World War Two Historiography

 

Contemporary View 1937 to 1941:

            1. Few doubts about American involvement

            2. Faced with regimes that were bent on world     

                domination, the US had no choice but to defend         

                itself and become the champion of the free world

            3. Roosevelt tried to avoid war but events forced him 

                to commit troops overseas

            4. Pearl Harbor settled the issue for sure, and from that 

                point America committed its industrial and military     

                might against the aggressive dictatorships

 

Revisionists: Post War Period

            Critical of Roosevelt's actions and whether the US should   have gotten involved

            Americans were disillusioned with results of the war:

                        New totalitarian menace: Soviet Union

                        Divided Germany with half of Europe controlled by Russians

                        Britain and France had declined as world powers

                        British Empire was crumbling under Asian and African nationalism

                        Destruction of Japan created a power vacuum which was filled by

                                    Chinese

                        India was weak and Korea was divided

                        Internal security concerns in the US

            Their viewpoint was based on the following assumptions:

                        Axis powers did NOT threaten America’s vital interests

                        Roosevelt knew that his foreign policy would eventually lead to war

                        Long term results of the war were negative especially in light of Cold War

            Many viewed FDR as a leader who misled the people promised to maintain

                        neutrality while policy led in the other direction

            FDR was not unwillingly dragged into the war by events beyond his control

            FDR deliberately provoked the Japanese into attacking Pearl Harbor, which

                        gave him his excuse to ask for a war that he secretly desired all along

            Japanese genuinely desired peace and were searching for a way to end the

                        war in Asia and tried to establish peaceful co-existence with the US

            By increasing economic pressure in 1941 and refusing to give any concessions,

                        FDR deliberately provoked the Japanese to war

            Americans knew an attack was coming at Pearl Harbor and failed to warn the

                        commanders in Hawaii, the men were sacrificed for a declaration of war

            By blindly supporting China, America drove Japan back to the arms of the Axis

                        and held a position that could only lead to war

 

Question: Could Roosevelt have known exactly what end his policy would lead to? Would he really have conspired this way?

 

 

Interventionist School:

            The Axis DID pose a serious threat to American security because a

                        German victory in Russia and Britain would mean America facing the

                                    Axis alone                             

            Preventing German victory was number one goal of Roosevelt and was pursued

                        to keep us out of war by holding up Britain

            FDR attempted to deter the Japanese with all measures short of war and to

                        focus America’s energies on Europe

            When FDR realized that Japanese expansionism was too great, he stalled for

                        time to buildup forces

 

            FDR sought peace sincerely but world events (beyond his control) caused

                        American involvement

            FDR overestimated the domestic opposition to his internationalist policy and

                        thus failed to act as decisively as he could have

            FDR blundered not conspired in the Pacific, the attack there was a surprise

                        and was the result of  faulty planning not a conscious choice

            Revisionism is typical reaction at the end of war when the goals of war aren’t

                        achieved and the growth of strong presidential power during war and is

                        “history by hypothesis”

            FDR was in accord with public opinion (Republican platform of 1940:

                        internationalism) and reflected the mood of the people

            Embargo on Japan was inevitable part of weakening the future enemy while

                        preparing to fight a nation bent on dominating Asia

            Chances of avoiding war with Japan were remote from the start

 

Late 50’s: William Appleman Williams

            Foreign policy is an outgrowth of domestic policy and is based on an ideology

                        known as Open Door imperialism: foreign markets are critical for domestic

                        prosperity and tranquility

            America acquired possessions that were strategically located for trade and naval

                        bases but had few of the responsibilities of an extensive overseas empire

            American policy would cast the third world economies into a pro-American mold and

                        would lead to more militant opposition to any economic system that would

                        diminish our system

            During the war, American leaders became zealous crusaders to reform the world in

                        the American mold which led to the Cold War

           

New Left Scholars tended not to write about the period

Recent scholars have sought to find a middle ground of opinion on the war’s causation