WHY DIDN'T THE USA JOIN WWII IN 1939?
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
World War II began in September of 1939 when both Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany followings its invasion of Poland . While other allied nations such as Canada and Australia joined Britain and France in their fight against Nazi aggression in Europe, the United States remained on the outside.
The United States would not join the Allied war effort until 1941 when it was attacked by the Japanese Empire in Pearl Harbor on December 7th. So, why then did the United States not join the war effort before the Pearl Harbor attack?
In order to understand this decision by the United States, it is first important to understand the foreign policy of the time and lack of support for war by the American public. The world was only 20 years removed from World War I which shocked Americans to the realities of war and the brutality of trench warfare . In general, the American public were not ready for another major conflict after World War I stayed for so long as a stalemate and the cost of life that the First World War caused. The United States in 1939 was not the military powerhouse it is today and it was a considerable risk to the United States to participate in another worldwide conflict.
As well, many Americans viewed the development of dictators in Europe following World War I as a sign that World War I ended in failure and many wanted to remain separate as to not get pulled into another major conflict. In fact, many Americans viewed World War II as a European problem and did not necessarily see America as having a large role to play.
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Politically, the United States struggled with the question of joining the war before it did. Some in America believed that the United States should join to support its allies and stop the spread of fascism. This opinion grew in popularity among American politicians after major German advances in Europe, including: the German advances in Denmark, and the surrender of France to German forces. This viewpoint argued that American forces were needed to help Britain fight off the aggressive and powerful German forces. On the other hand, some believed that the advances of the German army in Europe proved that the United States should remain out of the conflict, as the German forces were seen as too strong. For example, Joseph P. Kennedy, who was the American ambassador to Great Britain, held this view and argued that America risked losing if it went up against Nazi Germany. Although the United States did not join direct warfare until 1941 when it was attacked, it did support the Allied effort in the war during the previous years through the Lend-Lease Act . Passed in March of 1941, the Lend-Lease Act allowed President Roosevelt to support the forces of Britain, the Soviet Union and China with ammunition and weapons shipments.
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We remember this day because it reminds us how many lost their lives but also that to ignore what is going on around the world and being isolationists will only lead to our peril.
America first is a path to repeat past tragedies.
In addition, some American companies were doing business with the Nazi's and there was a lot of support for the Nazi's in the US. (The Bund). Some prominent Americans were denouncing the Jews as well, Charles Lindbergh to name one.
Henry Ford was another. In addition, there was a strong isolationist sentiment in the country dating back to WW I. People just did not want too get entangled in another European war.
America had - still has - a very wide fascist streak.
80 years ago, 20,000 New Yorkers cheered for Nazis at Madison Square Garden
It wasn't because Americans supported the Nazis or their Soviet allies. Nor that some companies did business with both.
93% of Americans opposed fighting in a European war at its inception. They had the idealism of the American intervention in WWI and it's result in recent memory. Thousands of Americans dead so the old regimes of Europe could be supplanted by even worse ones. Fighting a war with essentially the entire country opposing it is obviously impossible.
I would have hoped our leaders would have taken the time to educate and remind Americans or at minimum the idiot in the WH about the dangers of isolationism and severing ties with the international community and our allies.