THE MAKING OF A NATION 187 - 1930s/Neutrality Tested

THE MAKING OF A NATION - April 4, 2002: 1930s/Neutrality Tested

By David Jarmul

VOICE 1:
THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.
(Theme)
Growing tensions in Europe and Asia created a serious conflict for Americans during the nineteen-thirties. Most

Americans opposed the Fascist¹ or military leaders gaining control in Germany, Italy, Japan, and other countries.

But they were not willing to take any firm action to stop this growing movement.

Americans did not want to become involved in another terrible world war. And they called
on President Franklin Roosevelt and their representatives in Congress to remain neutral in
world affairs.

But aggression² by Germany and Japan finally would force Americans to choose between
their love of democracy and their desire for peace.

VOICE 2:

Uncle Sam watches
Chamberlain march
between Mussolini

The first challenge to America's policy of neutrality came in October nineteen-thirty-five.

and Hitler

(Cartoon by George L. Troops from Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia.
Patzer - Library of
Congress archives)

Roosevelt did not feel neutral at all. "Italy is dropping bombs

on Ethiopia, and that is war," Roosevelt said to his advisers³. He sharply criticized the Fascist Italian leader,
Benito Mussolini. Roosevelt issued an order banning Americans from sending arms to either Italy or Ethiopia.
And he called on Americans not to send to Italy oil and other materials not covered by the ban on arms.

Roosevelt's efforts to stop the export of oil and other products did not succeed. But the efforts by the white house
played an important part in leading the international League of Nations to take economic actions against Italy.

VOICE 1:

Less than two years later, civil war broke out in Spain. Spanish Fascists⁴ led by General Francisco Franco tried to
overthrow⁵ the democratic government in Madrid.

Some Americans went to join the democratic army in Spain to fight Franco. But Roosevelt and the Congress
agreed that America should remain officially neutral in the conflict.

In this way, Roosevelt was meeting the wishes of the American people by avoiding war. But personally, he was
deeply troubled by the events in Europe. In a letter to his ambassador in France, Roosevelt wrote, "One cannot
help feeling that the whole European situation is blacker than at any time in your lifetime or mine."

VOICE 2:

Another challenge to American neutrality came in Asia. Japan launched a new invasion of China in July,
nineteen-thirty-seven. Within one month, Japanese forces gained control of Peking [Beijing] and Tientsin.

The United States had long supported the Nationalist forces of China. And many Americans were angry about the
Japanese invasion. But Roosevelt and his administration once again refused to take strong actions against the
aggression.

For one thing, the American Navy was weak. There was little it could do to stop Japanese aggression thousands


of miles away in Asia. And neither Roosevelt nor the Congress wanted to be first to break America's official
policy of neutrality.

VOICE 1:

Franklin Roosevelt made clear in private talks with friends that he understood the serious threat to world peace
created by Hitler and other Fascists. He believed that the United States could not remain neutral forever if
democracy was threatened in so many countries.

However, Roosevelt did little to educate the nation about this threat. Instead, he generally followed the wishes of
the majority of people who wanted America to remain neutral.

VOICE 2:

Public opinion in the United States was strongly against any kind of involvement in foreign conflicts.

In nineteen -thirty-seven, Roosevelt made an important speech calling for the world's neutral nations to protect
themselves from lawless Fascist nations. But many Americans feared that Roosevelt was trying to create a new
alliance. And they opposed his efforts. A public opinion study at the time showed that less than one in three
Americans was willing to change the nation's strong neutrality laws to give Roosevelt more freedom of action.

In the same year, Japanese planes sank an American gunboat in the Yangtze River in China. But few Americans
showed any interest in going to war over the incident. Instead, they accepted Japanese apologies. Americans
simply had no desire to fight.

VOICE 1:

Most Americans honestly believed that the best hope for their country was neutrality. One of the most influential⁶
supporters of neutrality was Senator Gerald P. Nye of the state of North Dakota. "There can be no objection to
any action our government may take which tries to bring peace to the world," Nye wrote in the New York Times
newspaper in nineteen-thirty-seven.

"But," he wrote, "that action must not tie our population to another world death march. I very much fear that we
are once again being made to feel that America must police a world that chooses to follow insane leaders.

VOICE 2:

Hitler's Nazi⁷ forces moved into the Rhineland in nineteen-thirty-six. Two years later, they invaded Austria. And
then, in the following months, Hitler began making demands on the government of Czechoslovakia.

Britain's prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, was afraid that Hitler might start a general European war if he was
blocked from gaining control of Czechoslovakia. In September, nineteen-thirty-eight, chamberlain traveled to
Munich to discuss the situation with the German leader. The result was that Britain agreed to a German takeover
of Czechoslovakia.

Chamberlain returned to London promising⁸ "peace in our time."

VOICE 1:

The first reaction of most Americans to Chamberlain's Munich agreement was one of relief. But then public
opinion changed. Americans saw that Hitler's Germany now had control of central Europe. Japan was becoming
more powerful in Asia. Chamberlain's weakness only served to show dictators that they could gain land and
power through aggression and fear.

Roosevelt warned Americans in late nineteen-thirty-eight about this Fascist threat. "There can be no peace," he
said, "if another nation makes the threat of war its national policy."

VOICE 2:


Roosevelt and much of the American public continued to hope that the United States could stay out of foreign
conflicts. But increasingly, they understood that war might come. And they began to prepare for possible
hostilities⁹.

Following the Munich agreement, Roosevelt requested a large increase in the defense¹⁰ budget. He asked Britain
and France to buy arms from American manufacturers to give those companies more experience in producing
weapons. And he helped bring about an agreement among nations of north and south America to join together to
oppose Fascist threats to peace and security.

Finally, Roosevelt tried to get Congress to change the neutrality laws. He wanted more freedom as president to
resist Fascist aggression and help Britain, France, China, and other friendly nations.

VOICE 1:

Congress, however, continued to resist such changes. But events in early nineteen-thirty-nine showed that war
was on the way. Germany occupied Czechoslovakia and then Lithuania. Franco's forces took control in Spain.
Italy invaded Albania. And then Hitler began making demands on Poland.

In August, Germany and the Soviet¹¹ Union announced to the world that they had signed a joint¹² defense
agreement. A week later, Germany attacked Poland. Two days later, Britain and France declared war on
Germany.

VOICE 2:

Germany's invasion of Poland, and the beginning of the war, presented a giant challenge to the United States. On
the one hand, almost all Americans supported the European democracies opposing the aggression by Hitler,
Mussolini, and other Fascists. But on the other hand, Americans had no desire to fight in what might be a long
and bloody¹³ war.

The following months would force Americans of all political beliefs to consider this problem. It would be a final
period of peace for the United States before events once again drew it into a terrible world conflict.

(Theme)

VOICE 1:

You have been listening to THE MAKING OF A NATION, a program in Special English by the Voice of
America. Your narrators have been Harry¹⁴ Monroe and Jack¹⁵ Weitzel. Our program was written by David Jarmul.

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1 fascist   

adj.法西斯主义的；法西斯党的；n.法西斯主义者，法西斯分子

参考例句：

• The strikers were roughed up by the fascist cops.罢工工人遭到法西斯警察的殴打。
• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship.他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。

2 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

3 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

4 fascists   

n.法西斯主义的支持者( fascist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists. 老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

6 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

7 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

8 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

9 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

12 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

13 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

14 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

15 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。