Prior to WW2, were there ever any plans in the works to invite Hitler,Mussolini,Emperor Hiroito or Tojo to the United States for an official visit, or to have President Roosevelt visit these heads of state?
Would such visits at the time have reduced tensions enough to have at least postponed the war?
I believe that Count Ciano visited the United States in the '30s. Due to the US’s geographical distance and isolationist stance, though, you didn’t see many state visits from Europe prior to World War II.
Official state visits by foreign heads of state to the U.S. from 1874 to 1939
So that’s 4 state visits from Europe from 1874 to 1939, 8 official trips to Europe by the Sec. of State in the same time period, and one Presidential trip during that time period (Wilson, to negotiate the Treaty of Versailles).
Like I said, not too many from Europe, prior to WWII.
You mean like Neville Chamberlain declaring “peace in our time” after he met with Hitler?
Just read Susan Vowell’s Assassination Vacation (great book!) and she notes that when President McKinley visited Niagra Falls to tour, he made very sure to keep away from the Canadian side, lest he become the first sitting president to have ever left the country.
Ack. Hate to double post, but I think it’s important:
Keep in mind that there wasn’t any good, reliable air travel to get from the U.S. to Europe in those times- certainly nothing you’d want to put a major head of state upon. For FDR to go to Europe- or for European leaders to come here- would mean two to three weeks there, and two to three weeks back. That’s a lot of time to spend away from the homeland in the middle of a crisis situation.
Sarah Vowell, not Susan. I have a friend who has a voice just like hers.
For the European countries there wouldn’t have been much point visiting the United States since they were at war long before the United States got involved. Hitler declared war on the US only after the US declared war on Japan. Pre Pearl Harbor the US was strongly isolationistic and any belligerant power would assume that we would sit out the war, or more precisely that the war would be over long before the US could join the war, mobilize, and send forces halfway across the world.
A non-aggression treaty between the US and Germany or Italy would have made war more likely, not less, since it would allow Germany to attack with one less minor thing to worry about. The US
Japan had a lot more to gain by guaranteeing US isolation. The Japanese only attacked us to destroy our ability to interfere with their asian adventurism, we probably could have easily avoided war with them by publicly declaring that we’d do nothing when they invaded the British, French and Dutch colonies, we’d probably also have to hand over the Phillipines at some point.
Anyway, the main point is that any visits would have the goal of keeping the US out of the coming wars, not stopping the wars. The wars were already decided upon.
McKinley must have been unaware that his predecessor President Grant went hunting in Mexico during his term.
What I find amazing is the length of Wilson’s trip. He was out of the country from December 4, 1918 to July 8, 1919 (except for one nine day return visit).
Wilson needed all that time to do his bangup job with the Treaty of Versailles. His extended absence didn’t exactly endear him to Congress.
Cite? I’ve read a lot about the Presidents and never heard of this.
The President Grant trivia item was in the question-and-answer column in Congressional Quarterly, late 1980 or early 1981.
Unbelievably unlikely. World War II had very little to do with the U.S even when one includes Japan. Japan did see the U.S. as a rival/obstacle to its supremacy in Asia, but was more concerned with the Chinese and especially the British who played a major imperialist role there.
Don’t forget that the war in Asia had been going on for almost a decade before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
That an isolationist U.S. could have affected change in the previous decade - especially while struggling to pull itself out of of the Depression - is dubious to the max.
Some major reading as to the causes of WWII is in order.