America's Transformation from Isolationism to Global Intervention: The Critical Years 1939–1941

Haotong Hong

doi:10.47297/wspeiWSP2516-253510.20250906

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America's Transformation from Isolationism to Global Intervention: The Critical Years 1939–1941

Volume 9, Issue 6

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America's Transformation from Isolationism to Global Intervention: The Critical Years 1939–1941
America's Transformation from Isolationism to Global Intervention: The Critical Years 1939–1941
Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
Vol. 9, Issue 6, Pages: 50-56(2025)
Published：30 December 2025
DOI：10.47297/wspeiWSP2516-253510.20250906
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Hong Haotong.America's Transformation from Isolationism to Global Intervention: The Critical Years 1939–1941[J].Entrepreneurship and Innovation,2025,09(06):50-56.
DOI：

Hong Haotong.America's Transformation from Isolationism to Global Intervention: The Critical Years 1939–1941[J].Entrepreneurship and Innovation,2025,09(06):50-56. DOI： 10.47297/wspeiWSP2516-253510.20250906.

摘要

Abstract

This paper examines the gradual but decisive shift in American foreign policy from neutrality to full engagement in World War II during the period from 1939 to 1941. Through a comprehensive analysis of the modifications to the Neutrality Acts

the passage of the Lend-Lease Act

the formation of Anglo-American strategic cooperation

the escalation of U.S.-Japan tensions

and the outbreak of war following the Pearl Harbor attack

this study explores both the domestic and international factors driving the evolution of American diplomacy. Drawing upon Herbert Feis's seminal work The Road to Pearl Harbor and international relations theoretical frameworks

this paper demonstrates how external threats progressively narrowed the U.S. policy options

ultimately transforming isolationist America into the architect of the global anti-fascist coalition. The analysis reveals how economic pressures

diplomatic negotiations

and strategic miscalculations on both sides led inexorably toward conflict

fundamentally reshaping both the course of World War II and the post-war international order.

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Keywords

references

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