Allied Leaders of World War Two/Roosevelt, Part 4

"FDR As War Leader/Part 2"

(See the previous article in this series about FDR and Asia) Roosevelt remained focused on combating the devastating effects of the Great Depression in the mid to late 1930s,* even though both Hitler and Mussolini were making noises; Hitler in Europe and Mussolini in eastern Africa. When a war between Britain, France, and Czechoslovakia against Germany seemed possible over German claims to German populated areas of Czechoslovakia, Roosevelt, while sympathetic to Hitler's opponents, remained determined to keep the U.S. out of such a war by saying the U.S. would be neutral. Once the crisis over Czechoslovakia passed, it didn't take Hitler long to turn up the heat on Poland, a nation on Germany's eastern frontier, against which many Germans held grievances over post World War One border adjustments.** While still wishing to remain officially neutral, Roosevelt desired to give material aid to Britain and France by the sale of weapons, especially aircraft.***

The German invasion of Poland and the resulting declaration of war on Germany by Britain and France put Roosevelt in a tough political spot. Overt American public opinion remained against U.S. military involvement in the European war, but FDR wanted to help the Allies as much as possible economically, including with weapons. The defeat of France so shocked Americans, that, coupled with an increasing fear of a world dominated by fascism, public opinion more and more favored Britain in its stand alone position against Hitler. While a strong anti-war sentiment remained, clearly the momentum had shifted enough for FDR and a number of cooperative Republicans to support an expansion of American military forces. Congress passed, and FDR signed, a bill implementing a peacetime "draft" in September 1940.**** The U.S. also gave Britain some old military vessels in exchange for bases in various British and Commonwealth territories. The major aid to Britain came in the Lend Lease Act, which literally gave Roosevelt the ability to "give" military supplies and weapons to Britain, with the durable weapons later to be returned to the U.S. (thus the "lend/lease" idea).***** After Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, the policy was extended to aid that nation against the Axis powers, too. Tanks, trucks, ships and planes were common Lend-Lease weapons supplied by the U.S.

Naturally, all of this did not sit well with Hitler and Mussolini, and Germany began to sink more and more transport ships bound for Britain, mainly by submarine (U-boat) attacks. The stage was set for a confrontation.

* Americans certainly seemed content to mind their own business, perhaps even more so because of the economic calamity. While America's intervention in World War One had definitely aided the Allies, America was not really seen by many as a true super power in those times. Just as began to happen circa 2005/06, as Americans began to feel more and more economically pinched, an increasing number of people began to lose interest in fighting foreign wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with public sentiment shifting to bolstering the nation's floundering economy, a sentiment (shown in recent polls) that is still very prevalent as we enter 2012.

** See the following article for more information on the border changes between Germany and Poland: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/05/german-question-part-ninety-seven.html

*** The production of these aircraft also boosted the American economy, something not lost on the politically savvy FDR. He got to have it both ways; to keep out of direct political involvement in hot button European issues which could lead to war, but to get more Americans employed in decent paying industrial jobs, with payment coming, mainly, from France, and later Britain. (Note: The French orders were not completed when France surrendered to Germany in June 1940. The remainder of the order, plus more, were then shipped to Britain.)

**** According to the NY Times, the vote in the House of Representatives was 232 to 124 (186 Democrats and 46 Republicans FOR; (32 Democrats, 88 Republicans, and 4 other parties AGAINST). The Senate vote was 47 to 25 (40 Democrats and 7 Republicans FOR, and 13 Democrats, 10 Republicans, and 2 other parties AGAINST).

*****Most items were obviously not returned to the U.S., but some were later sold at huge discounts.

WORD HISTORY:
Ear (2)-This is the noun meaning "seed/grain bearing part of a plant;" commonly used in "ear of corn." This word goes back to Indo European "aek," a base with the meaning "sharp, pointed." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "ahkhaz," which retained the "sharp" notion, but also began to develop the meaning "spear shaped part of a grain plant" (the spear shape tied in with the idea of "sharp"). This gave Old English "ear," seemingly with a long "e," but the "ar" also pronounced. Later this became "ere," before the modern spelling and pronunciation. The other Germanic languages have: German "Ähre," Low German Saxon "Ohr," West Frisian "ier," Dutch "aar," Icelandic "eyra," Danish and Norwegian "aks" (notion the closeness to the ancient ancestor), and Swedish "Örat." For the history of "ear, the body part for hearing:" http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2010/12/ant-in-room.html