USA HISTORY

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM(1890 1919)

THE UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR I

[SOURCES]
When Churchill and Roosevelt made war plans in December 1941, they decided the top priority was to:

(A) Defeat Japan

(B) ** Defeat Germany

(C) Create the United Nations

(D) Make an alliance with the Soviet Union

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -In late December 1941, shortly after entry of the United States into World War II, Churchill met in Washington, D.C., with Roosevelt in what became known as the First Washington Conference, code name “Arcadia.” The conference placed first priority on the Atlantic theater and the defeat of Germany and Italy.

Concept note-2: -It was agreed that the defeat of Hitler and Mussolini would be the top priority. Major strategic aims were discussed and decided, but there was also much social and personal interaction between the two heads-of-state.

Concept note-3: -Churchill’s new partner, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, had agreed to a “Europe first” strategy, making the fight against Nazi Germany a priority over the war in the Pacific against Japan.

Concept note-4: -On the final day of the Conference, President Roosevelt announced that he and Churchill had decided that the only way to ensure postwar peace was to adopt a policy of unconditional surrender.

Concept note-5: -The plan was known as “closing the ring.” In December 1941, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed to attack German holdings in North Africa first. That maneuver was finally executed in October 1942. Nazi troops were occupying much of the African Mediterranean coast, which had been controlled by France prior to the war.