The Neutrality Acts were a series of acts passed by the
US Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
in 1935, 1936, 1937, and 1939 in response to the growing threats and wars that led to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. They were spurred by the growth in
isolationism
Isolationism is a political philosophy advocating a national foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality and opposes entang ...
and
non-interventionism
Non-interventionism or non-intervention is a political philosophy or national foreign policy doctrine that opposes interference in the domestic politics and affairs of other countries but, in contrast to isolationism, is not necessarily opposed ...
in the US following the
US joining World War I, and they sought to ensure that the US would not become entangled again in foreign conflicts.
The legacy of the Neutrality Acts is widely regarded as having been generally negative since they made no distinction between aggressor and victim, treated both equally as
belligerents, and limited the US government's ability to aid Britain and France against
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. The Acts were largely repealed in 1941, in the face of increasing incidents between
German submarines and US vessels in the
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...
and the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
.
Background
The
Nye Committee
The Nye Committee, officially known as the Special Committee on Investigation of the Munitions Industry, was a United States Senate committee (April 12, 1934 – February 24, 1936), chaired by U.S. Senator Gerald Nye (R-ND). The committee investig ...
hearings between 1934 and 1936 and several best-selling books of the time, like
H. C. Engelbrecht
Helmuth Carol Engelbrecht (January 15, 1895 – October 8, 1939) was an American writer.
Biography
Engelbrecht studied at the University of Chicago before completing his doctorate on Johann Gottlieb Fichte at Columbia University in 1932.
In ...
's ''
The Merchants of Death'' (1934), supported the conviction of many Americans that the
US entry into World War I had been orchestrated by bankers and the
arms industry
The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and servi ...
for profit reasons. That strengthened the position of isolationists and non-interventionists in the country.
Powerful forces in the
US Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
pushing for
non-interventionism
Non-interventionism or non-intervention is a political philosophy or national foreign policy doctrine that opposes interference in the domestic politics and affairs of other countries but, in contrast to isolationism, is not necessarily opposed ...
and strong Neutrality Acts were
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Senators
William Edgar Borah
William Edgar Borah (June 29, 1865 – January 19, 1940) was an outspoken Republican United States Senator, one of the best-known figures in Idaho's history. A progressive who served from 1907 until his death in 1940, Borah is often con ...
,
Arthur H. Vandenberg
Arthur Hendrick Vandenberg Sr. (March 22, 1884April 18, 1951) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Michigan from 1928 to 1951. A member of the Republican Party, he participated in the creation of the United Natio ...
,
Gerald P. Nye and
Robert M. La Follette, Jr.,
[.] but support of non-interventionism was not limited to the Republican Party. The
Ludlow Amendment
The Ludlow Amendment was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States which called for a national referendum on any declaration of war by Congress, except in cases when the United States had been attacked first.H.J. Res. 167, 74 ...
, requiring a public referendum before any declaration of war except in cases of defense against direct attack, was introduced several times without success between 1935 and 1940 by
Democratic Representative
Louis Ludlow
Louis Leon Ludlow (June 24, 1873 – November 28, 1950) was a Democratic Indiana congressman; he proposed a constitutional amendment early in 1938 requiring a national referendum on any U.S. declaration of war except in cases of direct atta ...
.
Democratic President
Franklin 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 ...
and especially
Secretary of State Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871July 23, 1955) was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ...
were critical of the Neutrality Acts for fear that they would restrict the administration's options to support friendly nations. Even though both the
House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
and
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
had large Democratic majorities throughout these years, there was enough support for the Neutrality Acts among Democrats (especially Southerners) to ensure their passage. Although congressional support was insufficient to override a presidential veto, Roosevelt felt he could not afford to snub the South and anger public opinion, especially while he was
facing re-election in 1936 and needed congressional co-operation on domestic issues. With considerable reluctance, Roosevelt signed the Neutrality Acts into law.
[.]
Neutrality Act of 1935
Roosevelt's State Department had lobbied for embargo provisions that would allow the president to impose sanctions selectively. This was rejected by Congress. The 1935 act, passed by Congress on August 31, 1935, imposed a general embargo on trading in arms and war materials with all parties in a war.
It also declared that American citizens traveling on warring ships traveled at their own risk. The act was set to expire after six months. When Congress passed the Neutrality Act of 1935, the State Department established an office to enforce the provisions of the Act. The Office of Arms and Munitions Control, renamed the Division of Controls in 1939 when the office was expanded, initially consisted of
Joseph C. Green and
Charles W. Yost
Charles Woodruff Yost (November 6, 1907 – May 21, 1981) was a career U.S. Ambassador who was assigned as his country's representative to the United Nations from 1969 to 1971.
Biography
Yost was born in Watertown, New York. He attended t ...
.
Roosevelt invoked the act after
Italy's invasion of Ethiopia in October 1935, preventing all arms and ammunition shipments to Italy and Ethiopia. He also declared a "moral embargo" against the belligerents, covering trade not falling under the Neutrality Act.
Neutrality Act of 1936
The Neutrality Act of 1936, passed in February of that year, renewed the provisions of the 1935 act for another 14 months. It also forbade all loans or credits to belligerents.
However, this act did not cover "civil wars", such as
that in Spain (1936–1939), nor did it cover materials used in civilian life such as trucks and oil. U.S. companies such as
Texaco
Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Indepe ...
,
Standard Oil
Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...
,
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
,
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
, and
Studebaker
Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...
sold such items to the Nationalists under
General Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...
on credit. By 1939, Spain owed these and other companies more than $100,000,000.
Neutrality Act of 1937
In January 1937, Congress passed a
joint resolution
In the United States Congress, a joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires passage by the Senate and the House of Representatives and is presented to the President for their approval or disapproval. Generally, there is no legal differ ...
outlawing the arms trade with Spain. The Neutrality Act of 1937 was passed in May and included the provisions of the earlier acts, this time without expiration date, and extended them to cover civil wars as well. Furthermore, U.S. ships were prohibited from transporting any passengers or articles to belligerents, and U.S. citizens were forbidden from traveling on ships of belligerent nations.
In a concession to Roosevelt, a "
cash-and-carry" provision that had been devised by his advisor
Bernard Baruch
Bernard Mannes Baruch (August 19, 1870 – June 20, 1965) was an American financier and statesman.
After amassing a fortune on the New York Stock Exchange, he impressed President Woodrow Wilson by managing the nation's economic mobilization in ...
was added: the president could permit the sale of materials and supplies to belligerents in Europe as long as the recipients arranged for the transport and paid immediately with cash, with the argument that this would not draw the U.S. into the conflict. Roosevelt believed that cash-and-carry would aid France and Great Britain in the event of a war with Germany, since they were the only countries that controlled the seas and were able to take advantage of the provision.
[ The cash-and-carry clause was set to expire after two years.]
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
invaded China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in July 1937, starting the Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
. President Roosevelt, who supported the Chinese side, chose not to invoke the Neutrality Acts since the parties had not formally declared war. In so doing, he ensured that China's efforts to defend itself would not be hindered by the legislation: China was dependent on arms imports and only Japan would have been able to take advantage of cash-and-carry. This outraged the isolationists in Congress who claimed that the spirit of the law was being undermined. Roosevelt stated that he would prohibit American ships from transporting arms to the belligerents, but he allowed British ships to transport American arms to China. Roosevelt gave his Quarantine Speech
__NOTOC__
The ''Quarantine Speech'' was given by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on October 5, 1937, in Chicago (on the occasion of the dedication of the Outer Drive Bridge between north and south outer Lake Shore Drive), calling for an inter ...
in October 1937, outlining a move away from neutrality and toward "quarantining" all aggressors. He then imposed a "moral embargo" on exports of aircraft to Japan.[
]
Neutrality Act of 1939
Early in 1939, after Nazi Germany had invaded Czechoslovakia, Roosevelt lobbied Congress to have the cash-and-carry provision renewed. He was rebuffed, the provision lapsed, and the mandatory arms embargo remained in place.
In September 1939, after Germany had invaded Poland, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. Roosevelt invoked the provisions of the Neutrality Act but came before Congress and lamented that the Neutrality Acts may give passive aid to an aggressor country. Congress was divided. Republican Senator Gerald Nye
Gerald Prentice Nye (December 19, 1892 – July 17, 1971) was an American politician who represented North Dakota in the United States Senate from 1925 to 1945. He was a Republican and supporter of World War II-era isolationism, chairing the Ny ...
wanted to broaden the embargo, and other isolationists like Vandenberg and Hiram Johnson
Hiram Warren Johnson (September 2, 1866August 6, 1945) was an American attorney and politician who served as the Governor of California, 23rd governor of California from 1911 to 1917. Johnson achieved national prominence in the early 20th century ...
vowed to fight "from hell to breakfast" Roosevelt's desire to loosen the embargo. An "outstanding Republican leader" who supported helping nations under attack, however, told H. V. Kaltenborn
Hans von Kaltenborn (July 9, 1878June 14, 1965), generally known as H. V. Kaltenborn, was an American radio commentator. He was heard regularly on the radio for over 30 years, beginning with CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened ...
that the embargo was futile because a neutral country like Italy could buy from the US and sell its own weapons to Germany, while US companies would relocate factories to Canada.
Roosevelt prevailed over the isolationists, and on November 4, he signed the Neutrality Act of 1939 into law, allowing for arms trade with belligerent nations (Great Britain and France) on a cash-and-carry basis, thus in effect ending the arms embargo. Furthermore, the Neutrality Acts of 1935 and 1937 were repealed, American citizens and ships were barred from entering war zones designated by the president, and the National Munitions Control Board (which had been created by the 1935 Neutrality Act) was charged with issuing licenses for all arms imports and exports. Arms trade without a license became a federal crime.
End of neutrality policy
The end of neutrality policy came in September 1940 with the Destroyers-for-bases deal
The destroyers-for-bases deal was an agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom on September 2, 1940, according to which 50 , , and US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy from the US Navy in exchange for land rights ...
, an agreement to transfer 50 US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
destroyers to the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
in exchange for land rights on British possessions. This was followed by the Lend-Lease Act
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, ...
of March 1941, which allowed the U.S. to sell, lend or give war materials to nations Roosevelt wanted to support: Britain, France and China.
After repeated incidents in the Atlantic between German submarines and U.S. ships, Roosevelt announced on September 11, 1941, that he had ordered the U.S. Navy to attack German and Italian war vessels in the "waters which we deem necessary for our defense". This order effectively declared naval war on Germany and Italy. Following the sinking of the U.S. destroyer while it dropped depth charges on German U-Boats on October 31, many of the provisions of the Neutrality Acts were repealed on November 17, 1941. As a result, merchant vessels were allowed to be armed and to carry any cargoes to belligerent nations.
On December 4, 1941 the US press published Rainbow Five, a leaked plan outlining US war strategy. The U.S. formally declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941 following the attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
and the Japanese declaration of war of the previous day; Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. on December 11, 1941, and the U.S. responded with a declaration of war on the same day.
Subsequent application
The provision against unlicensed arms trades of the 1939 act remains in force.
In 1948, Charles Winters
Charles Thompson Winters (February 10, 1913 – October 29, 1984) was an American businessman who volunteered during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. He was imprisoned for 18 months for helping smuggle three B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers to I ...
, Al Schwimmer
Adolph William "Al" Schwimmer ( he, אל שווימר; 10 June 1917 – 10 June 2011) was an American and later Israeli engineer and businessman. He was the founder and first CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries.
Early life
In 1917, Schwimme ...
and Herman Greenspun were convicted under the 1939 Act after smuggling B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
bombers from Florida to the nascent state of Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...
. All three received presidential pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
s in subsequent decades.
References
Further reading
* Chambers, John Whiteclay. "The Movies and the Antiwar Debate in America, 1930–1941." ''Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies'' 36.1 (2006): 44–57.
* Cortright, David. ''Peace: A history of movements and ideas'' (Cambridge UP, 2008), global coverage.
*
* Fischer, Klaus P. ''Hitler and America'' (U of Pennsylvania Press, 2011).
* {{citation, last=Garner, first=James W., title=Recent American Neutrality Legislation, journal=International Affairs, year=1937, volume=16, number=6, pages=853–869, doi=10.2307/2602764 , jstor=2602764
* Jonas, Manfred. ''Isolationism in America, 1935–1941'' (Cornell UP, 1966).
* Reynolds, David. "The United States and European security from Wilson to Kennedy, 1913–1963: A reappraisal of the 'Isolationist' tradition." ''RUSI Journal'' 128.2 (1983): 16–24.
* Rofe, J. Simon, and John M. Thompson. "‘Internationalists in Isolationist times’–Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt and a Rooseveltian Maxim." ''Journal of Transatlantic Studies'' 9.1 (2011): 46–62.
External links
Neutrality Act of August 31, 1935
1937 in American politics
1937 in law
United States foreign relations legislation
History of United States isolationism
Legal history of the United States
1937 in international relations
1935 in American politics
1939 in American politics