Roosevelt — revising the Neutrality Act

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 57, is into his second presidential term, begun in January 1937. On 1 September 1939, the Neutrality Act of 1937 ties American hands: an automatic embargo on the sale of weapons to any belligerent. A sale of aircraft or guns to France or the United Kingdom is illegal. Roosevelt wants to break the embargo without crossing the political threshold of an entry into war that American opinion massively rejects (75 percent of those polled by Gallup in September 1939).

On 5 September he formally proclaims neutrality. In private, he is preparing a revision of the Neutrality Act. On 21 September he calls Congress into special session and lays out a proposal: replace the automatic embargo with a "Cash and Carry" formula — belligerents may buy arms and ammunition provided they pay in dollars on the nail and carry the goods away on their own ships (which in practice means only the British and French — the Allied naval blockade excludes Germany).

The debate in Congress runs for six weeks. The isolationists, led by Senators Borah, Hiram Johnson and Burton K. Wheeler, oppose the bill. Roosevelt leans on Cordell Hull (State) and Senator Pat Harrison. Lindbergh, a national hero, campaigns against it in radio broadcasts. Roosevelt must decide how heavily to invest his own person.