefields, in Europe and in the Pacific, which turned the balance of power against the Axis. Although the United States emerged from the war as a major superpower, it must be noted that Roosevelt was not as aware of the global opportunities as Stalin or Churchill. During many peace conferences, at which the fate of the post-war world was being discussed, Roosevelt remained an almost passive observer. He died before the end of the war from a stroke on 12th April 1945. In the eyes of the public of the US, Roosevelt is known as one of the most famous presidents who led the country through a major economic crisis and the Second World War and therefore he still has the respect of the vast majority of Americans.
The United States
In the interwar period, the United States was in an isolationist mood. The First World War killed many Americans for reasons that were not clear to the American citizens. The end result was almost the complete demilitarization of the US military. Therefore at the beginning of the war, the US had a smaller army than, for example, Portugal or any other great power. However, in the interwar period, the US continued to build its Navy that would eventually make the US an important military and commercial factor in the Second World War, but it also guaranteed their military domination after the war. Before the war, the United States was an economic superpower and the first country in the world by their GDP.
However, their military spending was very low. The situation began to change in 1939 when the United States, mainly due to the pro-British attitude of President Roosevelt, began assisting the Western Allies financially, although at that point they had still not entered the war officially. At that time, they started making massive investments in the development of military technology that was necessary for the upcoming war. In 1939, the United States lagged behind in aircraft and tank technology when compared to other great powers. Due to their overwhelming economic and industrial capacity, their war production quickly overpowered the production of other countries.
For example, during the war, the United States produced more than 300 000 aircraft for themselves and other Allies and over 100 000 armored vehicles. Only the USSR could measure up to this. The US also led a number of technological innovations, more than any other country, except for Germany. The crown of these technological innovations was the Manhattan Project, i.e. the project for the development of the atomic bomb, which the US was in the forefront of. The military industry and research had been the engine that moved the military machine of the United States along and allowed them to remain the most powerful military force after the war and even today.
This is it for our Blog today. Tell us what you think about the topic and if you have any suggestions or want to discuss them, you are more than welcomed to do so in the comments below, on our forum, and on Steam Community Hub. Until next time!
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