Neutrality Acts
Franklin D Roosevelt was
the 32nd American President who served in office from March 4, 1933 to April 12, 1945. One of the important events during his presidency was the
passage of the Neutrality Acts in response to the growing turmoil in
Europe and Asia.
Neutrality Acts: Background
History - The Effects of Great Depression spread Worldwide
The year of
1929 saw the Stock Market Crash and the United States was plunged
into the Great Depression
(1929 to 1939).
By 1933 12 million people (25% of the population) were
unemployed and millions had become homeless. President Franklin D.
Roosevelt and the American people were occupied with recovery from
the economic crisis. The last thing the nation wanted, or needed,
was to be dragged into another major international war. The
devastating effects the Great Depression were felt in virtually
every other country in the world and in June 1934 all of the debtor
European countries, except Finland, announced that they would no
longer pay the war debts that were still outstanding from World War
One.
Neutrality Acts:
Background History - The Aftermath of World War One
The American people watched in horror at the rise of
the dictators and the emergence of
Fascism and Nazism in
Europe and began to wonder whether the deaths and sacrifices of WW1
had been worthwhile. Americans were expressing serious doubts as to
the reasons they had become involved in WW1 in the first place and
many believed that the money made by arms manufacturers had played a
major role in the US involvement in the Great War.
Neutrality Acts:
Background History - The Nye Committee Investigation
In 1934 the Nye Committee, aka the Special Committee
on Investigation of the Munitions Industry, was established to
investigate the financial interests behind the United States
involvement in World War I. The Nye Committee was a seven man United
States Senate committee chaired by U.S. Senator Gerald P. Nye that
conducted hearings and investigations from September 1934 to
February 1936. The Nye Committee investigations covered the
background leading up to U.S. entry into WW1, the munitions
industry, the bidding process on Government contracts in the
shipbuilding industry and War profits. The Nye Committee Report
documented the massive profits that arms factories had made during
World War 1 and the excessive influence the munitions manufacturers
had held on American foreign policy leading up to and during WW1.
Neutrality Acts: American
Isolationism and Neutrality
The Nye Committee Report resulted in more Americans
supporting the policies of
American Isolationism and Neutrality. The
situation in Europe during the 1930's, with the aggressive and
expansionist polices of Germany and Italy, made the possibility of
another international war likely. In August 1935 Italy invaded
Ethiopia (Abyssinia). Congress therefore passed the first Neutrality
Act in 1935 that made it illegal to sell arms to any countries at
war. The Neutrality Act in 1935 was based on the belief that the
sale of arms and munitions had helped bring the US into WW1.
FDR and the Neutrality Acts
President Roosevelt feared that Neutrality Acts would
restrict the government's ability to help and support friendly
nations. FDR preferred the policy of Internationalism in the belief
that international trade increased prosperity and helped prevent war
between nations. However, the president did not want to anger public
opinion and did not exert a presidential veto. The first Neutrality
Act of 1935 was therefore passed but additional Neutrality laws were
enacted in reaction to more shocking events that unfolded in Europe.
FDR later used a loophole in the Neutrality Acts to set up the
Destroyers-for-Bases deal with Great Britain.
Neutrality Acts
Facts for kids
The following fact
sheet contains interesting facts and information on Neutrality Acts
for kids.
Facts
about the Neutrality Acts for kids
Neutrality Acts Fact 1:
The first of the Neutrality Acts was prompted in August
1935 as a result of Italy's invasion of Ethiopia
(Abyssinia).
Neutrality Acts Fact
2:
The 1935 Neutrality Act prohibited Americans from
selling arms to any country at war by banning the
export of “arms, ammunition, and implements of war” from
the United States to foreign nations at war.
Neutrality Acts Fact
3: The 1935
Neutrality Act also required that arms manufacturers in
the United States had to apply for an export license
Neutrality Acts Fact
4: On February 29,
1936, Congress revised the Act prohibiting Americans
from extending any loans to belligerent nations as
European nations stated that they would no longer pay
the war debts that were still outstanding from WW1.
Neutrality Acts Fact
5:
The Neutrality Act of 1937 was passed as a result of the
Spanish Civil War and ensured that civil wars would also fall under
the terms of the Act. No mention of civil conflicts had been made in
the previous act and a number of American companies such as Standard
Oil, Texaco, General Motors and Ford had used the loophole to sell
various items to Franco on credit. The law made it illegal for US
citizens to sell arms to belligerents in Civil Wars.
Neutrality Acts Fact
6: The 1937 law
prevented American merchant ships from transporting arms
to belligerents, even if those arms were produced
outside of the United States and forbade travel by U.S.
citizens on ships of belligerents. The 1937 Act also
gave the President the authority to bar all belligerent
ships from U.S. waters
Neutrality Acts Fact
7: The Neutrality Act of 1937
included a "cash and carry" provision. The sale of arms was still
banned to all nations at war but it also required that countries at
war, who wanted to purchase non-military supplies from the US, could
only buy on a "cash and carry" basis. If a country at war wanted to
buy non-military items from the US, it had to pay cash and send its
own ships to pick up the goods.
Neutrality Acts Fact
8: The "cash and carry" provision
of May 1937 was seen as a means to aid Great Britain and France in
the event of a war with Germany and Italy. Due to the geographic
location of Britain and France and their considerable naval powers
these were the only two nations that controlled the seas and would
therefore by able to take advantage of the "cash and carry"
transactions.
Neutrality Acts Fact
9:
Japan invaded China in July of 1937 starting the
Sino-Japanese War. The United States and Britain supported China
against the action of the Japanese. Although the US remained
neutral, British ships were able to transport American arms to
China.
Neutrality Acts Fact
10:
In March 1939, after Germany marched into
Czechoslovakia, Roosevelt tried to eliminate neutrality legislation.
In response to Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939
Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939.
Neutrality Acts Fact
11:
The Neutrality Act of 1939 was passed in order to help
Britain and France against Germany and Hitler. The 1939 law
eliminated the ban on arms sales to nations at war but the
"cash-and-carry" principle was left in place, making Britain and
France the beneficiaries of the law.
Neutrality Acts Fact
12:
The 1939 law also excluded U.S. vessels from combat
zones, and U.S. citizens were forbidden from sailing on
belligerent vessels.
Neutrality Acts Fact
13:
In the spring of 1940 President Roosevelt used a
loophole in the Neutrality Acts to set up the
'Destroyers for Bases' agreement in which the US sent 50
old American destroyers to Great Britain in exchange for
the right to build American bases on British controlled
islands in Bermuda, the Caribbean and Newfoundland. As
the 'Destroyers for Bases' deal did not involve the
actual sale of the destroyers the Neutrality Acts did
not apply.
Neutrality Acts Fact
14:
The provisions made under the Neutrality Acts were
lifted by amendment in November 1941, after the
Lend-Lease Act was passed by Congress enabled the US to
lend, sell or give war supplies to allied nations. Refer
to US Mobilization for
WW2
Facts
about the Neutrality Acts for kids
Neutrality Acts for kids - President Franklin Roosevelt Video
The article on the Neutrality Acts provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following
Franklin Roosevelt video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 32nd American President whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1933 to April 12, 1945.
Neutrality Acts
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Interesting Facts about Neutrality Acts for kids and schools
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Summary of the Neutrality Acts in US history
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Neutrality Acts of the 1930's
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Franklin Roosevelt
Presidency from March 4, 1933 to April 12, 1945
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Fast, fun facts about the Neutrality Acts
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Foreign & Domestic
policies of President Franklin Roosevelt
● Franklin Roosevelt Presidency and
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