The early to mid-1930's was a time in which many significant events occurred that pushed the tension to the brink on a global scale. The rise of various fascist governments, as well as the minor conflicts across the globe, began to cause issues. Eventually, this tension would be pushed over the brink and would culminate in the Second World War which started in 1939. However, in the period leading up to the World War, members of the US government made a concerted effort to avoid involvement in the future global conflicts. They believed that they needed to pass legislature to avoid being pulled into another war regardless of the economic ties that had pulled them into the First World War. These acts were known as the Neutrality Acts.
The Neutrality Acts were revised numerous times and re-passed, most notably in 1935, 1937, and 1939. In 1935, FDR signed the first instance of these acts. The act's first iteration included many different rules that the US had to follow in order to preserve its neutrality. First of all, Roosevelt wrote that the act made it so that an official government-issued license was needed in order to carry arms. This was designed to prevent the sudden arming of vessels that could disturb the peace by getting into a conflict. It also prevented the traveling of Americans on ships that originated in ships that were from non-allied nations involved in global conflicts. It also aimed to reduce economic involvement in wars by preventing/setting an embargo on the sale of arms to "belligerent" countries that were involved in a global conflict. However, Roosevelt made it clear that if the government changed their mind, they could provide help to allied nations if it was in the interest of maintaining American safety.
In 1937, another major revision of this act was passed. Roosevelt, sensing the tension caused by the Spanish Civil War and the growing power of fascist governments in Italy and Germany, passed another iteration. This new act added the concept of US citizens being banned from traveling on ships/aquatic vessels from countries that the US deemed "belligerent". It also banned transporting ammunition and arms to these "belligerents" through any American ship, regardless of the manufacturing location of the arms and ammunition. It also aimed to protect the waters of the US by banning foreign "belligerent" ships in these waters.
Following further military action by the Nazi government (invasion/occupation of Czechoslovakia), Roosevelt passed another iteration of the Neutrality Acts in 1939. This new version of the act included a "Cash and Carry" provision, which essentially got rid of the arms embargo, reducing the ability of the US to stay neutral. It allowed trade with all nations under the agreement of immediate cash for the trade of the materials. However, the policy that banned loans with other countries was still in place, maintaining some ability to remain neutral.
However, this neutrality was hard to maintain once the war started. So, in 1941, the US passed legislation allowing the distribution of war materials to other countries, as well as allowing the US to attack ships that were in waters that the US believed to be key to the United States' safety. At this point, the US was all but completely void of neutrality.
Clearly, the Neutrality Acts were passed with the intention of maintaining the peace. However, the continued growth of the Nazi regime, as well as other governments, made it impossible to maintain. The first instances of the acts maintained the US' neutrality, but as Hitler's power grew, the US government grew fearful and eventually did whatever they could to prepare for the war, regardless of their neutrality. So, it is clear that once a global conflict starts, any ties to involved nations pull a nation in, even if they are just economic. Hitler's powerful government was threatening to all, so perhaps the Neutrality Acts were doomed to fail once Hitler's ambitious personality was put in control of Germany's military.
Src:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-signs-neutrality-act
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/neutrality-acts
https://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/this-day-in-politics-111304
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h4319.html
The Neutrality Acts were revised numerous times and re-passed, most notably in 1935, 1937, and 1939. In 1935, FDR signed the first instance of these acts. The act's first iteration included many different rules that the US had to follow in order to preserve its neutrality. First of all, Roosevelt wrote that the act made it so that an official government-issued license was needed in order to carry arms. This was designed to prevent the sudden arming of vessels that could disturb the peace by getting into a conflict. It also prevented the traveling of Americans on ships that originated in ships that were from non-allied nations involved in global conflicts. It also aimed to reduce economic involvement in wars by preventing/setting an embargo on the sale of arms to "belligerent" countries that were involved in a global conflict. However, Roosevelt made it clear that if the government changed their mind, they could provide help to allied nations if it was in the interest of maintaining American safety.
In 1937, another major revision of this act was passed. Roosevelt, sensing the tension caused by the Spanish Civil War and the growing power of fascist governments in Italy and Germany, passed another iteration. This new act added the concept of US citizens being banned from traveling on ships/aquatic vessels from countries that the US deemed "belligerent". It also banned transporting ammunition and arms to these "belligerents" through any American ship, regardless of the manufacturing location of the arms and ammunition. It also aimed to protect the waters of the US by banning foreign "belligerent" ships in these waters.
Following further military action by the Nazi government (invasion/occupation of Czechoslovakia), Roosevelt passed another iteration of the Neutrality Acts in 1939. This new version of the act included a "Cash and Carry" provision, which essentially got rid of the arms embargo, reducing the ability of the US to stay neutral. It allowed trade with all nations under the agreement of immediate cash for the trade of the materials. However, the policy that banned loans with other countries was still in place, maintaining some ability to remain neutral.
However, this neutrality was hard to maintain once the war started. So, in 1941, the US passed legislation allowing the distribution of war materials to other countries, as well as allowing the US to attack ships that were in waters that the US believed to be key to the United States' safety. At this point, the US was all but completely void of neutrality.
Clearly, the Neutrality Acts were passed with the intention of maintaining the peace. However, the continued growth of the Nazi regime, as well as other governments, made it impossible to maintain. The first instances of the acts maintained the US' neutrality, but as Hitler's power grew, the US government grew fearful and eventually did whatever they could to prepare for the war, regardless of their neutrality. So, it is clear that once a global conflict starts, any ties to involved nations pull a nation in, even if they are just economic. Hitler's powerful government was threatening to all, so perhaps the Neutrality Acts were doomed to fail once Hitler's ambitious personality was put in control of Germany's military.
Src:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-signs-neutrality-act
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/neutrality-acts
https://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/this-day-in-politics-111304
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h4319.html
This was a very interesting read and very helpful to me to better understand the Neutrality Acts. It's also interesting to see how the act developed over time and with the events surrounding it! This also makes me wonder how the US economy was affected by these acts. While at first the economy may have taken a loss, after the war took off and lend-lease was put into place the economy took a boost. This likely implies that the war pulled the US out of the great depression which begs the question, if the US had gotten involved earlier, avoiding the neutrality acts, would the economy be better off?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.inforefuge.com/us-economy-ww2
Your post gave a very informative discussion of the Neutrality Acts, their intentions, and their outcomes. Another notable Neutrality Act was that of 1936, which imposed a general embargo on war material exchange with all parties. The act also imposed an embargo on loans and credits to belligerents. However, one major loophole in this act was that it did not cover civil wars or materials such as trucks and oil, and this loophole was taken advantage of by companies such as Ford and GM during the Spanish Civil War. Similar to what you discussed, the 1936 Neutrality Act was intended to keep the peace, but its loopholes (among a host of other possible factors) led to its ineffectiveness.
ReplyDeletehttp://spartacus-educational.com/USAneutrality1937.htm