DATE=4-11-2002

NUMBER=7-22796

TITLE=THE MAKING OF A NATION #188 - ROAD TO PEARL HARBOR

TYPE=SPECIAL ENGLISH FEATURE

BYLINE=DAVID JARMUL

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

CONTENT=

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- A PROGRAM IN SPECIAL ENGLISH BY THE

VOICE OF AMERICA.

(THEME)

GERMANY'S ATTACK ON POLAND AND THE START OF WORLD WAR TWO

PRESENTED A SERIOUS PROBLEM TO AMERICANS IN SEPTEMBER,

NINETEEN-THIRTY-NINE.

THE UNITED STATES -- BY LAW -- WAS NEUTRAL. AND FEW AMERICANS

HAD ANY DESIRE TO FIGHT IN ANOTHER WORLD WAR. BUT AMERICANS DID

NOT LIKE GERMANY'S NAZI LEADER, ADOLF HITLER. THEY HOPED FOR

VICTORY FOR BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND THE OTHER ALLIED POWERS.

PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT MADE THIS CLEAR IN A RADIO TALK TO

AMERICANS SOON AFTER THE WAR BEGAN.

"THE PEACE OF ALL COUNTRIES EVERYWHERE IS IN DANGER," ROOSEVELT

SAID. HE ADDED, "I CANNOT ASK THAT EVERY AMERICAN REMAIN NEUTRAL

IN THOUGHT."

HE PRAISED THE BRITISH AND OTHER ALLIES. FINALLY, THE PRESIDENT

CALLED ON CONGRESS TO CHANGE THE NEUTRALITY LAWS THAT PREVENTED

HIM FROM SENDING ARMS TO THE ALLIES TO HELP THEM FIGHT THE NAZIS.

CONGRESS AGREED TO CHANGE THE LAWS SO FOREIGN NATIONS COULD BUY

AMERICAN ARMS.

VOICE TWO:

IN THE MONTHS THAT FOLLOWED, HITLER AND HIS ALLIES WON ONE

VICTORY AFTER ANOTHER. GERMAN AND SOVIET TROOPS CAPTURED POLAND

QUICKLY IN SEPTEMBER, NINETEEN-THIRTY-NINE. THEN SOVIET FORCES

INVADED THE SMALL BALTIC NATIONS OF LATVIA, ESTONIA, AND

LITHUANIA. IN LATE NOVEMBER, THEY ATTACKED FINLAND. FIGHTING

BETWEEN FINLAND AND THE SOVIET UNION CONTINUED THROUGH THE

WINTER, UNTIL FINLAND ACCEPTED RUSSIA'S DEMANDS.

VOICE ONE:

FIGHTING GREW EVEN MORE FIERCE THE FOLLOWING SPRING, IN EARLY

NINETEEN-FORTY.

GERMANY ATTACKED DENMARK AND NORWAY, DEFEATING THEM EASILY. IN

MAY, NAZI FORCES STRUCK LIKE LIGHTNING THROUGH BELGIUM AND

HOLLAND. WITHIN ONE DAY, THEY WERE IN FRANCE. BRITISH AND

FRENCH FORCES WERE UNABLE TO STOP THE GERMANS FROM MOVING DEEP

INTO NORTHERN FRANCE. THE BRITISH FORCES FINALLY WERE FORCED TO

FLEE FROM THE EUROPEAN CONTINENT IN SMALL BOATS. THEY SAILED

FROM THE FRENCH TOWN OF DUNKERQUE [DUNKIRK] BACK TO BRITAIN.

GERMAN SOLDIERS MARCHED THROUGH FRANCE. AND ITALIAN FORCES

JOINED THEM BY INVADING FRANCE FROM THE SOUTH. SOON, PARIS FELL.

A GERMAN SUPPORTER, MARSHAL PETAIN, TOOK CONTROL OF THE FRENCH

GOVERNMENT. AND FRANCE -- BEATEN AND CRUSHED -- WAS FORCED TO

SIGN A PEACE TREATY WITH HITLER.

VOICE TWO:

NOW IT WAS JUST BRITAIN ALONE AGAINST HITLER AND HIS ALLIES.

ONLY THE ENGLISH CHANNEL SEPARATED THE BRITISH PEOPLE FROM A

GERMAN ARMY THAT SEEMED UNBEATABLE.

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN WAS FORCED TO RESIGN.

THE BRITISH PEOPLE TURNED TO A NEW LEADER, WINSTON CHURCHILL.

CHURCHILL WOULD PROVE TO BE STRONG AND BRAVE IN THE LONG MONTHS

AHEAD.

THE BRITISH WOULD NEED STRONG LEADERSHIP. HITLER WASTED NO TIME

IN LAUNCHING A FIERCE AIR ATTACK ON BRITAIN. THROUGHOUT THE

SUMMER, GERMAN AND BRITISH PLANES FOUGHT ABOVE THE ENGLISH

CHANNEL.

VOICE ONE:

ALL THIS MILITARY ACTION HAD AN IMPORTANT EFFECT ON AMERICAN

POPULAR OPINION. WAR AND NEUTRALITY WERE NO LONGER JUST IDEAS TO

BE DISCUSSED IN A CLASSROOM OR POLITICAL DEBATE. NOW THEY WERE

REAL CONCERNS, REAL EVENTS. FASCIST TROOPS LED BY A DICTATOR IN

BERLIN WERE DEFEATING ONE FRIENDLY DEMOCRACY AFTER ANOTHER. AND

SOVIET FORCES WERE ON THE MARCH, TOO.

MOST AMERICANS STILL DESIRED NEUTRALITY. BUT HOW LONG COULD

AMERICA REMAIN AT PEACE? AND WAS PEACE WORTH THE COST OF JUST

SITTING BY AND WATCHING FRIENDS LIKE FRANCE AND BRITAIN BE BOMBED

AND INVADED?

VOICE TWO:

OTHER ISSUES MELTED AWAY AS AMERICANS BEGAN TO CONSIDER WHAT TO

DO ABOUT THE DARKENING WORLD SITUATION.

SOME AMERICANS, LED BY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE,

CALLED FOR THE UNITED STATES TO HELP BRITAIN IMMEDIATELY. BUT

OTHER GROUPS, LIKE THE AMERICA FIRST COMMITTEE, DEMANDED THAT THE

UNITED STATES STAY OUT OF ANOTHER BLOODY EUROPEAN CONFLICT.

VOICE ONE:

THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN THOSE WHO WANTED TO HELP BRITAIN, AND THOSE

WHO WANTED TO REMAIN NEUTRAL, DID NOT FOLLOW TRADITIONAL PARTY

LINES. SOME OF THE CLOSEST SUPPORTERS OF ROOSEVELT'S FOREIGN

POLICIES WERE REPUBLICANS. AND SOME MEMBERS OF HIS OWN

DEMOCRATIC PARTY OPPOSED HIS POLICIES.

EVEN SO, FOREIGN POLICY WAS ONE OF THE MAIN ISSUES IN THE

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN OF NINETEEN-FORTY. THE DEMOCRATS,

ONCE AGAIN, NOMINATED FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT FOR PRESIDENT.

THE REPUBLICANS HAD SEVERAL POPULAR CANDIDATES WHO WERE

INTERESTED IN CAMPAIGNING AGAINST ROOSEVELT. AT FIRST, IT SEEMED

THAT THESE CANDIDATES WOULD FIGHT IT OUT IN A BITTER NOMINATING

CONVENTION IN PHILADELPHIA. BUT TO EVERYONE'S SURPRISE, A

LITTLE-KNOWN CANDIDATE NAMED WENDELL WILLKIE SUDDENLY GAINED A

GREAT DEAL OF SUPPORT AND WON THE NOMINATION.

VOICE TWO:

WENDELL WILLKIE WAS A TOUGH CANDIDATE.

HE WAS FRIENDLY, A GOOD BUSINESSMAN, AND A STRONG SPEAKER. HE

SEEMED HONEST. AND HE SEEMED TO UNDERSTAND FOREIGN POLICY. MOST

IMPORTANT, WILLKIE HAD A PROGRESSIVE RECORD ON MANY SOCIAL

ISSUES. HE WAS NOT THE KIND OF TRADITIONAL CONSERVATIVE

REPUBLICAN THAT ROOSEVELT HAD DEFEATED SO EASILY IN HIS FIRST TWO

CAMPAIGNS.

INSTEAD, WILLKIE COULD CLAIM TO REPRESENT THE COMMON MAN JUST AS

WELL AS ROOSEVELT. AND HE OFFERED THE EXCITEMENT OF A CHANGE IN

LEADERSHIP.

WHILE WILLKIE AND ROOSEVELT BEGAN CAMPAIGN BATTLES WITH WORDS,

GERMAN AND BRITISH PLANES WERE FIGHTING REAL BATTLES WITH BULLETS

OVER THE ENGLISH CHANNEL. WINSTON CHURCHILL SENT A DESPERATE

MESSAGE TO ROOSEVELT. THE BRITISH PRIME MINISTER SAID BRITAIN

COULD NOT FIGHT ALONE MUCH LONGER. IT NEEDED HELP IMMEDIATELY.

VOICE ONE:

ROOSEVELT DID NOT WANT TO TAKE STEPS TOWARD WAR JUST BEFORE AN

ELECTION. BUT NEITHER COULD HE REFUSE SUCH AN URGENT APPEAL FROM

THE BRITISH.

ROOSEVELT AND WILLKIE DISCUSSED THE SITUATION. WILLKIE AGREED

NOT TO CRITICIZE ROOSEVELT WHEN THE PRESIDENT SENT FIFTY SHIPS TO

THE BRITISH NAVY. HE ALSO SUPPORTED ROOSEVELT'S ORDER FOR

AMERICAN YOUNG MEN TO GIVE THEIR NAMES TO ARMY OFFICIALS SO THEY

COULD BE CALLED IF FIGHTING BEGAN.

IN THIS WAY, ROOSEVELT AND WILLKIE TRIED TO KEEP AMERICA'S

GROWING INVOLVEMENT IN THE WAR FROM BECOMING A MAJOR POLITICAL

ISSUE IN THE ELECTION.

VOICE TWO:

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT WON THE ELECTION OF NINETEEN-FORTY.

ROOSEVELT WON TWENTY-SEVEN-MILLION VOTES TO TWENTY-TWO-MILLION

FOR WILLKIE. THIS MADE ROOSEVELT THE FIRST AND ONLY MAN IN

AMERICAN HISTORY TO WIN A THIRD TERM IN THE WHITE HOUSE.

SOON AFTER THE ELECTION, PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT RECEIVED A LETTER

FROM WINSTON CHURCHILL. THE BRITISH PRIME MINISTER WROTE THAT

BRITAIN URGENTLY NEEDED MORE ARMS AND PLANES TO FIGHT GERMANY.

ROOSEVELT AGREED. HE WENT TO THE CONGRESS TO PLEAD FOR MORE AID

TO BRITAIN. HE SAID THE UNITED STATES SHOULD CHANGE ITS NEUTRAL

POLICY, BECAUSE BRITAIN WAS FIGHTING A COMMON ENEMY OF DEMOCRACY.

ROOSEVELT ALSO SAID THE UNITED STATES COULD AVOID WAR IF BRITAIN

WAS STRONG ENOUGH TO DEFEAT GERMANY BY HERSELF.

VOICE ONE:

CONGRESS AGREED, AFTER A FIERCE DEBATE, TO INCREASE AID TO

LONDON. AND IN THE WEEKS AND MONTHS THAT FOLLOWED, THE UNITED

STATES MOVED CLOSER AND CLOSER TO OPEN WAR WITH GERMANY.

IN MARCH, NINETEEN-FORTY-ONE, ROOSEVELT ALLOWED BRITISH SHIPS TO

COME TO AMERICAN PORTS TO BE FIXED. IN JUNE, THE UNITED STATES

SEIZED SHIPS UNDER GERMAN CONTROL. IT ALSO TOOK OVER GERMAN AND

ITALIAN FUNDS IN AMERICAN BANKS.

VOICE TWO:

OPEN FIGHTING COULD NOT BE PREVENTED WITH THIS INCREASE IN

TENSION BETWEEN GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES. IN SEPTEMBER,

NINETEEN-FORTY-ONE, A GERMAN SUBMARINE FIRED AT AN AMERICAN SHIP.

THE SHIP WAS NOT DAMAGED. BUT A NUMBER OF AMERICAN TROOPS WERE

KILLED IN OTHER NAVAL INCIDENTS THAT FOLLOWED.

VOICE ONE:

BY THE END OF NINETEEN-FORTY-ONE, THE UNITED STATES AND GERMANY

WERE ALMOST AT WAR. EVEN SO, MOST AMERICANS CONTINUED TO HOPE

FOR PEACE. IN FACT, FEW AMERICANS COULD GUESS THAT WAR WAS JUST

DAYS AWAY. THE FIRST BLOW WOULD COME -- NOT FROM GERMANY -- BUT

FROM JAPAN.

THAT WILL BE OUR STORY NEXT WEEK.

(THEME)

VOICE TWO:

YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO THE MAKING OF A NATION, A PROGRAM IN

SPECIAL ENGLISH BY THE VOICE OF AMERICA. YOUR NARRATORS HAVE

BEEN HARRY MONROE AND JACK WEITZEL. OUR PROGRAM WAS WRITTEN BY DAVID

JARMUL.