Figure 1.--. |
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President Roosevelt waged a carefully considered and highly effective campaign against the isolationists. His strategy was five fold. One was to let the barbarism of the NAZI and Japanese tyranies speak for themselves. Two was to push for reamament so that America would be able to confront the dictators when the time came. Three was to support the Allies (Britain and France) democracies in the hope that they could successfully deal with Hitler. Four was to carefull form public opinion, taking care not to get to far in front of public opinion. Five was to persued the campaign as a bibartisan foreign affairs effort rather than a way to avance his domestic agenda. The campaign evolved slowly, but was persued relentlessly. The end result, was that America not only played an important role in saving Britain, but when the Japanese finally brought America into the War, it was a united America fully committed to defeating the Axis no matter what the cost.
President Roosevelt let the barbarism of the NAZI and Japanese tyranies speak for themselves. Within months of the NAZIs seizing power Americans in the movie newsreels saw the NAZI book burnings (April 1933). The real horors were of course perpetrated behind the barbed wire enclosures of Daucha and the other concentration camps opened by the NAZIs. Newreels did show the endless rows of marching NAZIs and massed salutes. Terrible imges came from China with the Japanese invassion. Even these did not capture the full horror of Japanese attrocities. NAZI attrocities came out in the open on Cristallnacht with images of buning synagogues (November 1938). Once the War began, further images appeared of NAZI attricities, the most shocking of which was the Blitz on London (September 1940). Thus the bulk of the isolationst feeling had no sympathy for the dictators, they just did not wnt to fight them in Europe.
The President pushed for reamament so that America would be able to confront the dictators when the time came. Not only was this vital, but it was an effective tactic against the isolationists. Some isolationists were pascifists or left-wing elements following Moscow dictates. Others were not pascifists, but did not want to get involved in a European war. This element thus could be persuaded to support military preparadness even if they opposed President Roosevelt's efforts to support the Allies. This split within the isolationist ranks largely explains President Roosevelt's success.
The Presiden's initual effort was to support the Allies (Britain and France) democracies in the hope that they could successfully deal with Hitler. Many military analysists thought the French army to be the strongest military force in the world. Until the German western offensive (Ma-Junr 1940), thee was hope that the French Army would stop the Germans in the West and the Royal Navy could again place a naval blockade on Germany which would gradually impair the German economy as occurred in World War I. After the fall of France, the President had to persue a more active program of not only supporting Britain, but a major effort to save the hard pressed island nation n its valiant resistance to NAZI tyranny. Her the President had a narrow tight rope to walk. The American public supported Britain in the war, but fervently wnted to stay out of the War. The President's efforts were further complicated by the fact that just at the time France fell, he was enginnering a campaign to draft him for an inprecedented third term.
Four was to carefull form public opinion, taking care not to get to far in front of public opinion. American public opinion after World war I came to see the War as a great mistake. Many were determined never again to make a similar mistake. Repusion of the NAZIs became part of a generalized committment to stay out of European affairs. The Atlantic had for two centuries been an effective barrier against European threats. Few Americans appreciated the extent to which devekops in military weaponery was changing America's geographic isolation. Nor did they fully appreciate the danger posed by Germany and Japan. Here President Roosevelt had to use all of his considerable abilities of persuasion to help move public opinion. Here he had an ally in the barbarous nature of the NAZIs and Japanese militarists whose attrocities which Americans viewed in movie newreels provided poweful images which helped to move public opinion.
President Roosevelt persued the campaign as a bibartisan foreign affairs effort rather than a way to avance his domestic agenda. As President Roosevelt shifted his attention to confronting the dictators, the New Deal was put on hold for the duration. Most but not all of the Congressional isolations were Republicans. The Party was, however, not entirely isolationists. There were internationalists within the Party, especially the northeastern wing of the Party. President Roosevelt took advantage of this and appointed two respected Republican internationlists to his administration (JUne 19, 1940). The appointments included the two key national defense positions--the Secretary of War and the Navy. (These were two separate caninent positions at the time which after the War were combined into the Decretary of Defense. Both Henry Stimson and Frank Knox served in France during World war and were highly respected within the Republican Party. Stimson had previously served as Secretary of war under President Taft and Secretary of State under Hoover. Knox had built a fortune from humble beginnings and had been Alf Landon's vice-presidential running mate in the 1936 election. The effect was to make national defense a bipartisan effort.
The campaign evolved slowly, but the President persued it relentlessly. The end result, was that America not only played an important role in saving Britain, but when the Japanese finally brought America into the War, it was a united America fully committed to defeating the Axis no matter what the cost.
The office of the president of the United States has been called the most poweful office in the world. This can be an overstatement. Before Roosevelt, with a few exception (Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, T. Roosevelt, and Wilson), the American Republic was dominated by Congress. Hitler looking at the United States must have thought the office a very weak one. While he (and Stalin) could command without significant oposition, the American president had to convince. In the hands of a a capable president like Franklin Roosevelt, the presidency proved to be a key element in the defeat of the dictators. But the presidency could only be made into the powerful office it proved to be by inspired leadership as discussed above.
President Bush could have very beneficially studied the Roosevelt presidency. He has at various times criticized President Roosevelt for his war time leadership. Yet if he had followed the Roosevelt example he would have avoided some grevous errors. President Bush began with some disadvantages. The nature of his election (2000) meant that he did not have the kind of presidential mandate and popularity that Roosevely possessed. Nor was the case for war in Iraq as compelling as the need to oppose the dictators in the 1930s and early 40s. We do not disagree with the danger Iraq posed, but it certainly was not as compelling. Bush's leadership can be faulted in a number of areas. The most imprtant was his failure to mold public opinion and the failure to approach the war on a bipartisan basis. The President failed to make an effective case for the war. He based in case on weapon's of mass destruiction and when stockpiles could not be found shifted the justification to promoting democracy in the Arab world. Such changing justifications has weakened his ability to sell the War to the public. An even more grevious mistake was his failure to make the War a bipartisan effort. President Bush can be criticised for not going into Iraq with a wider coalition. But here dealing with the French and Germans was not a easy undertaking. Much more telling is his failure to bring the Democratic Party leadership aboard. It may have meant that he would have to delay the War, but a bipartisan approach was very important. Of course it is possible to fault the Democrats here, but not only did the President not work effectively with the Democratic leadership, but he actually used the War to push his conservative agenda. The President made an issue of reducing civil service protection and union representation in the new Homeland Security Department. Compromise here would have helped to attract being Democratic support as would habe compromises on the tax cuts. Rather than dropping conservative initiatives to build a national unity government, the President has used national defense as a way of attacking Congrssional Democrats and and advancing his conservative domestic agenda. The President's allies in Congress even attacked Democrats who has served in the military. The result has been, however, to increase opposition with the Democtric Party to the President and his policies. Had the Iraq War been short and decisive, it may have worked out for the President. The strength and duration of the insurgency and the growing opposition to the War, however, may undermine the whiole effort. And a key reason for this may ultimately be the President;s failure to build a bipartisan consensus.
Morgan, Ted. FDR: A Biography (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1985), 830p.
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