Against immediate evil : American internationalists and the four freedoms on the eve of World War II / Andrew Johnstone.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Johnstone, Andrew (Andrew E.), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Internationalism--History--20th century.

Internationalism.

Neutrality--United States--History--20th century.

Neutrality.

Public opinion--United States--History--20th century.

Public opinion.

United States--Foreign relations--1933-1945--Public opinion.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (240 p.)

Place of Publication:

Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In Against Immediate Evil, Andrew Johnstone tells the story of how internationalist Americans worked between 1938 and 1941 to convince the U.S. government and the American public of the need to stem the rising global tide of fascist aggression. As war approached, the internationalist movement attempted to arouse the nation in order to defeat noninterventionism at home and fascism overseas. Johnstone's examination of this movement undermines the common belief that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor wrenched an isolationist United States into global armed conflict and the struggle for international power.Johnstone focuses on three organizations-the American Committee for Non-Participation in Japanese Aggression, the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies, and Fight For Freedom-that actively promoted a more global role for the United States based on a conception of the "four freedoms" later made famous by FDR. The desire to be free from fear was seen in concerns regarding America's immediate national security. The desire to be free from want was expressed in anxieties over the nation's future economic prosperity. The need for freedom of speech was represented in concerns over the potential loss of political freedoms. Finally, the need for freedom of worship was seen in the emphasis on religious freedoms and broader fears about the future of Western civilization. These groups and their supporters among the public and within the government characterized the growing global conflict as one between two distinct worlds and in doing so, set the tone of American foreign policy for decades to come.

Contents:

The Sino-Japanese War and the American Committee for Non-Participation in Japanese Aggression

The coming of war and the American Union for Concerted Peace Efforts

The phony war and the Non-Partisan Committee for Peace through Revision of the Neutrality Law

Blitzkrieg and the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies

The destroyer bases agreement and the Century group

Maximum aid and the battle for Lend-Lease

Deliver the goods and Fight for Freedom

The Battle of the Atlantic from Barbarossa to Pearl Harbor.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780801454721

0801454727

9780801454738

0801454735

OCLC:

905564277