Buranok, S.O. Social and political forces in the USA and the threat of war in 1938–1939.

Abstract: The article concerns the reaction of the US society to the crisis moments in the international relations in 1938–1939. The author analyzes the evaluations of the German aggression in Europe by the US leaders and by the press. The American society in 1920–1930s had two tendencies in respect to the threat of war: “isolationists’ on one hand, and “internationalists’ on the other hand. In this situation the President of the USA F. D. Roosevelt, who paid much attention to the European and Middle Eastern affairs. The first large European crisis of 1938 was due to occupation of Austria, which had a considerable impact on the American society. The formation of the evaluation of Fascist threat was influenced by the mass media and the opinions of the leading politicians, among whom the position of the personnel of the Department of State was the most prominent. The Secretary of State Cordell Hall stated before the March crisis of 1938 that Germany became a domineering force in the continental Europe, and taking this factor into account (the Secretary of State was addressing the Ambassador of Germany H. H. Dieckhoff) it is necessary to establish the further way — either to militarization and conflicts, or to sustaining the existing order in Europe.

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