The World Takes Advantage of American Isolationism | BETWEEN 2 WARS | 1933 part 3 of 3 - YouTube (1)
In 1933, more than a decade of American isolationism, pacifism, and non-interventionism has allowed
other major powers to use a military power vacuum to reshape the status quo post Great
War. Because, you know, when the cat's away, the mice will dance on the tables. But no
longer it seems, as US President Roosevelt now puts American remilitarization back on
the agenda.
Welcome to Between-2-Wars a chronological summary of the interwar years, covering all
facets of life, the uncertainty, hedonism, and euphoria, and ultimately humanity's descent
into the darkness of the Second World War. I'm Indy Neidell.
Though the fighting of World War One ended in 1918, the armament factories of the victorious
belligerents didn't stop working. While the German High Seas Fleet is scuttled, the US,
UK, France, Italy, and Japan are drawn into a Naval Arms race that risks shuffling the
newly established power balance of the world. The US have planned to have 50 modern battleships
by 1919, though this doesn't happen. Japan orders 16 new capital ships. Even Britain,
already the owner of the world's most powerful fleet, keeps ordering new vessels.
But the public has had enough of war, enough of the expenditures, and American public opinion
heavily favors isolationism. Moreover, many believe that it was the pre-ww1 arms race
that caused the conflict to escalate as it did, so new measures to prevent this from
ever happening again are now in the making.
So in 1921, representatives of Britain, France, Japan, and Italy travel to Washington to discuss
global naval disarmament.
President Warren G. Harding – who does see an arms race as one of the major causes of
the war, is afraid that American naval armament might not only strain US resources, but will
also lead to a future conflict with Japan or even Britain in the Pacific. The Washington
Naval Conference puts these fears to rest. Under American pressure the five powers agree
to limit the number of capital ships- battleships, battlecruisers, and air-carriers.
The US and Britain are allowed an equal amount of tonnage for their capital ships. Japan
is entitled a slightly smaller navy, the same as France and Italy. The amount of smaller
vessels below 10,000 tons is not limited. Any ships above the limit set are to be destroyed,
and construction of new ships is to be halted. No new ships can be constructed for the next
10 years. Just to be safe, the US, the UK, and Japan also explicitly agree to leave the
status quo in the pacific as is. And with the stroke of a pen or five, the anticipated
naval arms-race is neutralized.
But the Navy isn't the only branch of the US military subject to change. The Army and
National Guard are also reformed.
The 1920 Defense Act moves away from maintaining a large standing army and toward a small defense
force with an option of mass mobilization. The Regular Army and the National Guard are
extended with a new branch; the Organized Reserves. The US Army will be downsized to
no more than 130.000 men in 1922. The Army will also be responsible, though, for training
the National Guard and the Organized Reserves.
American pacifist efforts increase throughout the 20s. In 1928, President Calvin Coolidge
signs the Kellogg-Briand Pact in Paris declaring a "frank renunciation of war as an instrument
of national policy". In other words, war is outlawed as a tool of geopolitics. 31 countries,
including Japan and Germany, sign the pact before it goes into effect in 1929. This treaty
is revolutionarily in its idealism, and the US negotiator - Secretary of State Frank Kellogg
- will win the Nobel Peace Prize a year later. In 1930, The London Naval Treaty is signed,
again restricting shipbuilding for the world's great powers and imposing strict regulations
for submarine warfare, such as their total displacement tonnage and gun sizes.
And if you see it form a global conflict perspective, and not just localized, the 1920s have been
a time of comparable peace - unquestionably in part because of naval treaties.
So the US feels validated in its isolationist stance, and it continues into the 1930s. And
as the Great Depression begins, American Politics are focused ever more on domestic issues to
repair the ailing economy.
In Latin America, the Monroe Doctrine gives way to the 1933 'Good Neighbor Policy'. The
Monroe Doctrine, established in the 1820s, made the US the protector of the Americas
against European colonialism and anything that might interfere with US interests in
the western hemisphere. It resulted in multiple interventions or even invasions of places
the Dominican Republic or Haiti. Following the 'Good Neighbour Policy', though, the United
States vows to no longer intervene in Latin American domestic issues.
The rising tensions in In Europe and Japan that follows the rise of new militarist governments
causes Americans to become even more isolationist. America is not keen to enter yet another devastating
war far from home, and when Japan invades Manchuria in 1931, America does little. President
Herbert Hoover issues the Stimson Doctrine, which rejects recognition of any territory
acquired by military force as legitimate. It leaves Japan fairly unimpressed. Instead
it interprets this as the US not willing to take its responsibility to protect the status
quo in the Pacific. So instead of a threat, Japan sees an opportunity.
This isolationist attitude has a significant effect on military spending, and thus on the
shape of the military in general.
By the 1930s, the US army is still roughly the same size as it was in 1922, mostly using
WW1-era equipment and weapons. In general, the military is low on the political priority
list. With public favor of a pacifist and isolationist foreign policy, the army doesn't
enjoy tremendous public support. As a result, cut after cut in funding has left the US Army
– like the navy – in a pretty dire state by the time Roosevelt takes office in 1933.
But one of Roosevelt's first acts is the foundation of the Civilian Construction Corps (CCC),
designed to provide jobs to around 3 million unemployed American men between the age of
18 and 25. The army runs the CCC Camps, though FDR publicly states that it is not a military
project. But the mobilization is carried out exceptionally quickly, which gives Army officers
valuable experience in speedy mobilization.
And such experience might come in handy soon, as some of the former signatories of the Washington
Pact and London Treaty refuse to renew them.
Since the signing of the Naval Treaties, the international political and economic landscape
has changed. Under new fascist or militarist regimes, many countries begin beefing up their
armies and expanding their navies. The US does little, nearly nothing to intervene.
But Roosevelt does grow increasingly worried as Japan starts commissioning new ships. This
does challenge the status quo in the pacific and threatens US trade interests in the region.
That fear is confirmed by the American ambassador to Japan, who telegraphs to Roosevelt that "The
Japanese fighting force considered the United States as their potential enemy . . . Because
they think the United States is standing in the path of their nation's natural expansion".
See, during the entire Hoover administration, not a single ship, not even within the treaty
allowances had been commissioned. In 1934, the US Navy has 372 ships, 288 of which – around
75%, are in dire need of replacement. Many of them are outdated WW1-era destroyers that
are no match for a modern naval vessel. And though Roosevelt might be worried, Congress
refuses his proposals for naval rearmament. Many politicians are still advocating isolationism,
and the budget is already seriously stretched because of the Great Depression.
In 1934, Japan completes the first part of its naval rearmament program – the Circle
Plan – activating 39 new warships. An additional 48 warships will be completed by 1937. To
a lot of people, it is clear that Japan is preparing its navy, not just for war, but
for full control over the Pacific. During negotiations for a Second London Naval Treaty,
Japan bluntly walks out when the US and the UK are unwilling to allow Japan to have as
many capital ships as they already have. Instead, the Japanese announce that by the end of 1936
– when the Washington Naval Treaty expires - they are no longer bound by any naval treaty
limiting their naval construction.
The US, France, and Britain do sign the Second London Naval Treaty in 1936, and this gives
Japan a head start for some hypothetical arms-race. But precisely for this reason, Roosevelt has
no interest in upholding it. The treaty has a backdoor, so the US can increase its navy
if Japan continues to threaten the status quo in the pacific. Now, this is excellent
PR for Roosevelt since to the public, he appears to be a frontrunner for naval limitations
and an advocate for peace and non-interventionism – which becomes crucial as the 1936 elections
come ever closer, but in reality he has opened the door to rearmament.
Roosevelt's ally Carl Vinson, Congressman from Georgia and avid naval rearmament advocate
since the 1920s, now asks Congress for a 3.3$ billion public works program to fight unemployment.
As soon as the bill is approved, Roosevelt slices 237$ million off for construction of
30 new warships. The isolationist majority in Congress angrily denounce Roosevelt, but
he simply replies that he is creating nothing but desperately needed jobs. Privately, Roosevelt
sighs with relief, and tells his Secretary of the Navy, Claude Swinson: "Claude, we
got away with murder that time”. But don't think that most Americans are oblivious
to the Japanese threat. In 1934, Vinson proposes a new naval act in Congress. This bill, dubbed
the Vinson-Trammel Naval Act, aims to gradually replace old ships and build new ones, but
still within the restrictions of the Washington Naval Pact from the 1920s. 102 new vessels
are to be built and commissioned over the next eight years. The idea is that when construction
is completed, the US Navy would be able to withstand the Imperial Japanese Navy. But
make no mistake, the US is nowhere near being the powerhouse that they need to be to rule
the waves. The first of their new capital ships will only finish production well into
the second half of the 1930s, while Japan is already way ahead with its Circle Plan.
As global tensions continue to rise, the army also gets funds to modernize and expand its
numbers slightly, starting in 1935. Horses are replaced by motorized vehicles, new light
M1 tanks and medium-sized M2 tanks are introduced and incorporated in the infantry. The bolt-action
M1903 Springfield rifles are replaced by semi-automatic M1 Garand rifles, a significant advantage
over any other countries still using bolt-action rifles.
Roosevelt bases his strategic doctrine on the' Fortress America' concept rather than
a war overseas, which he and especially Congress wants to avoid at all costs. Some 50.000 men-
a third of the army at this time, are deployed to coastal fortifications and artillery positions
as a second line behind the US Atlantic fleet, America's primary defense. In the 'Protective
Mobilization Plan' of 1937, the National Guard are to be incorporated into the army in the
case of war, bringing effective wartime army personnel up to 400.000. Mass mobilization
could potentially add millions to that number, of course.
So here we are - as 1935 comes around the US Army is growing and a Naval Arms Race in
the Pacific seems unavoidable.
The Japanese are still working on their circle plan as the Americans try to catch up. But
the Americans are late to the party, and public opinion still heavily favors isolationism.
Which begs the question: 'Is it all too little too late?' As the Second Sino-Japanese War
breaks out in 1937, which we'll cover in a future Between Two Wars episode, an American
gunboat - the USS Panay - is on patrol in the Yangtze River. 12 Japanese planes attack
the boat, sinking it and causing 46 American casualties. Roosevelt and Congress are furious.
Japan claims that the pilots "didn't see" the US flags on the gunboat. They apologize
and pay an indemnity to the United States. Roosevelt is far from satisfied but is held
