Neutrality Acts of the 1930s
The Nye Committee hearings between 1934 and 1936 exposed a deep public conviction that bankers and the arms industry had orchestrated U.S. entry into World War I for profit. H. C. Engelbrecht's The Merchants of Death, published in 1934, became a best-selling book that reinforced this belief among many Americans. Powerful forces in Congress pushed for non-interventionism, including Republican Senators William Edgar Borah, Arthur H. Vandenberg, Gerald P. Nye, and Robert M. La Follette, Jr. Support for these views was not limited to one party, as Democratic Representative Louis Ludlow introduced the Ludlow Amendment several times between 1935 and 1940. This amendment required a public referendum before any declaration of war except in cases of direct defense against attack.
Congress passed the Neutrality Act of 1935 on the 31st of August 1935, imposing a general embargo on trading in arms and war materials with all parties in a war. The act declared that American citizens traveling on warring ships traveled at their own risk and set to expire after six months. Roosevelt invoked the act after Italy's invasion of Ethiopia in October 1935, preventing all arms and ammunition shipments to both nations. A State Department office called the Office of Arms and Munitions Control initially consisted of Joseph C. Green and Charles W. Yost to enforce these provisions. The Neutrality Act of 1936 passed on the 29th of February 1936, renewed the previous provisions for another 14 months while forbidding all loans or credits to belligerents. U.S. companies like Texaco, Standard Oil, Ford, General Motors, and Studebaker sold trucks and oil to Francisco Franco's Nationalists on credit because the law did not cover civil wars or civilian life materials. By 1939, Spain owed these companies more than $100,000,000.
In January 1937, Congress passed a joint resolution outlawing the arms trade with Spain before passing the Neutrality Act of 1937 on the 1st of May 1937. This new act included earlier provisions without an expiration date and extended them to cover civil wars as well. A cash-and-carry provision devised by Roosevelt's advisor Bernard Baruch allowed the president to permit sales of materials to belligerents in Europe if recipients arranged transport and paid immediately with cash. Roosevelt believed this would aid France and Great Britain since they controlled the seas and could take advantage of the provision. Japan invaded China in July 1937, starting the Second Sino-Japanese War, but Roosevelt chose not to invoke the Neutrality Acts since the parties had not formally declared war. He ensured China's defense efforts were not hindered while allowing British ships to transport American arms to China. The isolationists in Congress claimed the spirit of the law was being undermined, prompting Roosevelt to give his Quarantine Speech in October 1937 outlining a move toward quarantining all aggressors.
Early in 1939, after Nazi Germany had invaded Czechoslovakia, Roosevelt lobbied Congress to have the cash-and-carry provision renewed but was rebuffed when it lapsed. In September 1939, after Germany invaded Poland, the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany, forcing Roosevelt to invoke the provisions of the Neutrality Act. Republican senator Gerald Nye wanted to broaden the embargo while other isolationists like Vandenberg and Hiram Johnson vowed to fight from hell to breakfast against Roosevelt's desire to loosen restrictions. An outstanding Republican leader told H. V. Kaltenborn that the embargo was futile because neutral countries like Italy could buy from the U.S. and sell weapons to Germany. Roosevelt prevailed over the isolationists and signed the Neutrality Act of 1939 into law on the 4th of November 1939. This act allowed for arms trade with belligerent nations on a cash-and-carry basis, effectively ending the arms embargo. The National Munitions Control Board became charged with issuing licenses for all arms imports and exports, making unlicensed arms trade a federal crime.
The end of neutrality policy came in September 1940 with the Destroyers-for-bases deal transferring 50 US Navy destroyers to the Royal Navy in exchange for land rights on British possessions. The Lend-Lease Act of March 1941 followed, allowing the U.S. to sell, lend or give war materials to nations Roosevelt wanted to support including Britain, France, and China. After repeated incidents in the Atlantic between German submarines and U.S. ships, Roosevelt announced on the 11th of September 1941, that he had ordered the U.S. Navy to attack German and Italian war vessels in waters deemed necessary for defense. Following the sinking of the U.S. destroyer while dropping depth charges on German U-boats on October 31, many provisions of the Neutrality Acts were repealed on the 17th of November 1941. Merchant vessels were then allowed to be armed and carry any cargoes to belligerent nations. The U.S. formally declared war on Japan on the 8th of December 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Japanese declaration of war from the previous day.
The provision against unlicensed arms trades of the 1939 act remained in force long after World War II ended. In 1948, Charles Winters, Al Schwimmer, and Herman Greenspun were convicted under this act after smuggling B-17 Flying Fortress bombers from Florida to Israel during the Arab-Israeli War. Winters was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $5,000 while Schwimmer and Greenspun were each fined $10,000. Schwimmer also lost his voting rights and veteran benefits as punishment for his actions. All three received presidential pardons in subsequent decades with Greenspun pardoned by John F. Kennedy in 1961, Schwimmer pardoned by Bill Clinton in 2001, and Winters pardoned by George W. Bush in 2008.
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Common questions
What was the purpose of the Neutrality Act of 1935?
The Neutrality Act of 1935 imposed a general embargo on trading in arms and war materials with all parties in a war. It declared that American citizens traveling on warring ships traveled at their own risk and set to expire after six months.
When did Congress pass the Neutrality Act of 1937?
Congress passed the Neutrality Act of 1937 on the 1st of May 1937. This new act included earlier provisions without an expiration date and extended them to cover civil wars as well.
How did the Neutrality Act of 1939 change U.S. foreign policy?
The Neutrality Act of 1939 allowed for arms trade with belligerent nations on a cash-and-carry basis, effectively ending the arms embargo. The National Munitions Control Board became charged with issuing licenses for all arms imports and exports, making unlicensed arms trade a federal crime.
Who were convicted under the Neutrality Act of 1939 in 1948?
Charles Winters, Al Schwimmer, and Herman Greenspun were convicted under this act after smuggling B-17 Flying Fortress bombers from Florida to Israel during the Arab-Israeli War. Winters was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $5,000 while Schwimmer and Greenspun were each fined $10,000.
When were most provisions of the Neutrality Acts repealed?
Many provisions of the Neutrality Acts were repealed on the 17th of November 1941 following the sinking of the U.S. destroyer while dropping depth charges on German U-boats on October 31. Merchant vessels were then allowed to be armed and carry any cargoes to belligerent nations.