What caused World War II, and why did the United States try to stay neutral at first?
Analyze the causes of World War II, including the rise of totalitarian dictators and aggression, the failure of appeasement, and American isolationism and the Neutrality Acts before US entry (NGSSS SS.912.A.6, Reporting Category 2).
An EOC-level answer on the causes of World War II for the Florida US History exam: the rise of totalitarian dictators, fascism and Nazism, aggression in Europe and Asia, the failure of appeasement, and American isolationism and the Neutrality Acts, with worked stimulus questions.
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What this topic is asking
World War II grew out of the unfinished business of World War I and the rise of brutal dictatorships. The NGSSS benchmark SS.912.A.6 wants you to analyze the causes of the war, the failure of appeasement, and the isolationism that kept the United States on the sidelines at first. This is a core Reporting Category 2 topic the EOC tests with a map of aggression, a cartoon, or a question about appeasement and neutrality.
The rise of totalitarian dictators
These dictatorships fed on the resentment left by the Treaty of Versailles and the desperation of the Great Depression, promising national glory and recovery in exchange for absolute power.
Aggression in Europe and Asia
The League of Nations, weak and without the United States, was unable to stop this aggression.
The failure of appeasement
Appeasement is one of the most important lessons of the war's origins: rather than satisfying Hitler, the concessions emboldened him. He soon seized the rest of Czechoslovakia and then invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, prompting Britain and France to declare war and beginning World War II in Europe.
American isolationism and the Neutrality Acts
Most Americans wanted nothing to do with another European war. The Neutrality Acts reflected this mood, and the United States stayed officially neutral even as the war spread, until the attack that finally pulled it in.
Try this
Q1. Define appeasement and give an example. [2]
- Cue. Giving in to an aggressor's demands to avoid war; for example, Britain and France allowing Hitler to take part of Czechoslovakia at the Munich Conference of 1938.
Q2. Explain why the United States passed the Neutrality Acts in the 1930s. [2]
- Cue. Scarred by the cost of World War I, Americans were strongly isolationist and wanted to avoid being drawn into another foreign war, so the Neutrality Acts aimed to keep the United States out of conflicts.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of FLDOE exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
FL EOC (US History, style)1 marksAt the 1938 Munich Conference, Britain and France allowed Nazi Germany to take part of Czechoslovakia in hopes of avoiding war. This policy of giving in to an aggressor's demands is known asShow worked answer →
A single-select item (Reporting Category 2, SS.912.A.6).
Correct answer: appeasement, the policy of making concessions to an aggressive power to keep the peace.
Markers reward identifying the Munich concessions as appeasement. Distractors such as "containment" (a later Cold War policy) or "isolationism" (avoiding involvement entirely) name different policies; appeasement specifically means giving in to demands.
FL EOC (US History, style)1 marksIn the 1930s the United States passed a series of Neutrality Acts. These laws are best understood as an expression of which American attitude?Show worked answer →
A single-select item (Reporting Category 2, SS.912.A.6).
Correct answer: isolationism, the desire to avoid involvement in foreign wars after the experience of World War I.
Markers reward connecting the Neutrality Acts to the strong isolationist mood of the 1930s. Distractors such as "imperialism" or "appeasement" describe the opposite or a different policy; the Neutrality Acts aimed to keep the United States out of war.
Related dot points
- Analyze the steps from neutrality to war, including Lend-Lease, the attack on Pearl Harbor and the US declaration of war, and the major Allied and Axis powers and turning points of the war (NGSSS SS.912.A.6, Reporting Category 2).
An EOC-level answer on US entry into World War II for the Florida US History exam: the end of neutrality through Lend-Lease, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the declaration of war, the Allied and Axis powers, and the major turning points of the war, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the impact of World War II on the home front, including war production and the end of the Depression, women in the workforce (Rosa the Riveter), opportunities and discrimination for minorities, and the internment of Japanese Americans and Korematsu v. United States (NGSSS SS.912.A.6, Reporting Category 2).
An EOC-level answer on the World War II home front for the Florida US History exam: war production and the end of the Great Depression, rationing and war bonds, women in the workforce, opportunities and discrimination for minorities, and the internment of Japanese Americans and Korematsu v. United States, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the Holocaust as Nazi Germany's systematic genocide, the war in Europe from D-Day to V-E Day, and the liberation of the concentration camps (NGSSS SS.912.A.6, Reporting Category 2).
An EOC-level answer on the Holocaust and the European war for the Florida US History exam: Nazi ideology and the systematic genocide of six million Jews, the concentration and death camps, the war in Europe from D-Day to V-E Day, and the liberation of the camps, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the war in the Pacific, the strategy of island hopping, the development of the atomic bomb through the Manhattan Project, the decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the surrender of Japan (NGSSS SS.912.A.6, Reporting Category 2).
An EOC-level answer on the Pacific war and the atomic bomb for the Florida US History exam: the war against Japan and island hopping, the Manhattan Project, President Truman's decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the surrender of Japan, and the debate over the decision, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze Wilson's Fourteen Points, the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations, the Senate debate and rejection of the treaty, and the return to isolationism after World War I (NGSSS SS.912.A.5, Reporting Category 1).
An EOC-level answer on the Treaty of Versailles for the Florida US History exam: Wilson's Fourteen Points, the terms of the treaty and the League of Nations, the Senate debate over the League and Article X, the role of Henry Cabot Lodge, and the American return to isolationism, with worked stimulus questions.
Sources & how we know this
- US History End-of-Course Assessment Test Item Specifications — Florida Department of Education (2013)
- US History Reporting Category Statements — Florida Department of Education (2013)