Posted on 08/19/2009 5:24:48 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Rise and Fall is good, but also I would highly recommend Shirer’s “Berlin Diary”, because you get to see what the thinking was at the time, without the benefit of hindsight.
I replied: I don't know what more he could have done to influence the course of events.
You then posted: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/holocaust/filmmore/reference/primary/index.html
I think we are talking about different things. There has been some discussion on these realtime threads about Roosevelt's actions, or lack thereof, on behalf of Europe's Jews. Here is an example:
I will wait to pass judgment on that topic. My original reply to you related just to the events of August 1939, with regard to which I don't think FDR could have had much impact.
Quite the contrary. The world was looking for leadership, and America provided none. FDR was more concerned about pushing through his leftist economic agenda.
The GOP under Wendell Willkie actually had to push FDR to take a more aggressive role vis a vis the Nazis.
II. America’s gradual involvement in the global conflict
Finally, the realization came to Roosevelt that the expansionist policies of Japan in Asia and Hitler’s Anschluss of Austria in March 1938 required stronger armed forces for the U.S. Congress passed a naval expansion bill for the building of a two-ocean Navy in May 1938.
The effect of Germany’s attack on Poland in 1939 brought about a declaration by President Roosevelt “to be neutral in deed if not in thought.” It became evident that the Neutrality Acts favored Germany since Germany had no need to buy armaments, while Britain and France had great needs. He urged Congress to repeal the arms embargo. His appeal was finally answered by Congress with the provision that England and France supply the ships and cash for armaments. Title to all exports were to be transferred before the goods left the U.S. With such provisions in the revision of the Neutrality Act, Americans felt there was no risk of getting involved in the European war. Franklin D. Roosevelt never hinted that his proposals for the revision of the Neutrality Act would link the United States with England and France against Germany.
*Even while observing the provisions of the Neutrality Acts, Roosevelt began in 1939 to prepare for eventual participation in the war on the side of the western powers.
*After the Neutrality Act of 1939 was signed by President Roosevelt, he proclaimed the North Atlantic a combat zone. In the first few months of war between the Allies (England and France) and Germany (September 1939), Franklin D. Roosevelt made every possible effort to insulate the United States from the European conflict.
To the French Premier Reynaud’s request for American aid, Roosevelt could only answer that the U.S. could not give any aid. He stated that Congress could only declare war.
Soon afterwards Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress for a five-fold increase of the Navy. In May 1940, Churchill asked for 40 or 50 overage destroyers. By September 1940 a destroyers-for-bases agreement was made; thereby the U.S. openly declared its support of England in the war against Germany. This act marked the end of American neutrality.
In June 1940 Japan entered the fourth year of war against China. Japan sealed Chiang Kai-shek’s forces by having the British close the Burma Road, and forced the French (through the Vichy government) to ban military shipments via trains through Indo-China.
Only the United States stood between Japan and its dominance of all Asia. President Roosevelt ordered the Pacific fleet to have maneuvers off Hawaii and ordered the fleet to remain indefinitely nearby. He also transferred the fleet’s base from California to Hawaii.
The National Defense Act of 1940 gave the President the right to place embargoes on any materials deemed essential to national defense. When Morgenthay and Stimson persuaded Franklin D. Roosevelt to place oil and scrap iron on the list of materials essential for national security, Sumner Welles protested. The President then limited the embargo to aviation gasoline and only the highest grade of scrap iron. This made for a major departure in American foreign policy.
The embargo of materials for Japan came too late since Japan decided to carry out its plan for the New Order in Asia, i.e., conquest of Southeast Asia. A Tripartite Pact was made between Germany, Italy and Japan. Germany wanted to prevent American entry into the war, while Japan wanted to frighten the U.S. with the prospect of a possible two-ocean war.
The 1940 election campaign in the U.S. was on. Roosevelt made a statement, “Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign war.” However, the following comment was not part of his speech: “Of course, we’ll fight if we’re attacked. If someone attacks us, then it isn’t a foreign war.”
In December 1940 Roosevelt asserted that England was America’s first line of defense. Since Britain needed supplies to help protect American security, the simplest solution was to lease the materials. According to Robert A. Divine, the passage of the Lend-Lease Bill in March 1941 was a major turning point in American foreign policy. The U.S. was firmly committed to the goal of defeating Germany. President Roosevelt gave permission to British and American military staff members to meet during January through March 1941 in order to coordinate military strategy in the event the U.S. entered war against Germany. They determined that Germany was to be first defeated, while the U.S. would stand on the defensive toward Japan in the Pacific.
The Hemisphere Neutrality Belt (300 miles out into the Atlantic), which was established in October 1939, was extended by April 1941 to the 25° Meridian, approximately the half-point line in the Atlantic between Europe and America. Even though the agreement was secret, this line cut into Germany’s announced submarine warfare zone (March 1941).
The Danish government-in-exile placed Greenland under U.S. protection and authorized the construction of air and naval bases there.
Roosevelt’s policy was that American warships were not to shoot at German submarines, and therefore no convoy duty for American warships would be allowed.
To help China, Colonel Claire L. Chennault’s “Flying Tigers” were organized with 50 American airplanes, and de-commissioned American aviators-officers were sent to China.
From December 1940 on, additional materials were placed weekly on the embargo list for Japan, and thereby an economic sanction policy was in force, except for oil. Denying oil to Japan would have brought about dire consequences.
IV. The final plunge into the war.
After Russia was attacked by Germany in June 1941, President Roosevelt stated, “We are going to give all the aid we possibly can to Russia.” He added that the U.S. would give forty million dollars worth of goods and the use of American ships. (The 40 million dollars were Russian assets that were frozen.) Roosevelt did not intend to invoke the Neutrality Act for the Russo-German war. He did not launch any immediate program to assist Russia in spite of his earlier remarks.
On July 1, 1941, the U.S. and Iceland reached an agreement to allow 4,000 marines to be sent to Iceland to forestall a German invasion.
By August 1941, the U.S. gave Russia its first formal commitment of assistance.
Even though the U.S. was neutral, Roosevelt met Churchill off the coast of Newfoundland on a British warship. He resisted Churchill’s efforts to make him declare a warning to Japan that their continued aggression in Asia would bring war with the U.S.A.
The Atlantic Charter was drawn up by Churchill and Roosevelt with the following statement of principles, among them:
1. a pledge against aggression.
2. a promise of self-determination in territorial changes.
3. respect for the right of self-government and freedom of speech.
4. a creation of an effective international organization. (Roosevelt rejected it.)
On July 26, 1941, the United States declared a full-scale embargo ending all trade with Japan. Great Britain and her Dominions and the Dutch authorities did the same. It was disastrous for Japan.
In September 1941 the Japanese asked for a summit meeting between the Prime Minister Price Konoye and Roosevelt. Konoye hoped to get American approval of Japanese dominance in the Far East. The United States insisted that Japan give up the New Order in Asia and to withdraw troops from China and Indochina. This insistence of America ended the last chance for diplomatic accommodation between Japan and the U.S. in 1941. Konoye’s government fell from power on October 16, 1941. General Hideki Tojo formed a new cabinet. He pledged to fulfill Japan’s destiny in Asia.
The Japanese attack upon the American gunboat Greer in China brought about Roosevelt’s reply that American warships would escort merchant marine ships and would get orders to “shoot-on-sight.”
While I agree with you that Wendell Willkie was an interventionalist (remember that interventionalists wanted to help as much as possible WITHOUT going to war), it certainly does not make Roosevelt an isolationist. There are a ton of things that I can critisize FDR on but how he handled our eventual entry into the war is not one of them. At least not from a major standpoint.
He had to contend with the isolationist crowd that were adamant even after Germany went to war with Britain and France not to allow the United States to go to war. You'll notice that his speech after Pearl Harbor doesn't even mention Germany. One reason for this was that even after that attack FDR knew that he could not request a general war with Japan and Germany. The isolationists still would not have had it. Hitler had to do us that favor by declaring war on the U.S. on the 11th. This was despite the fact that Lend Lease had us trading arms as fast as we could ship them and his giving authority to Atlantic naval units to attack German submarines on sight (already an act of war). There were some logistical and preparedness issues that I think fall at FDR's feet and not just some of the people who fell on the sword upon our entry into the war, but I think he did just about as well as a politician can under the circumstances.
“There are a ton of things that I can critisize FDR on but how he handled our eventual entry into the war is not one of them. At least not from a major standpoint.”
You are basically repeating all of the liberal historian’s talking points. FDR moved quickly only after the Soviet Union was attacked by the Nazis. FDR was behind the public opinion on helping England . . don’t let the liberal apologists and myth makers deceive you.
I am doing nothing of the sort and I don’t appreciate the accusation. I’m not saying he did a perfect job, but I am saying that he was hamstrung by other forces besides just his own desire to push his agenda. Another issue that drove his policy in 1939 and 40 was he was trying to get re-elected and like it our not that does drive policy.
But even though he was trying to keep the isolationists somewhat sated he still responded to requests from Britain. Two months after Churchill became Prime Minister he sent a request to FDR for some destroyers to replace the ones destroyed over the last month by German U-boats. He needed to replace 11, FDR sent him 50. This was about a year before operation Barbarossa and as a result of just that action there was an uproar in Congress over whether we should aid Great Britain or maintain strict neutrality. (We will read all about that next year).
He had to walk a fine line between the isolationists, interventionists, and the hawks and since he was a very good manipulator he accomplished that very well. So well in fact that we are still left with pieces of his legacy today, like that Ponzzi scheme called social security.
I’m not so quick to throw everything at his feet just like I’m not willing to do so with General Short or Admiral Kimmel for the mistakes made at Pearl Harbor. There was a lot of things going on from many different channels during this time.
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