Replies

Yes, except at the time we didn't know about Auschwitz or Treblinka, etc. In 1941 I don't even think the rumors about death camps were floating around.

Anyway, the point I attempted to make was that pre dec 7th the mood in the US was to stay out of 'Europe's war'. That's why we had the neutrality act. If Japan didn't attack, Congress would not have declared war on anyone. So just like Clinton IGNORED the War Powers Act with Kosovo, FDR ignored the Neutrality Act. And that's what I meant by 'typical DemoncRAT', laws are for others, not them.

And could you imagine if Bush did that now with Iran or Syria. Just ignore Congress, the War Powers Act and go to war. He'd be impeached the next day.

I suspect we are not in significant disagreement, but just as a matter of form, I will add the following.

We knew Hitler was mistreating Jews and others: Cristal Nacht, mass deportations, ghettos, etc. were well known both from refugee accounts and from first-hand observations by diplomats and travelers. We did not know the scale and degree of Hitler's atrocities, but we knew there were atrocities. Many argued for war based on this limited knowledge. I agree the mood of the nation was to stay out of the war, however. We did "need" to defeat the Nazis, but few Americans wanted to in 1941 (many, such as Charles Lindbergh, probably supported Hitler to a degree).

By the way, Congress declared war on Germany, so they implicitly overruled the Neutrality Act at that point. FDR DID ignore the Neutrality Act when he actively supported the British in the Battle of the Atlantic (remember the Reuben James, sunk in a battle with a German U-Boat in early 1941: not exactly neutrality, but, in my opinion, not exactly wrong either).