Question: What foreign policy issues before 1941 should I know about?  (scroll down for answer)

Answer:

In between the wars, America was neutral. The Washington Naval Conference, shortly of 1921, saw the major powers agree to limit their naval arms. The Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 renounced war as a form of national policy. Of note just before WWII:

1.Good Neighbor Policy - FDR improved relations with Western Hemisphere neighbors in Latin America. Some wartime manufacturing took place in the nearby countries.

2. Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1937, and 1939 - kept US neutral mostly in terms of arms shipments to foreign countries.

3. "Cash and Carry" - 1939  - stated that the US would aid Britain, only if they came to the US on their own boats, paid in cash, and then left.

4. Selective Service Act of 1940 - the first ever peacetime draft in American History.

5. Destroyers for Bases Deal of 1940 - To prevent upsetting those who favored neutrality, FDR traded older big boats (destroyers) in exchange for British bases in the Caribbean. Giving or selling them would have been a breach of neutrality.

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