Figure 1.-- Many American industrialists were not with early Roosevelt Administration efforts to gear up for war. Times after a decade of Depressiin were good. For the first time since the Depression began, cars, appliances, and other manufactured goods were selling briskly and comapnies were reporting increased earnings. Americans had money and were spending. Many corporations were reluctant to take on the expensive process of retooling and converting their production lines to war-related production that would be needed for only a few years. The big autmobile manufacturers were sill turning out passanger cars in 1940 and 41. Nothing is more American than having your picture taken by dad in front of the new family car. Note the strategic materials (steel, copper, chrome, and others) used to build this massive DeSoto--the same mnaterials needed to build tanks, artilleru, U-boats, and other weapons systems.

The events of May-June 1940 dramatically changed American attitudes toward military preparation. The NAZI Western Offensive and fall of France resulted in a shift in the strategic ballance of breathtaking proportions--posing a threat to America that even many isolationists could not ignore. The isolationist determination to keep America out of the War in Europe meant that Hitler could attack Britain and France with only the limited support Roosevelt could provide. Hitler's strategy in domestic politics was to divide an conquer. He used this strategy to great effect both domestically and in foreign affairs. After the fall of France, however, it was no linger effective, as only the most myopic (which included an amazing number of American isolaionists, could now see clearly his intentions. This in part explains Hitler's effectiveness and why after a series of spectacular successes he then was responsible for a series of equally spectacular failures. THe success of Hitler's war policies show a remarkable shift after the fall of France. By June 1940, however, The widely felt isolationist sentiment in America had put the country and actually Western civilization itself in mortal danger. The NAZIs struck in the West (May 1940). The result was the fall of France (June 1940). The French Army had been the backbone of the Western Front in World War I. France's fall meant that America would eventually have to fight NAZI Germany without a French ally. The strength of the isolationists nearly meant the fall of Britain as well. This would have meant that America might have to face NAZI Germany, perhaps united with Soviet Russia and Japan, alone. President Roosevelt launched into what would become the largest armaments program in American history. Events in Europe generated the political support he needed in Congress. He proceeded with the same speed that he had launched the New Deal in Match 1933. Congressional opposition to rearamament weakened, but the American Firsters and other isolationists still resisted. General Marshall had argued late into the night with Congressional leaders to get $18 million restored to the army budge (April 1940). The fall of France changed the outlook of many Congressmen. The President in June rushed through an additional $5 billion without much more limited Congressioinal opposition. President Roosevelt reported that American capacity for building airplanes had been increased from 6,000 to 12,000 planes annually. He proposed increasing it to a minimum of 50,000 planes annually. [Freidel, pp. 330-331.] While the Congressional logjam was broken. Many American industrialists were not cooperating. Times were good. For the first time since the Depression began, cars, appliances, and other manufactured goods were selling. Americans had money and were spending. Many corporations did not want to convert their profitable to production lines to war-related production. They recalled how they did this in World War and were vcalled the Mercants of Death after the War. Henry Ford in particular was a holdout. Many people after the fall of France thought that the war was essentially over and the Germans had won it. President Roosevelt disagreed and took emergency steps to aid Britain. He also called two critical individuals about preparing the Ardenal of Democracy for war--Bernard Baruch and William Knudsen. Unlike his New Deal efforts, the President notably turned to free market capitalism to win the War.

Sources

Freidel, Frank. Franklin D. Roosevelt: Rendezuous with Destiny (Little Brown: Boston, 1990), 710p.

Created: 3:31 AM 5/31/2005
Last updated: 1:04 AM 4/13/2021