One of the aims of victors during the first world war was to create safe democracy. Therefore, fascism developed through democratic constitutions that were restored in many countries after the war. During this wave of evolution, countries developed nationalistic totalitarianism that promised people democracy and defense against communism (Corbett, 2017). Fascism was a form of dictatorship that launched military activities. Militarism resulted in political takeovers from Hitler, making the treaty of Versailles a complete failure.
At the beginning of political conflicts in Europe, the United States maintained that it would not engage in European affairs. Therefore, the United States formulated the Neutrality Act of 1935, forbidding weapons sales to fight nations (Corbett, 2017). The act further provided that the United States could not give loans to conflicting countries in Europe. The United States tried to avoid European entanglements and concentrate on its domestic affairs. However, the United States Congress later formulated the Cash and Carry policy. The policy worked under the terms that the United States could sell arms provided that the buyer could pay in cash and seek their means of transportation.
The policy led to a rise in arms production, massive profit generation, and booming business, which helped the economic recovery after the Great Depression of 1929. The United States served as a good supplier of arms across Europe and Asia amid the growing conflicts (Haass, 2018). Through the policy, the United States played an influential role in promoting World War II. However, the United States could not have prevented World War II because it did not have the military capability to neutralize the Axis powers’ aggression. The United States alone was weaker and trying to recover from the Great Depression.
Despite the United States’ neutrality, President Roosevelt worked with Congress to formulate policies that favored the Allies (Messer, 2017). Congress altered the neutrality act to develop the “cash and carry” policy to arm Britain and France. Additionally, Roosevelt shipped one hundred P-40 fighter planes and allowed American volunteers to fly them. Concerns over Britain’s ability to protect itself made Congress formulate the Lend-Lease policy, which allowed the United States to arm any nation that seemed important in its defense (Corbett, 2017). Using atomic weapons to defeat enemies is a setback to democracy since it leads to the loss of innocent civilians who have nothing to do with the war. For example, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki resulted in about 250,000 civilian deaths.
References
Haass, R. (2018). A world in disarray: American foreign policy and the crisis of the old order. Penguin.
Messer, R. L. (2017). The End of an Alliance: James F. Byrnes, Roosevelt, Truman, and the Origins of the Cold War. UNC Press Books.
Corbett, P. S., Janssen, V., Lund, J. M., Pfannestiel, T. J., Vickery, P. S., & Roberts, O. (2017). US history. OpenStax.