The policy that France and Britain pursued against aggressive nations during the 1930s was that of appeasement. As countries still weary over World War I, it was a hope that by granting concessions to potential enemies, a type of peace could be maintained. This policy of appeasement only gave the fascist leaders the ability to become more bold, adventurous and aggressive. The United States played an important role in this policy of appeasement. In the 1930s, President Franklin Roosevelt pursued a Good Neighbor policy with Latin America and improved relations with the Soviet Union. He did not take a forceful public line against the aggression of Germany, Italy and Japan. Instead, he led the country into a policy of isolationism, in part because of America's economic troubles. Hitler took advantage of this lack of commitment and unity among France, Britain and the United States. In 1938, Hitler began his conquest of Europe by taking control of Austria and invading the Sudetenland, a portion of western Czechoslovakia that was largely populated by ethnic Germans.
There were many who thought this act of aggression would bring about another world war and the
policy of appeasement was tried again. At the Munich Conference with Hitler,
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French premier Edouard Daladier
sacrificed the Sudetenland to preserve the peace. On his return to London,
Chamberlain told a cheering crowd that the Munich Pact had preserved "peace for
our times." He was wrong. It merely postponed the war for eleven months. While Britain and France sought to appease Hitler in Munich, American President Franklin Roosevelt condemned aggression in Asia but did nothing to stop it. As
war exploded in Europe, it became increasingly difficult for the United States
to maintain its neutrality. Once again, Americans would have to decide what role
they were willing to play in shaping world events. The unrestrained violence of
the Japanese against China in 1937 had shocked Americans. Japan had attacked
without a declaration of war. Japanese planes rained terror on Chinese cities
and even killed three American sailors when Japanese warplanes sank a United
States gunboat on the Chang River. "President Roosevelt criticized Japan's
aggression in a speech in Chicago on October 5, 1937. Roosevelt suggested that
no part of the world was truly isolated from the rest of the world. His solution
was to form an alliance of peace-loving nations, but he did not suggest what
steps the peaceful nations should take against the aggressors". (Lash, 1976, p. 18). This speech was
widely criticized and for some time, the President backed away from his more
interventionist stance. The speech did, however, alert some Americans to the
threat that Japan potentially posed to the United States.
There were many who thought this act of aggression would bring about another world war and the
policy of appeasement was tried again. At the Munich Conference with Hitler,
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French premier Edouard Daladier
sacrificed the Sudetenland to preserve the peace. On his return to London,
Chamberlain told a cheering crowd that the Munich Pact had preserved "peace for
our times." He was wrong. It merely postponed the war for eleven months. While Britain and France sought to appease Hitler in Munich, American President Franklin Roosevelt condemned aggression in Asia but did nothing to stop it. As
war exploded in Europe, it became increasingly difficult for the United States
to maintain its neutrality. Once again, Americans would have to decide what role
they were willing to play in shaping world events. The unrestrained violence of
the Japanese against China in 1937 had shocked Americans. Japan had attacked
without a declaration of war. Japanese planes rained terror on Chinese cities
and even killed three American sailors when Japanese warplanes sank a United
States gunboat on the Chang River. "President Roosevelt criticized Japan's
aggression in a speech in Chicago on October 5, 1937. Roosevelt suggested that
no part of the world was truly isolated from the rest of the world. His solution
was to form an alliance of peace-loving nations, but he did not suggest what
steps the peaceful nations should take against the aggressors". (Lash, 1976, p. 18). This speech was
widely criticized and for some time, the President backed away from his more
interventionist stance. The speech did, however, alert some Americans to the
threat that Japan potentially posed to the United States.