Analysis: Charles Lindbergh: Radio Address
Charles Lindbergh's radio address during the early stages of World War II represents a significant moment in American isolationist sentiment. In this address, Lindbergh urged the United States to maintain neutrality in the conflict unfolding in Europe, asserting that the nation was unprepared for war against a formidable German military. He emphasized the need for the U.S. to focus on its regional security and democratic principles rather than becoming embroiled in distant conflicts. Lindbergh's views were shaped by the political climate following the Treaty of Versailles, which had imposed harsh penalties on Germany after World War I, leading to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime.
As a celebrated aviator who had firsthand experience assessing Germany's military capabilities, Lindbergh argued that an interventionist approach could jeopardize American democracy itself if the U.S. were to suffer defeat in Europe. He warned against the persuasive rhetoric surrounding the war and advocated for respecting the opinions of isolationists, who constituted a significant portion of the American populace. Through his formation of the America First Committee, he aimed to represent those advocating for neutrality and caution in the face of global conflict. Lindbergh's address sparked considerable debate regarding U.S. foreign policy at a time when the nation was divided between isolationist and interventionist perspectives.
Analysis: Charles Lindbergh: Radio Address
Date: 1941
Authors: Charles A. Lindbergh
Genre: speech; editorial
Summary Overview
Shortly after Britain, France, and other European nations declared war on Nazi Germany, famed American aviator Charles Lindbergh took to the airwaves to urge America to stay neutral on the European war. Lindbergh argued that the United States was ill-prepared to wage a successful campaign against Germany. He also stressed that the United States should remain focused on its own regional security and the preservation of its democratic ideals.
Defining Moment
The 1919 Treaty of Versailles brought an end to what many referred to as “the war to end all wars”—World War I. However, two decades later, and as a result of the punitive economic and political sanctions the Versailles treaty imposed on Germany, that nation would reemerge in the 1930s embracing the nationalist, racist, and anti-Semitic attitudes espoused by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime. Hitler launched a domestic campaign to rid Germany of non-Germans and looked to expand Germany's geographic domain to accommodate the growth of the German race.
Hitler's efforts began with an illegal insertion of troops into the Rhineland (an area of Germany that had been demilitarized under the terms of the Versailles treaty), then into Austria, Czechoslovakia, and finally Poland. Meanwhile, fascist Italian leader Benito Mussolini led his own troops into the North African nation of Ethiopia, while Spain (with the help of Hitler) brought to power fascist dictator Francisco Franco. On the other side of the world, Japan (which would ultimately ally with Hitler and Mussolini) invaded the Chinese region of Manchuria, setting up a puppet government and advancing toward Beijing (a close trading partner of Europe and the United States) and into the South Pacific.
With the specter of war haunting virtually every corner of the world, nations looked to one another for alliances, partnerships, and aid. Shortly after the Nazis invaded Poland in the fall of 1939, France, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada declared war on Germany. However, Germany's military prowess and speed proved too much for these European allies.
The United States, still weary of foreign entanglements after its involvement in World War I, remained on the sidelines. A majority of Americans felt that the growing crisis in Europe did not concern them, and that neutrality was the better course of action. Aiding in this prevailing isolationist attitude was the information provided to leaders from Charles Lindbergh. Lindbergh was an American aviation hero, and while living in Europe was recruited by the US government to assess Hitler's growing military capability. His resulting analysis painted a picture of a highly advanced military infrastructure that was more than capable of defeating many of Europe's militaries.
Although the isolationists prevailed in the 1930s, a growing number of Americans advocated for, at the very least, providing aid and supplies to its allies in Europe as they fought against Germany. Many called for US intervention against Hitler to fight for the democracy and freedom that were threatened due to Nazi fascism. In 1941, Lindbergh, who had seen the German military's abilities first-hand and who also espoused the isolationist philosophy, took to the radio to share with listeners his point of view.
Author Biography
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born in Detroit, Michigan, on February 4, 1902. He was raised in Little Falls, Minnesota, where he attended high school and worked his family's farm before pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin. Lindbergh, however, changed course and moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, to train to fly and maintain aircraft. In 1924, he entered an Army flying school in Texas and graduated at the top of his class. From May 20 through May 21 of 1927, Lindbergh made his famous solo transatlantic flight in a plane he helped designed and build, the Spirit of St. Louis. After his son was kidnapped in 1932, Lindbergh and his wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh lived in France, where he helped Dr. Alexis Carrel develop a special perfusion pump (dubbed an “artificial heart”) that made future organ transplants possible. During the 1950s, Lindbergh moved to Hawaii and became an avid and vocal environmentalist. Lindbergh authored seven books and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He died on August 26, 1974, in Maui, Hawaii.
Document Analysis
Charles Lindbergh knew that by openly calling upon America to remain neutral in the face of Nazi Germany he was risking his own popularity as a heroic symbol of American ideals. He also understood that he was facing public criticism from American leadership (including President Franklin Roosevelt) as the isolationist–interventionist debate had by 1941 become widespread and heated. Lindbergh, in his address, thus told listeners he wished to eschew the rhetoric of this debate and instead offer a pragmatic point of view that was based on his own knowledge and experience.
One of Lindbergh's main points is that the United States should only enter a war if it were capable of winning that conflict. Germany, he explains, had reached a point in its military and technological development that it was highly capable of advancing throughout Europe. Britain and France had already embarked on a quixotic campaign to defeat Germany: France was already soundly defeated, and the British Empire was not far from defeat itself. It was understandable that these nations would look to other nations to aid them, but many of the countries that answered the call, such as Greece and Poland, suffered the same fate as they did, Lindbergh explains in his address.
Lindbergh reminds listeners that the United States is still rebuilding its military and economic infrastructures in the wake of World War I, and that the US military simply is unable to successfully engage the Nazis in every corner of Europe (as German forces had by this point expanded throughout the continent), especially given their untrained personnel and antiquated weaponry. The US Navy was formidable, he says, but is a “one-ocean” navy. If it were to be called into service in Europe, it would leave the Pacific, which had become destabilized by Japan, unguarded. Even if American forces were sent to Europe, there are few bases on the mainland from which they could launch their operations.
Lindbergh explains, however, that there was an imperative for the American military: the United States should be focused on its own sphere of influence, which he believes stems from the Monroe Doctrine. If the United States were to fight and lose in Europe, democracy would fall as well. Conversely, he explains, if the United States reinforces democratic institutions across North and South America, democracy will survive in the face of Axis-style fascism on the other side of the ocean.
Lindbergh warns that there is considerable rhetoric surrounding the war. He advises Americans not to be swayed by such politically charged language. There is an overwhelming number of Americans, Lindbergh says, who share his views. In fact, he states, interventionists go as far as to argue that isolationists who make similar arguments to Lindbergh's are undermining democracy. Instead, he says, those who speak out against the isolationists are the ones endangering democracy. The people without power still have the ability to vote, and their attitudes preferring neutrality should be respected and upheld. For this reason, his America First Committee was organized in order to provide a voice for those who otherwise would not have the ability to express their opposition to the war.
Bibliography and Additional Reading
“Charles A. Lindbergh—Biography.” Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation. Lindbergh Foundation, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
Duffy, James P. Lindbergh vs. Roosevelt: The Rivalry That Divided America. Washington: Regnery, 2010. Print.
Giblin, James Cross. Charles A. Lindbergh: A Human Hero. New York: Clarion, 1997. Print.
Lindbergh, Charles A. The Spirit of St. Louis. 1953. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.
Olson, Lynne. Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America's Fight over World War II, 1939–1941. New York: Random, 2013. Print.