Cash and Carry was a policy by

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

announced at a joint session of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

on September 21, 1939, subsequent to the outbreak of war in Europe. It replaced the

Neutrality Act of 1937 The Neutrality Acts were a series of acts passed by the US Congress in 1935, 1936, 1937, and 1939 in response to the growing threats and wars that led to World War II. They were spurred by the growth in isolationism and non-interventionism in ...

, by which belligerents could purchase only nonmilitary goods from the United States as long as the recipients paid immediately in cash and assumed all risk in transportation using their own ships. A later revision, the Neutrality Act of 1939, allowed the sale of military arms to belligerents on the same cash-and-carry basis.

History

Background

Because of the conclusion of the Nye Committee, which asserted that United States involvement in World War I was driven by private interests from arms manufacturers, many Americans believed that investment in a belligerent would eventually lead to American participation in war. The first Neutrality Act was passed in August 1935. It was renewed in 1936 and later extended to May 1937. The Act forbade selling implements of war or lending money to belligerent countries under any terms. US passengers traveling on foreign ships were advised that they did so at their own risk."The Neutrality Acts, 1930s", Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State
/ref> The Neutrality Act of 1937 continued this policy, and in addition, forbade U.S. citizens from traveling on belligerent ships. However, belligerent countries could purchase non-military items provided they paid cash and the goods were not transported on American ships. (Raw materials such as oil were not considered "implements of war".) Roosevelt arranged the inclusion of the "cash and carry" clause "...as a deliberate way to assist Great Britain and France in any war against the Axis Powers, since he realized that they were the only countries that had both the hard currency and ships to make use of "cash-and-carry." The clause was set to expire after two years.

Neutrality Act of 1939

By the spring of 1939, Roosevelt wanted more flexibility in dealing with the militaristic policies of Germany, Japan, and Italy.
/ref> Originally presented to Congress by Senator Key Pittman (D-NV) earlier in 1939, the bill was designed to replace the Neutrality Act of 1937, which had lapsed in May 1939. The bill had been defeated repeatedly by the Senate and the House on more than one occasion as Isolationists feared that passing the bill would draw the US into the conflict in Europe. However, after the Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, the position of many in Congress changed. Senator

George W. Norris George William Norris (July 11, 1861September 2, 1944) was an American politician from the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. He served five terms in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican, from 1903 until ...

said, "If we repeal it, we are helping England and France. If we fail to repeal it, we will be helping Hitler and his allies. Absolute neutrality is an impossibility." On November 2, the House passed the Pittman Act repealing provisions of the 1935 act by a vote of 243 to 181. The President gave his signature on November 4. The Act continued the prohibition of making loans to belligerents and the use of American ships, but lifted the ban on arms sales. The purpose of this policy was to allow the

Allied nations The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Ita ...

at war with Germany to purchase war materials while maintaining a semblance of neutrality for the United States. Coming out of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the U.S. economy was rebounding. Further growth in manufacturing would propel the economy forward. The cash and carry program stimulated U.S. manufacturing while allowing the Allied nations, particularly the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, to purchase much needed military equipment."From Arsenal to Ally", The National WWII Museum
/ref> The "cash and carry" legislation enacted in 1939 effectively ended the arms embargo that had been in place since the

Neutrality Act of 1936 The Neutrality Acts were a series of acts passed by the US Congress in 1935, 1936, 1937, and 1939 in response to the growing threats and wars that led to World War II. They were spurred by the growth in isolationism and non-interventionism ...

, and paved the way for Roosevelt's

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

program.

References

External links

Allies and Lend-Lease Museum, Moscow

President Roosevelt's address to Congress announcing the cash & carry programme (RealAudio format)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cash And Carry (World War Ii) 1939 in American politics Economic aid during World War II Military logistics of World War II Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt United States federal commerce legislation United States foreign relations legislation 1939 in international relations 1939 in economics

History

Background

Neutrality Act of 1939

See also

References

Further reading

External links