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45-1029: The Board was able to arrange purchases in spite of the Neutrality Acts via " Cash and Carry ", paying for the materiel with Britain's gold reserves . The Board had been established before the war buying aircraft such as the Lockheed Super Electra . Facing an aeroplane shortage during the early stages of World War II , in January 1940, the British government established the British Direct Purchase Commission to purchase US planes that would help supplement domestic plane production. By December 1940 British cash orders for aircraft had exceeded $ 1,200,000,000 with deliveries of 300-350 per month and were expected to reach 500 per month by "early in 1941". The aircraft were supplied unarmed. The requests by

90-536: A cash-and-carry basis, thus in effect ending the arms embargo. Furthermore, the Neutrality Acts of 1935 and 1937 were repealed, American citizens and ships were barred from entering war zones designated by the president, and the National Munitions Control Board (which had been created by the 1935 Neutrality Act) was charged with issuing licenses for all arms imports and exports. Arms trade without

135-469: A joint resolution outlawing the arms trade with Spain. The Neutrality Act of 1937 was passed in May and included the provisions of the earlier acts, this time without expiration date, and extended them to cover civil wars as well. Furthermore, U.S. ships were prohibited from transporting any passengers or articles to belligerents, and U.S. citizens were forbidden from traveling on ships of belligerent nations. In

180-512: A U.S. senator and governor of Wisconsin. Robert Jr., along with his brother Philip La Follette , carried on their father's legacy of progressive politics and founded the Wisconsin Progressive Party . Robert Jr. was the last major Progressive Party politician in the U.S. Senate, ending in 1946 when the party disbanded. La Follette was defeated in the 1946 Republican Senate primary by Joseph McCarthy . His son, Bronson La Follette

225-493: A concession to Roosevelt, a " cash-and-carry " provision that had been devised by his advisor Bernard Baruch was added: the president could permit the sale of materials and supplies to belligerents in Europe as long as the recipients arranged for the transport and paid immediately with cash, with the argument that this would not draw the U.S. into the conflict. Roosevelt believed that cash-and-carry would aid France and Great Britain in

270-563: A general embargo on trading in arms and war materials with all parties in a war. It also declared that American citizens traveling on warring ships traveled at their own risk. The act was set to expire after six months. When Congress passed the Neutrality Act of 1935, the State Department established an office to enforce the provisions of the Act. The Office of Arms and Munitions Control, renamed

315-686: A license became a federal crime. The end of neutrality policy came in September 1940 with the Destroyers-for-bases deal , an agreement to transfer 50 US Navy destroyers to the Royal Navy in exchange for land rights on British possessions . This was followed by the Lend-Lease Act of March 1941, which allowed the U.S. to sell, lend or give war materials to nations Roosevelt wanted to support: Britain, France and China. After repeated incidents in

360-424: A move away from neutrality and toward "quarantining" all aggressors. He then imposed a "moral embargo" on exports of aircraft to Japan. Early in 1939, after Nazi Germany had invaded Czechoslovakia , Roosevelt lobbied Congress to have the cash-and-carry provision renewed. He was rebuffed, the provision lapsed, and the mandatory arms embargo remained in place. In September 1939, after Germany had invaded Poland ,

405-515: A severe streptococcus infection. He received the honorary degree of LL.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1938. The same illness kept him out of the military during World War I . La Follette served as his father's private secretary between 1919 and 1925. On September 29, 1925, La Follette was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by

450-767: A time the party was dominant in Wisconsin. He was reelected with the Progressive Party in 1934 and 1940. One of the Senate's leading isolationists, La Follette helped found the America First Committee in 1940. In April 1943 a confidential analysis by English researcher Isaiah Berlin for the British Foreign Office stated that La Follette was the: son of the celebrated Governor and brother of ex-Governor Philip La Follette of that State. Intimately tied with

495-657: Is entirely independent of business interests and pressure groups, and his strength comes from the traditional place occupied by his family in Wisconsin. On the whole an ally of the Isolationists. When the Wisconsin Progressive Party dissolved, La Follette returned to the Republican Party in 1946. He helped to draft and win passage of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 that modernized

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540-698: The United Furniture Workers of America (UFW), and the American Communications Association . He also stated that the difficult people to deal with were not "avowed Communists" but " fellow travelers " because "There is no litmus-paper test for these people." The only people he named were union leaders: Abram Flaxer of the UPWA, Reid Robinson of the MMSW, Ben Gold of the Furriers, Michael Quill of

585-457: The arms industry for profit reasons. That strengthened the position of isolationists and non-interventionists in the country. Powerful forces in the US Congress pushing for non-interventionism and strong Neutrality Acts were Republican Senators William Edgar Borah , Arthur H. Vandenberg , Gerald P. Nye and Robert M. La Follette, Jr. , but Congressional support for non-interventionism

630-481: The Atlantic between German submarines and U.S. ships, Roosevelt announced on September 11, 1941, that he had ordered the U.S. Navy to attack German and Italian war vessels in the "waters which we deem necessary for our defense". This order effectively declared naval war on Germany and Italy. Following the sinking of the U.S. destroyer Reuben James while she dropped depth charges on German U-boats on October 31, many of

675-523: The Atlantic from RCAF Gander to RAF Prestwick , first by the Atlantic Ferry Organization ("Atfero"), and subsequently by RAF Ferry Command . After the establishment of Lend-Lease , aircraft and other weapons could be supplied direct to the UK. Neutrality Acts of 1930s The Neutrality Acts were a series of acts passed by the US Congress in 1935, 1936, 1937, and 1939 in response to

720-662: The Board to US manufacturers stimulated production and design including the development and production of what would become the North American Mustang , which was designed for the Commission. Upon entry into Royal Air Force (RAF) or other Commonwealth service an Air Ministry service name was applied, thus the Consolidated 28-5 became the ' Consolidated Catalina '. Aircraft purchased by the Commission first had to be moved across

765-616: The Division of Controls in 1939 when the office was expanded, initially consisted of Joseph C. Green and Charles W. Yost . Roosevelt invoked the act after Italy's invasion of Ethiopia in October 1935, preventing all arms and ammunition shipments to Italy and Ethiopia. He also declared a "moral embargo" against the belligerents, covering trade not falling under the Neutrality Act. The Neutrality Act of 1936, passed in February of that year, renewed

810-611: The Kilgore Subcommittee on War Mobilization and the Murray Social Committee on Small Business. He named some half-dozen CIO affiliates as being openly pro-Communist: United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (UE), International Fur & Leather Workers Union (IFLWU), United Public Workers of America (UPWA), Transport Workers Union , Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers (MMSW), the Farm Equipment and Metal Workers,

855-496: The Neutrality Acts for fear that they would restrict the administration's options to support friendly nations. Even though both the House and Senate had large Democratic majorities throughout these years, there was enough support for the Neutrality Acts among Democrats (especially Southerners) to ensure their passage. Although congressional support was insufficient to override a presidential veto, Roosevelt felt he could not afford to snub

900-851: The Senate with support from the Communist-controlled United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers , CIO ", which preferred McCarthy to the anti-communist Robert M. La Follette. This allegation, however, has never been proved. After his defeat by McCarthy, La Follette was a foreign aid advisor to the Truman administration. In a Collier's Weekly article of February 8, 1947, La Follette reported infiltration of Communists onto Congressional committee staffs. He wrote, "I know from firsthand experience that Communist sympathizers have infiltrated into committee staffs on Capitol Hill in Washington." He cited his own former subcommittee, as well as

945-498: The South and anger public opinion, especially while he was facing re-election in 1936 and needed congressional co-operation on domestic issues. With considerable reluctance, Roosevelt signed the Neutrality Acts into law. Roosevelt's State Department had lobbied for embargo provisions that would allow the president to impose sanctions selectively. This was rejected by Congress. The 1935 act, passed by Congress on August 31, 1935, imposed

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990-511: The TWU, and Joseph Ryan of the IL. In August 1947, Washington-based columnist Marquis Childs reported that La Follette was "comfortably established in his own offices in Washington as an economic consultant to several large corporations." In 1930, La Follette married Rachel Wilson Young. They had two children, Joseph Oden La Follette and Bronson Cutting La Follette . On February 24, 1953, La Follette

1035-519: The US government's ability to aid Britain and France against Nazi Germany . The Acts were largely repealed in 1941, in the face of the Lend-Lease Act . The Nye Committee hearings between 1934 and 1936 and several best-selling books of the time, like H. C. Engelbrecht 's The Merchants of Death (1934), supported the conviction of many Americans that the US entry into World War I had been orchestrated by bankers and

1080-490: The United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany. Roosevelt invoked the provisions of the Neutrality Act but came before Congress and lamented that the Neutrality Acts may give passive aid to an aggressor country. Congress was divided. Republican Senator Gerald Nye wanted to broaden the embargo, and other isolationists like Vandenberg and Hiram Johnson vowed to fight "from hell to breakfast" Roosevelt's desire to loosen

1125-515: The border into Canada , due to the US' neutrality laws, it being illegal to transport 'war materials' direct from US ports. Sailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia , smaller aircraft with insufficient range to make the journey across the Atlantic were delivered to the UK by ship as cargo, with the aircraft 'knocked down' into component sections and crated. Upon arrival in the UK crated aircraft were transported to RAF Speke where they were assembled and test flown. Larger aircraft were ferried directly across

1170-482: The death of his father. "Young Bob", as he was called, was a champion of organized labor . He gained national prominence between 1936 and 1940 as chairman of a special Senate investigating committee, commonly called the La Follette Civil Liberties Committee , that exposed the surveillance, physical intimidation, and other techniques used by large employers to prevent workers from organizing. He

1215-498: The embargo. An "outstanding Republican leader" who supported helping nations under attack, however, told H. V. Kaltenborn that the embargo was futile because a neutral country like Italy could buy from the US and sell its own weapons to Germany, while US companies would relocate factories to Canada. Roosevelt prevailed over the isolationists, and on November 4, he signed the Neutrality Act of 1939 into law, allowing for arms trade with belligerent nations (Great Britain and France) on

1260-678: The event of a war with Germany, since they were the only countries that controlled the seas and were able to take advantage of the provision. The cash-and-carry clause was set to expire after two years. Japan invaded China in July 1937, starting the Second Sino-Japanese War . President Roosevelt, who supported the Chinese side, chose not to invoke the Neutrality Acts since the parties had not formally declared war. In so doing, he ensured that China's efforts to defend itself would not be hindered by

1305-436: The former, while the more conservative Republicans were also suspicious of La Follette, for he had previously run against them. Being initially confident of victory, he further hurt his chances by staying on in Washington to draft and win passage of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 rather than returning to Wisconsin to campaign for re-election. La Follette faced an aggressive campaign by McCarthy and failed to refute

1350-478: The growing threats and wars that led to World War II . They were spurred by the growth in isolationism and non-interventionism in the US following the US joining World War I , and they sought to ensure that the US would not become entangled again in foreign conflicts. The legacy of the Neutrality Acts is widely regarded as having been generally negative since they made no distinction between aggressor and victim, treating both equally as belligerents , and limited

1395-487: The latter's charges, several of which were false. McCarthy attacked La Follette for not enlisting during the war, although La Follette had been 46 when Pearl Harbor was bombed and would have been too old to be accepted. McCarthy played up his own wartime service, using his wartime nickname "Tail-Gunner Joe", and the slogan "Congress needs a tail-gunner". McCarthy also claimed that while he had been away fighting for his country, La Follette had made huge profits from investments;

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1440-514: The legislation: China was dependent on arms imports and only Japan would have been able to take advantage of cash-and-carry. This outraged the isolationists in Congress who claimed that the spirit of the law was being undermined. Roosevelt stated that he would prohibit American ships from transporting arms to the belligerents, but he allowed British ships to transport American arms to China. Roosevelt gave his Quarantine Speech in October 1937, outlining

1485-555: The legislative process in Congress. La Follette was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection as a Republican in 1946. He ran an isolationist campaign against the United Nations and was critical of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin ; he ended up narrowly losing to Joseph McCarthy in the Republican primary, by 207,935 votes to 202,557. While La Follette initially started with a large lead in the polls, that lead gradually dwindled, and on

1530-438: The nascent state of Israel during the 1948 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 was also stripped of his voting rights and veteran benefits. All three received presidential pardons in subsequent decades. Greenspun was pardoned by John F. Kennedy in 1961, Schwimmer was pardoned by Bill Clinton in 2001, and Winters

1575-400: The previous day; Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. on December 11, 1941, and the U.S. responded with a declaration of war on the same day. The provision against unlicensed arms trades of the 1939 act remains in force. In 1948, Charles Winters , Al Schwimmer and Herman Greenspun were convicted under the 1939 Act after smuggling B-17 Flying Fortress bombers from Florida to

1620-532: The primary election day, the results of the final county to report polls tipped the scales in McCarthy's favor. La Follette sent a one-word telegram saying "Congratulations" to McCarthy. La Follette made several decisions that hurt his primary campaign. Disbanding the Progressive Party and seeking election on the Republican ticket that same year cost him the support of many progressive supporters that belonged to

1665-638: The provisions of the 1935 act for another 14 months. It also forbade all loans or credits to belligerents. However, this act did not cover "civil wars", such as that in Spain (1936–1939) , nor did it cover materials used in civilian life such as trucks and oil. U.S. companies such as Texaco , Standard Oil , Ford , General Motors , and Studebaker sold such items to the Nationalists under General Franco on credit. By 1939, Spain owed these and other companies more than $ 100,000,000. In January 1937, Congress passed

1710-474: The provisions of the Neutrality Acts were repealed on November 17, 1941. As a result, merchant vessels were allowed to be armed and to carry any cargoes to belligerent nations. On December 4, 1941, the US press published Rainbow Five , a leaked plan outlining US war strategy. The U.S. formally declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Japanese declaration of war of

1755-415: The suggestion that La Follette had been guilty of war profiteering was deeply damaging. (In fact, McCarthy had invested in the stock market himself during the war, netting a profit of $ 42,000 in 1943. La Follette's investments consisted of partial interest in a radio station, which earned him a profit of $ 47,000 over two years. ) Arnold Beichman later stated that McCarthy "was elected to his first term in

1800-462: The very peculiar "progressive" Wisconsin political organization, who started as an Isolationist New Dealer and by degrees has turned into a confused anti-administration Nationalist. He is a very eccentric and unpredictable political figure who continues to be radical in internal issues and obscurantist in foreign affairs. He is said to be prepared to approve of Britain after she had expiated her past errors by more suffering than she had already endured. He

1845-541: Was also a prominent politician in Wisconsin, serving as the 36th & 39th attorney general of Wisconsin . La Follette was born in Madison, Wisconsin , to Robert M. "Fighting Bob" La Follette and his wife Belle Case La Follette . He had three siblings, including Philip La Follette and Fola La Follette . La Follette attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1913 to 1917 but he did not graduate because of

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1890-453: Was chairman of the Committee on Manufactures in the 71st and 72nd Congresses. He supported President Franklin D. Roosevelt and most New Deal legislation until he broke over the passage of the 1938 naval expansion bill. He was re-elected as a Republican in 1928, and as a Progressive in 1934 and 1940. With his brother Philip, he formed the Wisconsin Progressive Party in 1934, and for

1935-662: Was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound just days after his 58th birthday in Washington, D.C. His aide Wilbur Voight stated he "apparently had been despondent over a lingering heart condition". La Follette was interred at Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison, Wisconsin , and was survived by his sons, Bronson La Follette , who served as Wisconsin's attorney general from 1965 to 1969 and from 1975 to 1987, and Joseph Oden La Follette, who spent his career working at IBM. On September 9, 1953, John Lautner testified before McCarthy's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations , revealing

1980-454: Was not limited to the Republican Party. The Ludlow Amendment , requiring a public referendum before any declaration of war except in cases of defense against direct attack, was introduced several times without success between 1935 and 1940 by Democratic Representative Louis Ludlow . Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt and especially Secretary of State Cordell Hull were critical of

2025-500: Was pardoned by George W. Bush in 2008. Robert M. La Follette, Jr. Robert Marion La Follette Jr. (February 6, 1895 – February 24, 1953) was an American politician who served as United States senator from Wisconsin from 1925 to 1947. A member of the La Follette family , he was often referred to by the nickname " Young Bob " to distinguish him from his father, Robert M. "Fighting Bob" La Follette , who had served as

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