Pearl Harbor, the contingent nature of history, and military aid for Ukraine
The America First movement in the United States was led by isolationists who believed the country should not get involved in any war in Europe. World War II was launched by Adolf Hitler when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Germany was joined by the Soviet Union on September 17 when it invaded eastern Poland, pursuant to the Molotov-von Rippentrop Non-agression Pact concluded in August, and its secret Protocol calling for the division of Poland between the two countries.
During 1940 only Great Britain fought on, alone. Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to help but was constrained by the isolationists in Congress. Nonetheless, he was able to secure passage of the Lend-Lease Act in March 1941, which allowed Britain to acquire military aid from the U.S. on credit, as it were. This American military assistance was a vital lifeline which enabled Britain to keep up the fight against Germany.
Nonetheless, the situation facing Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Great Britain in early December 1941 was grave. Hitler’s indomitable war machine stood unchallenged on the continent of Europe, and fears of a German invasion of Britain persisted, despite Hitler’s invasion of the SovietUnion in June 1941.
Churchill nurtured the hope that America would enter the war and help defeat Hitler’s forces, as its entry into World War I had ensured the defeat of Germany and Austria.
Yet given the opposition of the isolationists, the America First Movement, it was not clear whether the U.S. would enter the war and if it would do so before it was too late for Britain.
Then, on December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.
Churchill was greatly relieved, because he thought Japan’s war against the U.S. would bring America into the European war, while also relieving pressure on outposts of the British Empire in Asia.
During1940 the Nazis conquered the major countries in Europe except Sweden, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal, and Germany’s ally Italy.
Churchill later said that the Allies’ secret weapon in World War II was the military genius of Corporal Schickengruber (a derogatory reference to Adolf Hitler using his grandfather’s last name).
Corporal Schickengruber showed his genius four days after Pearl Harbor when he declared war on the United States. Churchill breathed a double sigh of relief.
It is useful to reflect on history, on the details of history, for they reveal the highly contingent nature of world events. The study of history can also stimulate our thinking about current events and generate powerful insights.
The Lend-Lease program provided Britain with the oxygen it needed to continue its armed resistance against Nazi aggression. Without it, Britain could have fallen, and without Britain it could have taken the Allies decades to defeat Germany.
Military aid to Ukraine is similar in many ways to the Lend-Lease assistance to Great Britain. Without the latter, Britain could have fallen. Without the former, Ukraine could suffer defeat at the hands of the Russians1 Or the situation could deteriorate to such a degree that NATO combat forces become directly involved.
Pearl Harbor happened 82 years ago, but it remains a vivid reminder of the fact that American isolationism, whatever its short-term benefits including financial savings, may turn out to be extremely costly in the end.
Today, in South America Venezuela is threatening to invade and annex part of Guyana. This is but a small harbinger of what might occur around the globe if Ukraine falls, and with it the fundamental pillars of international law and the U.N. Charter-based international legal order.
The 82nd anniversary of Pearl Harbor is a good day to reflect on the big picture, and what is really involved in resisting Russian aggression in Ukraine.
James Rowles is a former Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School and professor of international law at other universities.
***
Support the Author
Your author needs your support.
You may sign up for a free subscription. To receive all of the content as soon as it is published and to support the newsletter, please upgrade to a Paid or Founding Member subscription. To do so, click on the “Subscribe now” button below.
Alternatively, you may make a contribution to the author’s Go Fund Me appeal by clicking on the last button below. Go Fund Me does not take 10% as Substack does.
UPDATE: See George Packer, “‘We Only Need Some Metal Things’; Will America abandon Ukraine?” The Atlantic, December 9, 2023 (7:32 am ET).