Franklin Roosevelt'S Policies

Franklin Roosevelt's policies toward Europe and Japan leading up to American involvement in World War II were skillfully deceptive. President Roosevelt's policies in the years leading up to The War were focused on the United States economy, and other domestic issues rather then international issues. The problems at home were more pressing to Roosevelt; they were right in front of him. This so called nearsightedness allowed the war in Europe and the war in the Pacific to develop, and gain momentum while the President solved the problems at home. Had more attention been paid to oversees issues many needless battles and deaths could have possibly been avoided, or at least minimized. However, Roosevelt knew his place was not as the world's police, so he focused on his own nations shortcomings before helping other countries with their problems. Roosevelt's ideas, combined with the current events around the world created some tight spots, and a great possibility for a skewed view of his intentions.

The Good Neighbor Policy was the main policy that came out of Roosevelt's first term of President. This policy was developed with Latin America in mind, but was applied to the rest of the world as time progressed. The policy basically stated that a good neighbor does not invade his neighbor's privacy, but allows him to live his life. This policy of non-intervention pleased the isolationist thinkers that dominated United States politics at the time. This was the beginning step in turning a blind eye to the world's problems, and focusing on those at home.

The policies set in place after World War I by the allied forces to prevent another large scale war were upheld by Franklin Roosevelt. The Neutrality Act prevented any nations from aiding a nation at war. This hampered the early success of the allied troops due to the fact that they could not buy arms from the United States without breaking their own laws. Roosevelt eventually created a loop hole in the law through the Lend-Lease Act. This act allowed the United States to either lend or lease weapons and ammunition to any country while still technically remaining neutral. While this did prove to be a great service to the allied cause, it would have been wiser of the United States government to ignore the Neutrality Act and just provide support to the allies outright. Their delay in sending weapons, food, and other supplies cost lives and morale among the allies.

Unfortunately the loophole in the Neutrality Act allowed Japan to purchase supplies from the United States as well. Japan is a small island nation with few natural resources. It has to rely greatly on other countries for supplies such as metal and gunpowder. These supplies were purchased in mass form the United States before its direct involvement in World War II. The fact that the President "tip-toed" around the issue of war, and remained neutral as long as possible, allowed Japan to