President Roosevelt and the Coming of the War
The topic of "President Roosevelt and the Coming of the War" delves into the complexities surrounding President Franklin D. Roosevelt's policies and actions leading up to the United States' entry into World War II. Initially, Roosevelt assured the American public that U.S. troops would not be sent into foreign conflicts, instead focusing on providing material support to nations under threat, exemplified by the Lend-Lease program initiated in 1941. This program faced bipartisan scrutiny in Congress, as critics argued it could escalate U.S. involvement in the war.
The document also discusses Roosevelt's ambiguous stance during critical meetings with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, where they discussed strategies against Adolf Hitler. As tensions heightened, Roosevelt urged Congress to modify the Neutrality Act, allowing American ships to arm themselves. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt described it as a surprise; however, some argue that he may have anticipated such an event to galvanize public support for entering the war. This has led to ongoing debates about the legitimacy of Roosevelt's decisions and the accountability of military leaders during the attack. Overall, the topic reflects the contentious historical perspectives regarding leadership, war policy, and national security during a pivotal era in American history.
President Roosevelt and the Coming of the War
Identification Revisionist interpretation of American entry into World War II
Author Charles A. Beard (1874-1948)
Date Published in 1948
Beard’s book provoked a furious protest from his professional colleagues with his claim that President Franklin D. Roosevelt manipulated the United States into entering World War II, and that the president may even have had some foreknowledge of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In the president’s deviousness, Beard maintained, Roosevelt betrayed American trust and violated the U.S. Constitution.
Charles A. Beard frames his indictment of Roosevelt in three parts: appearances, unveiling realities, and realities as described by the Pearl Harbor documents. He stresses Roosevelt’s pledge to the American people that troops were not going to be sent into foreign wars, but the United States would provide material aid to nations under attack. Thus, in his State of the Union address on January 6, 1941, Roosevelt announced a plan to send large quantities of munitions and supplies to the Allies. The resulting Lend-Lease program became the subject of great debate in Congress, with remarks by Senator Pat McCarran, a Democrat from Nevada, and Senator Arthur Hendrick Vandenberg, a Michigan Republican, typical of the bipartisan criticism that the program inflated the president’s power and would move America toward war.
More controversy followed the unofficial practice of convoying British ships to guard against German submarines. The Atlantic Conference of August, 1941, took place on board the warship Potomac, with Roosevelt and British prime ministerWinston Churchill. The president’s comments were evasive, but it was generally assumed that he agreed with Churchill on the need to defeat Adolf Hitler. In October, Roosevelt urged Congress to repeal section 6 of the Neutrality Act, which prohibited arming American ships engaged in foreign commerce.
Roosevelt described the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as a surprise, but Beard’s evidence suggests this claim was disingenuous, and both Congress and the press soon began raising questions. On the evening of November 25, Roosevelt met with his war cabinet, and Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson recorded in his diary
in spite of the risk involved, however, in letting the Japanese fire the first shot, we realized that in order to have the full support of the American people it was desirable to make sure that the Japanese be the ones to do this…
In a long, final chapter devoted to this meeting, Beard rests his case. Eventually, in June, 1944, a joint resolution of Congress promised a complete investigation of the circumstances of the Pearl Harbor attack, especially the actions of the commanding officers, Major General Walter C. Short and Admiral Husband Edward Kimmel, who had been found accountable and relieved of their commands. They were never exonerated.
Impact
Beard’s professional colleagues were almost unanimous in their condemnation of his thesis, and Yale University Press, the publisher of his book, was threatened with a boycott. Writer Campbell Craig argues that Beard’s critics are wrong in their attempts to draw a straight line from his opposition to the war before Pearl Harbor to his single-minded determination to convict Roosevelt after it. Craig sees an issue of means and ends in Roosevelt actions—devious means used to justify a worthy end. Writer Robert B. Stinnett, in his excellently documented study. agrees with Craig’s view.
Bibliography
Craig, Campbell. Introduction to President Roosevelt and the Coming of War, 1941: A Study in Appearances and Realities, by Charles A. Beard. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction, 2003.
Sperber, Ann. Murrow: His Life and Times. New York: Freundlich, 1986.
Stinnett, Robert B. Day of Deceit. The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.