Unit One Lecture Notes The Agony of Neutrality - To the Brink

When Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, Roosevelt gave a Fireside Chat where he declared the neutrality of the United States, but he expressed the fact that America could not be neutral as well in thought. Most Americans heavily favored the Allies and were anti-Hitler. Even though most Americans wanted to help Britain, they stopped short of sending troops to Europe (including FDR). In fact, when increasing army size FDR told planners that he did not expect to bulk up the military past the point where it was needed to defend the hemisphere. Roosevelt promised one thing to European leaders and said another to the American people. He unrealistically planned to even ship goods across the Canadian border to have them assembled without having them leave American ports.

FDR loved the navy, but especially was enthralled with the Air Force. He believed an air force was better because it required fewer men, could project devastation over a much more vast distance, and the American economy would be stimulated by the increased employment needed to make the airplanes. FDR wanted to ramp up commitment to building a large air force, one big enough to have 10,000 airplanes for the US and another 5,000 to loan to Britain and France. Although Hap Arnold was excited, most of the other branches, especially the army, were not. FDR also believed that a large air force was a great deterrent for Hitler and would have likely prevented the Munich crisis. However, a deterrent only works if other people know about it, and FDR neither had the planes nor did he want to publicize the build up.

George C. Marshall emerged as a very important and influential adviser to FDR, mainly because he stood up to FDR and never laughed at any of his jokes. He languished for most of the 1930’s in dead-end assignments as a lieutenant colonel, but rose to army chief of staff through a cold and ruthless ability to judge men and weed out the older officers who would not perform well in the upcoming war.

FDR was not very interested in increasing requests to bulking up the military budget, not only because he was focused more on domestic issues, but also because he knew Congress would likely deny him the budget increases. The American military remained very small on the very edge of war, and was extremely unprepared as late as mid-1941. The Europeans were not exactly jumping at America to order more weapons, because they feared the Neutrality Acts would limit their purchases or ability to take possession of what they ordered. Indeed, FDR invoked the Neutrality Act (as he was legally obligated to do) when Poland was invaded in September, 1939. He delayed it as long as possible (to allow Britain and France to clear some last minute orders) but then closed the door. The British especially were depressed, fearing that this meant their ultimate defeat. FDR had to figure out a way to revise the Neutrality Acts to keep the Allies from going under.

He called for a special congressional session to revise the acts, and his opponents leaped into action. Charles Lindbergh gave a speech saying that the Atlantic Ocean was still a formidable obstacle to a German attack. Isolationist Senators like William Borah of Idaho also attacked any revision, saying it would lead us into war. But FDR got his way, largely by giving up on further domestic reforms so Southern Democrats would support his foreign policy proposals. Although the revised law now allowed belligerents to purchase weapons, the old “Cash and Carry” provisions were renewed, much to FDR’s disliking. The revisions also established a “No-sail zone” that prohibited American ships from entering, which included most of Western Europe. FDR was not satisfied with the revisions but was still faced with the quandary of how to warn America about the dangers of neutrality without scaring America with the spectre of war.

After Hitler and Stalin’s carving up of Poland, the Blitzkrieg took a break and the “Sitzkrieg” took over. Neither the British nor French seemed too worried, and neither were interested in taking the offensive. The French were confident that the Maginot Line was impregnable, and the British were distracted by German diplomatic maneuvers. The Americans were unimpressed with the war and not very afraid of the German war machine. FDR believed that it might be possible to negotiate a settlement before the war resulted in too many deaths. He sent a fact finding mission to London, Paris and Berlin to determine the possibility. The Americans discovered that Germany and Italy were not even remotely interested in negotiation, and the French were so discouraged that many did not expect to win the war. The British, however, were the exception. From Churchill down to the common man, the British were determined to fight to the end and never surrender. This would be very important in helping FDR decide to help the British, since that help might very well be the difference in defeating Hitler.

Denmark and Norway fell under Hitler’s assault in early April, and the British could not prevent the takeover. Chamberlain was removed as Prime Minister, and he meekly stepped down in favor of Churchill. By early May, Holland, Luxembourg and Belgium were next to succumb to the Blitzkrieg. The French were almost ready to surrender at that point, and would indeed only resist for another month or so. Although the British were able to almost completely evacuate the BEF, plus another 100,000 or so Frenchmen, they were forced to leave behind over 120,000 vehicles, countless rifles, and tons of ammunition. On land, Britain was all but defenseless, and would take months to recoup this loss in material. Only the Royal Navy and RAF stood in the way to protect Britain. With the British gone, the remaining French surrendered quickly to fast-moving armor columns.

Italy then declared war on France, attempting to take advantage of their weakened enemy. The French officially surrendered only two weeks later, and ceded the entire Atlantic coastline to German occupation, along with Paris and the Alsace-Lorraine region. A rump nation called Vichy France was set up under the leadership of Marshal Henri Petain, who commenced collaboration with the Germans by setting up his own French Fascist state. This really changed the long-term strategy of both England and the US. The British had long assumed that France would absorb many months or years of German blows while the British rearmed and built up their forces. The Americans long relied on the combination of British navy and French army power to delay or even defeat Germany. Now everything would have to be reconsidered.

Many people, including Ambassador Joseph Kennedy, predicted Britain’s immediate surrender as well. Very few, including FDR, believed Britain could long hold out against Germany by itself. Churchill gave his famous speech in June 1940 which reassured Americans as much as Britons that the United Kingdom would prevail – “We shall never surrender”. Churchill was peculiarly suited to be the suitor to American aid in 1940. He understood the Americans well (having an American mother). He was a fantastic orator and diplomat, and knew when to beg and when to threaten. FDR had been getting very pessimistic reports from Kennedy about the British, and Churchill was just the man to counter those with more optimism. Churchill also had to battle the appeasers who still had power in the Parliament, including Lord Halifax and Chamberlain, who was still in the House of Commons.

Churchill opened a line of very frank communication soon after taking power in May 1940 with FDR. In a letter to FDR, he outlined six priorities (or requests) that were extremely urgent if Britain were to continue the fight.

  1. A loan of 40-50 older destroyers to protect Atlantic shipping.
  2. Several hundred new aircraft
  3. The latest anti-aircraft guns and plenty of ammunition
  4. The ability to purchase steel, and eventually to get it for free from the US
  5. A visit by the US fleet to Irish ports (to discourage Irish rebellion)
  6. To keep the Japanese at bay in the Pacific by being more aggressive.

Churchill closed with a menacing threat. If Britain were conquered by the Germans, it could come to pass that the appeasers would try to trade the Royal Navy for easy treatment at the hands of Hitler. With the Germans in possession of the Royal Navy, the United States might very well be doomed. Churchill’s letter got FDR’s attention and his agreement for the most part. FDR did not agree to give the stuff to Churchill for free, but on most of the other matters, FDR was already moving to expedite the requests. FDR approached Congress on points two and three. He not only asked for 1.3 billion $ for building a two-ocean navy, he requested 50,000 aircraft with most of them earmarked for Britain. (The British had indeed put orders in for new engines and frames weeks before).

While FDR plotted and worked with Congress, members of his own administration tried to argue that he was wrong to believe Churchill. Kennedy was convinced Britain would surrender, and that we would be wasting our time trying to help the English. George Marshall believed that any help given to the British would weaken the US own defense system and hamper training. He firmly resisted any requests or orders from FDR to divert major resources to the British. FDR agonized that if he sent too much help it would antagonize Hitler and suck us into the war. If he sent too little, Britain would fall and he would be in even worse position. There was tremendous opposition in his cabinet, from the Secretaries of War and the Navy. FDR ultimately fired them both and fiercely asserted he would tolerate no opposition to his policies. Britain would get its destroyers, somehow. They would be sold weapons from the US arsenal to replace their losses from Dunkirk. This also included aircraft.

FDR was worried about the increased opposition he faced from his advisors, and therefore set his plan to paper, with the basic assumption that Britain still resisted and Allied armies and navies would continue to hold ground they currently possessed in Africa, the Middle East, and the political situation would remain stable with currently neutral countries staying neutral in the future (Russia, Japan, Turkey). Marshall disagreed that Britain would even last out the year, and that the fleet should remain in Hawaii (he thought it was nothing but a target there). He went on to propose that America should hoard its weapons, institute conscription to build the army, go on 24-7 production schedules at all weapons factories, and start kissing up to Latin America to strengthen hemispheric defense arrangements. Roosevelt rejected Marshall on every point except conscription, and he only reluctantly approved it on a partial basis.

The Americans were heading into an election season, and foreign affairs were sure to be a major factor in the campaign. FDR was acting reckless in light of that fact. The British had to do something to instill confidence with the American voters that they would indeed hold out and keep fighting, and thereby deserved increased aid. Churchill ordered an attack on the remaining French fleet at anchor near Mers El-Kebir in Algeria. The French were given the opportunity to scuttle their fleet or surrender to the British. When they did neither, the British wiped them out. This demonstrated to the world that the British could not only pack a punch, but also that they were going to fight with their gloves off.

The Battle of Britain opened in June, 1940. Waves of German bombers and fighters attacked coastal airbases to prepare the way for an invasion. They also planned to completely lay waste to most of Britain’s cities. The British fought back using Spitfire, Hurricane fighters and a new invention of radar. The British also cracked the German “Enigma” code, which enabled them to launch their thin screen of fighters to places where they were needed the most. The Blitz then focused primarily on London, and Americans were convinced the English were about to break. But they fought on, amidst terrible losses. Churchill learned of Hitler’s intention to invade Britain with Operation Sea Lion. He asked again for the destroyers. FDR knew the destroyers would not help in repelling Hitler’s invasion, and were woefully obsolete as combat vessels. However, the ships were more of a symbol than an actual necessity. If America helped Britain in their greatest hour of need, with even a symbolic gesture, it would send an unmis-takable message to Germany, Britain and the American people. FDR was determined to do it.

FDR entered 1940 as giving no intentions for running for a third term for President. Not only was it unprecedented, but FDR was giving signals that he was looking toward retirement. He signed a lucrative book deal with Collier’s Magazine, and also ordered a cottage built at his Hyde Park estate. He also began working on the first Presidential library. He did not even tell Eleanor of his intentions. FDR waited as well to see who the Republicans nominated. They turned their backs on Taft and Vandenberg (both isolationists) and nominated Wendell Willkie, an old Democrat from Indiana who had worked on Wall Street and as a corporate lawyer. Willkie was mostly in favor of the New Deal, but he opposed the burdens it put on corporations. Willkie was a strong internationalist, much like FDR. The Republican isolationists were in the minority and lost control of their party, and some argued, their good common sense. (Watson quote, p. 31).

FDR decided he wanted to run, but he wanted it to look like a spontaneous draft in the convention. It was rigged from the start, and it was obvious that some Democrats didn’t really want to do it. They were even less excited that John Nance Garner was dumped in favor of Henry Wallace, an overly liberal New Dealer who believed in massive government. FDR then did something very clever, designed to cut the feet out from under Willkie amongst his Republican constituency. FDR named Frank Knox Sec. of War and Henry Stimson Sec. of State, removing two advisors who had dragged their feet on his orders throughout 1939 and stealing two Republicans into his cabinet. Stimson had worked for both Taft and Hoover, and was an ardent and vocal internationalist, calling for navy escorts to cross the Atlantic to shepherd British shipping. FDR remembered what had happened to Wilson and his entry and involvement in WWI – it had been crippled by partisan wrangling, and FDR hoped to avoid it. The press ate it up – they all applauded the move.