Congressional opposition to U. S. wars and interventions

1812 North America House Federalists’ Address

1917 World War I Filibuster of the Armed Ship Bill

1935-1939 (General) Neutrality Acts

1935-40 (General) Ludlow Amendment

1970 Vietnam McGovern-Hatfield Amendment

1970 Southeast Asia Cooper-Church Amendment

1971 Vietnam Repeal of Tonkin Gulf Resolution

1973 Southeast Asia Case-Church Amendment

1973 (General) War Powers Resolution

1974 Covert Ops (General) Hughes-Ryan Amendment

1976 Angola Clark Amendment

1982 Nicaragua Boland Amendment

2007 Iraq House Concurrent Resolution 63

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The Neutrality Acts were a series of laws that were passed by the United States Congress in the 1930s, in response to the growing turmoil in Europe and Asia that eventually led to World War II. Robert Marion La Follette Sr nicknamed "Fighting Bob" La Follette ( June 14, 1855 June 20, 1925) was an American The Ludlow Amendment was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States which called for a national Referendum on any Declaration of The McGovern-Hatfield amendment (alternately Hatfield-McGovern amendment) was a proposed amendment in 1970 during the Vietnam War that if passed would have required The Cooper-Church Amendment was introduced in the United States Senate during the Vietnam War. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (officially the Southeast Asia Resolution Public Law 88-408 was addressed by Lyndon B The Case-Church Amendment was a piece of Legislation that prohibited U The War Powers Act of 1973 ( also referred to as the War Powers Resolution is a resolution of the Congress of The United States of America that stated that the President of The Hughes-Ryan Act is a 1974 United States federal law that amended the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 The Clark Amendment was an amendment to the US Arms Export Control Act of 1976 named for its sponsor Senator Dick Clark (D-Iowa The Boland Amendment was the name given to three US legislative amendments between 1982 and 1984 all aimed at limiting US government assistance to the The surge is a phrase commonly used to describe United States President George W The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including They were spurred by the growth in isolationism and non-interventionism in the US following its costly involvement in World War I, and sought to ensure that the US would not become entangled again in foreign conflicts. Isolationism is a Foreign policy which combines a non-interventionist military policy and a political policy of Economic nationalism ( Protectionism The diplomatic policy whereby a nation seeks to avoid alliances with other nations in order to avoid being drawn into wars not related to direct territorial self-defense has had a long history World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All

The Neutrality Acts should not be confused with the Proclamation of Neutrality by President George Washington in 1793, declaring American neutrality in the ongoing European wars, particularly between Great Britain and Revolutionary France. The Proclamation of Neutrality was a formal announcement issued by President George Washington on April 22, 1793, declaring the United States George Washington (February 22 1732 December 14 1799 served as the first President of the United States of America (1789&ndash1797 and led the See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an

The legacy of the Neutrality Acts in the 1930s was widely regarded as having been generally negative: they made no distinction between aggressor and victim, treating both equally as "belligerents"; and they limited the US government's ability to aid Britain against Nazi Germany, until the formal declaration of war in December 1941 rendered them irrelevant. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers

Background

The Nye Committee hearings between 1934 and 1936 and several best-selling books of the time strengthened the conviction of many Americans that the U. The Nye Committee, officially known as the Special Committee on Investigation of the Munitions Industry, was a committee in the United States Senate which studied the causes S. entry into World War I had been orchestrated by bankers and arms dealers for profit reasons. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All This strengthened the position of isolationists and non-interventionists in the country.

Powerful forces in Congress pushing for non-interventionism and strong Neutrality Acts were the Republican Senators William Edgar Borah, Arthur H. Vandenberg, Gerald P. Nye and Robert M. La Follette, Jr.,^[1] but support of isolationism was not limited to the Republican party. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives William Edgar Borah ( June 29, 1865 near Fairfield, Illinois &ndash January 19, 1940 Washington D Arthur Hendrick Vandenberg ( March 22 1884 &ndash April 18 1951) was a Republican Senator from the U Gerald Prentice Nye ( December 19, 1892 &ndash July 17, 1971) was a United States politician representing North Dakota Robert Marion La Follette Jr ( February 6, 1895 &ndash February 24, 1953) was an American senator from Wisconsin from 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. The Ludlow Amendment was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States which called for a national Referendum on any Declaration of The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. Louis Leon Ludlow, as a Democratic Indiana Congressman, proposed a constitutional amendment early in 1938 requiring a national referendum on any U

Democratic President Roosevelt and especially his Secretary of State Cordell Hull were critical of the Neutrality Acts, fearing that they would restrict his options to support the country's allies. Cordell Hull ( October 2, 1871 &ndash July 23, 1955) was an American politician from the U Even though both House and Senate had large Democratic majorities throughout these years, Roosevelt could not prevent the acts, and reluctantly signed them, faced with strong Congressional and public opinion. ^[2]

Neutrality Act of 1935

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, signed on August 31, 1935, imposed 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.

Roosevelt invoked the act after Italy's invasion of Ethiopia in October 1935, preventing all arms and ammunition shipments to both countries. See also First Italo-Ethiopian War. The Second Italo–Abyssinian War (also referred to as the Second Italo-Ethiopian War) was a He also declared a "moral embargo" against the belligerents, covering trade not falling under the Neutrality Act. ^[3]

Neutrality Act of 1936

The Neutrality Act of 1936, passed in February of that year, renewed 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 such as trucks and oil. The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted Coup d'état committed by parts of the army against the government of US companies such as Texaco, Standard Oil, Ford, General Motors, and Studebaker used this loophole to sell such items to Franco on credit. Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron" Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing transporting refining and marketing company Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following General Motors Corporation ( GM) ( is a multinational automobile manufacturer founded in 1908 and headquartered in the United States. Studebaker Corporation, or simply Studebaker, was a United States Wagon and Automobile manufacturer based in Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde (born December 4, 1892 in Ferrol, died November 20, 1975 in Madrid By 1939, Franco owed these and other companies more than $100,000,000. ^[4]

Neutrality Acts of 1937

Main article: Neutrality Act of 1937

In January 1937, the Congress passed a joint resolution outlawing the arms trade with Spain. The Neutrality Act of 1937 was a law that unsuccessfully attempted to keep the United States out of international conflicts including Civil wars Major The Neutrality Act of 1937, passed in May, included the provisions of the earlier acts, this time without expiration date, and extended them to cover civil wars as well. Further, 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 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 non-arms to belligerents as long as the recipients arranged for the transport and paid immediately in cash, with the argument that this would not draw the U. The policy of cash and carry during the onset of World War II in 1939 revised the Neutrality Acts that were established by US President Roosevelt. Bernard Mannes Baruch (bəˈɹuk ( August 18, 1870 &ndash June 20, 1965) was a Jewish-American Financier, stock market Speculator S. into the conflict. Roosevelt believed that cash and carry would aid France and Great Britain in 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. ^[2] The cash and carry clause was set to expire after two years.

Japan invaded China in July 1937, starting the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Second Sino-Japanese War ( July 7, 1937 to September 9, 1945) was a major war fought between the Republic of China and the President Roosevelt, who supported the Chinese side, chose not to invoke the Neutrality Acts since the parties had not formerly declared war. In so doing, he ensured that China's efforts to defend itself would not be hindered by 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. ^[5] Roosevelt gave his Quarantine Speech in October 1937, outlining a move away from neutrality and towards "quarantining" all aggressors. The Quarantine Speech given by US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on October 5, 1937 in Chicago calling for an international "quarantine He then imposed a "moral embargo" on exports of aircraft to Japan. ^[3]

Neutrality Act of 1939

Early in 1939, after Nazi Germany had invaded Czechoslovakia, Roosevelt lobbied Congress to have the cash and carry provision renewed. Following the Anschluss of Nazi Germany and Austria in March 1938 Nazi leader Adolf Hitler 's next target for annexation was Czechoslovakia He was rebuffed, the provision lapsed, and mandatory arms embargo remained in place. In September, after Germany had invaded Poland and Great Britain and France had subsequently 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. The Invasion of Poland (1939 precipitated World War II. It was carried out by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small German-allied ^[6] He prevailed over the isolationists and on November 4th the Neutrality Act of 1939 was passed, allowing for arms trade with belligerent nations on a cash and carry basis, thus in effect ending the arms embargo. Furthermore, American ships were barred from entering war zones designated by the President.

End of neutrality policy

The end of neutrality policy came with the Lend-Lease Act of March 1941, which allowed the U. Lend-Lease (Public Law 77-11 was the name of the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, S. to sell, lend or give war materials to allied nations.

After repeated attacks by German submarines and the sinking of the destroyer Reuben James on October 31, much of the provisions of the Neutrality Acts were repealed on November 17, 1941: merchant vessels were allowed to be armed and to carry any cargoes to belligerent nations. U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word, itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot ( undersea boat) and refers History Reuben James was laid down on April 2 1919 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden New Jersey, launched The U. S. entered the war in December 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack on Pearl Harbor (or Hawaii Operation, as it was called by the Imperial General Headquarters) was a surprise Military strike conducted by

References

Further reading

• Divine, Robert A. The Illusion of Neutrality, Chicago 1962.

External links

• Neutrality Act of August 31, 1935
• Neutrality Act of February 29, 1936
• Neutrality Act of May 1, 1937
• Neutrality Act of November 4, 1939