The Ruling Elite

by Deanna Spingola

  On September 4, 1941, before Pearl Harbor, a destroyer targeted the German submarine U-652 with three depth charges. The U-652 responded by firing two torpedoes at the unidentified destroyer, which turned out to be the USS Greer. Officials established the American Naval Commission to investigate the incident. Thereafter, Admiral Harold R. Stark soon reported that a British aircraft had been following the U-652 and had dropped four depth charges which missed the U-652. The British pilots then abandoned their efforts to destroy the submarine. However, the USS Greer, coordinating with the British, continued to follow the U-652 and sent the three depth charges to which the U-652 responded. On September 11, FDR, in a radio broadcast, claimed that the U-652 had arbitrarily, “without any provocation,” attacked the USS Greer and that it constituted “an act of piracy.” 1155

  FDR said, “There has come a time when you and I must see the cold, inexorable necessity of saying to these inhuman, unrestrained seekers of world conquest and permanent world domination by the sword: You seek to throw our children and our children’s children into your form of terrorism and slavery. You have now attacked our own safety. You shall go no further. When you see a rattlesnake poised, you don’t wait until it has struck before you crush it. In waters we deem necessary to our own safety, American warships and planes will no longer wait until Axis submarines lurking under the water or Axis raiders strike their deadly blow first.” 1156

  The British, with no limitations, could attack any U-boat they located with depth charges or gunfire and successfully destroy it before it had time to reply. The U-boats could not assault the escort vessels that surrounded the convoys. All that U-boats could do was evade British warships or abandon attacks. Torpedoing the escort vessels was against orders. Germany and U-boat Command made every effort to avert any problems with the United States. However, Roosevelt wanted war and given the comingling of British and American warships working together in the war arena, there were bound to be incidents. On September 15, 1941, Frank Knox, the Secretary of the Navy (1940-1944), declared that the United States Navy could use every possible means to capture or destroy Axis ships, surface or submarines. Consequently, on FDR’s instructions, via Admiral King of the Atlantic Fleet, America was engaged in a de facto state of war against Germany beginning on September 1, which was prior to the USS Greer incident. 1157

  From the USS Greer incident, September 4, 1941, forward, the United States engaged in warfare against Germany in the Atlantic Ocean. On September 17, Admirals Raeder and Doenitz approached Hitler to discuss the uncomfortable situation that the new policies imposed on the German naval forces. Hitler maintained his policy that U-boats should only employ defensive action, even when the enemy was attacking them. Otherwise, additional episodes were unavoidable. On October 10, in the midst of an attack on the British convoy SC48, the Germans torpedoed the US Kearney. On October 31, a U-boat sunk the US Reuben James during its attack on a convoy. 1158

  FDR signs Declaration of War against Germany

  Germany could not withdraw from her Atlantic operation as it would only help Britain. Contrary to international law, the United States continued its involvement against Germany in the Battle of the Atlantic up until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7. America declared war on Japan, Germany’s Axis partner on December 8. Germany and the United States declared war on each other on December 11. Interestingly, the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg actually concluded that Germany had not waged an aggressive war against the United States, Britain or France. 1159

  Lend-Lease: Warfare Welfare

  Congress passed several Neutrality Acts on August 31, 1935, which it renewed on February 29, 1936 until the Neutrality Act of May 1, 1937 due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The growing isolationist movement maintained that America should avoid future wars and remain neutral by avoiding financial deals with countries at war. FDR gave his quarantine speech on October 5, 1937 in Chicago, calling for an international “quarantine of the aggressor nations” as an option to American neutrality and non-intervention.

  In December 1939, FDR wrote William A. White and invited him to Washington to discuss the propagandization of the population about the dangers of Hitler “without scaring the American people into thinking that they are going to be dragged into this war.” White was unavailable then but he told FDR, “I fear our involvement before the peace and yet I fear to remain uninvolved letting the danger of a peace of tyranny approach too near.” By April 1940, the phony war ended when Hitler justifiably invaded Norway. 1160 On May 10, FDR invited Harry Hopkins, an advisor, to live in the White House as Hopkins suffered from a rare form of stomach cancer. 1161 Hopkins probably took his directions from Bernard Baruch who counseled FDR in much the same way that Edward M. House advised Woodrow Wilson.

  White joined Clark M. Eichelberger to formally create a nonpartisan group, the Committee to Defend America, on May 20, 1940, to gather backing for “emergency” assistance to the British and French, by sending supplies to assuage the results of Hitler’s victory. 1162 On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Britain and France then declared war on Germany. By June 1940, German forces had militarily crushed France. Congress passed the Two-Ocean Navy Act (Public Law 76-757) and two weeks later, Paris surrendered. This act authorized the construction of 257 ships, a seventy percent increase, just in time to assist Britain.

  The Germans had quickly subdued France and the Low countries during the Battle of France, May 10-June 22, 1940, leaving Britain to fight Germany alone. Now, the Chiefs of Staff Committee decided that, if France fell, Britain could not prosecute the war with any degree of success without external assistance from the United States. Yet Congress had passed neutrality acts forbidding all loans or credits to belligerents. FDR approached Congress and, on November 4, 1939, Congress had passed a new Neutrality Act, allowing for arms trade with belligerent nations on a cash-and-carry basis and repealed all previous neutrality acts.

  Following the evacuation of British forces from Dunkirk, in Operation Dynamo, between May 27 and the early hours of June 4, 1940, the Royal Navy needed ships, as they were fighting the Battle of the Atlantic. The German U-boats challenged Britain’s ability to obtain food and other essential resources. German successes convinced many American politicians that the defeat of France and Britain was imminent. On May 27, the FDR administration, via the British ambassador, sent a proposal to Churchill suggesting that he lease sufficient land for the construction of American airfields on Trinidad, Bermuda, and Newfoundland. Churchill wanted something in return. On June 1, FDR ignored the Neutrality Act by reclassifying millions of rounds of ammunition and small arms as surplus.

  Henry Stimson, Nicholas Butler, Frank Knox, and New York Governor Herbert Lehman were members of the board of the Committee to Defend America. Harvard President James B. Conant and Mrs. Dwight Morrow (Elizabeth) appealed to the nation on the radio. Elizabeth Morrow’s views contradicted those of her son-in-law, Charles Lindbergh. The committee failed to acquire the hoped-for support. White approached Roosevelt who already lent his support. FDR initially goaded the Senate, especially the reluctant ones, to confirm the nominations of Knox and Stimson, both dedicated to the British cause. FDR also directed White, who attempted to remain non-partisan, to mobilize support for FDR to give Churchill the destroyers that he requested. On July 23, 1940, White wrote to numerous people and told them that America had fifty or sixty extra reconditioned destroyers. It had cost nearly $50 million to refurbish them. He also claimed that the president could obtain Congressional authorization for this transfer. 1163

  On July 26, in a press release, White said, regarding FDR, “We must show him that the country will follow him on this matter.” The Committee purchased ads in The New York Times. On July 30, the headline read, “Between us and Hitler stands the British fleet!” The newspaper claimed that Britain absolutely needed those destroyers and surely, the United States could gift them to Britain. The ad plead
ed for the public to write to Congress. Another group working for the same goals was the Century Group, composed of lawyers, journalists, and executives, led by Francis P. Miller (CFR). He persuaded many prominent citizens to endorse a document mandating a war against Germany. Miller, according to The New York Times, said it was essential that America immediately relinquish its neutrality. Yet, ninety-three percent of Americans opposed a declaration of war against Germany. 1164

  Miller, a Rhodes Scholar with Anglo-Saxon origins, like most of his prestigious colleagues, Dean Acheson, Allen Dulles, Lewis Douglas, Herbert Agar, Will Clayton, Henry S. Coffin, Henry W. Hobson, Ernest M. Hopkins, Whitney Shepardson, and Henry Luce all decided that they would just request aid for Britain and forget about the declaration of war. Miller said, “The keystone of our foreign policy must be close collaboration with the British Commonwealth of Nations.” In 1934, Miller and his wife had established the National Policy Committee to influence “the general interest.” Miller wrote to Baruch about the group’s efforts to decrease the desolate economic situation in the South in the 1930s. Baruch said, “I, like you, feel that I have some personal responsibility in this matter since it was my cousin, Francis W. Pickens, who was Governor of South Carolina when that state seceded from the Union.” 1165

  By August, Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy reported that the British were about to surrender. Churchill told FDR that if Germany defeated Britain, then America would be next. 1166 Yet, there were some legal restrictions in what FDR was trying to do regarding giving the reconditioned destroyers to Britain. On August 27, Attorney General Robert H. Jackson argued that the 1917 Espionage Act’s prohibition on sending warships to a belligerent pertained to ships that were under construction and was not applicable to reconditioned destroyers. Jackson added a comma in a critical sentence in the legal statute which changed the unlawful act to read quite differently. With that modification, he could say that it was legal under certain conditions to deliver ships to a belligerent nation. He manipulated the Walsh amendment’s ban on transferring war material by stating that the military material was not illegal if the British bases strengthened America. 1167

  Jackson had to address whether the acquisition of island bases from the British via an executive agreement was constitutionally legal instead of negotiating a treaty and having the Senate ratify it. FDR managed to secretly negotiate, devise and implement many policies, especially the destroyer agreement, with senate participation or approval. Jackson had to search the statutes to find a precedent and FDR assured Jackson that he had a duty to develop the nation’s defenses. Felix Frankfurter had earlier justified the arrangement as a matter of U.S. national defense. Jackson said, “Present world conditions forbid him to risk any delay that is constitutionally avoidable.” He justified FDR’s measures as his constitutional authority to control foreign relations. He said, “The President’s power over foreign relations… is not unlimited.” He counseled FDR, once they transferred the destroyers, “the acquisition of the bases would not require any further commitment. It is not necessary for the Senate to ratify an opportunity that entails no obligation.” 1168

  Jackson said he was concerned with constitutional rather than international law. Ben Cohen and Dean Acheson thought it perfectly legal if private contractors handled the transfer as they were not constrained by international law. Actually, the U.S. Government would implement the transfer. Even the State Department questioned the legality of it under international law. “We agreed that the transfer of fifty destroyers to Britain would be a violation of international law and that Germany might take umbrage at it.” However, FDR announced his unapproved arrangement with Britain to Congress by stating he had already instigated his defensive action, all based on Attorney General Jackson’s opinion. 1169

  On September 2, 1940, during the Battle of Britain, Cordell Hull indicated that America might be willing to transfer warships to the Royal Navy and that Roosevelt would bypass the Neutrality Act. In exchange, Britain granted the United States rent-free land leases, for ninety-nine years, to establish airbases in various British possessions, including on Newfoundland, the Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Antigua and British Guiana. America did not exchange destroyers for Bermuda or Newfoundland, both vital to trans-Atlantic shipping. 1170

  While traveling on a train to the dedication ceremonies for the Great Smokey Mountain National Park with several associates, FDR, who was giving the dedication speech on September 2, seemed somewhat disconcerted. 1171 His financier and adviser Baruch, traveling with him, noted that he appeared to be “brooding about something.” FDR, at least twice, mentioned to Baruch that “he might get impeached for what he was about to do.” He told Secretary Harold L. Ickes and his wife, Jane, that before the trip ended, he would make an amazing announcement. Ickes backed the transaction from the beginning and anticipated that the big news had to do with the transfer of fifty destroyers to Britain. 1172

  In August 1940, in order to devise the strategy for U.S. entry into the war, George C. Marshall and Admiral Harold R. Stark sent Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, General Delos C. Emmons and General George V. Strong to London to assess Britain’s strengths and estimate German goals in order to avoid potential mistakes. During their visit, Japan and Germany signed the Tripartite Pact in Berlin on September 27, whereby Japan recognized German and Italian leadership in creating a “New Order” in Europe. Germany and Italy accepted Japan’s leadership in organizing the “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.” FDR’s advisers, including Hull, recommended that the American-British strategy talks define greater objectives. However, the elections were close and people were accusing Roosevelt of involving the nation in “secret treaties.” Consequently, he declined an extension of the Ghormley-Emmons-Strong mission. FDR was busy denying allegations that “the boys are already on the transports” to discuss the long-range plans for American and British operations. 1173

  Roosevelt, in anticipation of impending warfare, planned as early as fall 1938 to sidestep the neutrality act, per his conversation with British Ambassador Ronald Lindsay. He intended to sell arms to the belligerent American allies. FDR admonished the diplomat that if someone learned of his plan, he could be impeached. In 1940, just before announcing the destroyers-for-bases trade, he admitted to Baruch that his conduct was not in accordance to established constitutional mandates, standards he vowed to uphold. 1174 Yet, on September 2, America and Britain signed the Destroyers for Bases Agreement for the transfer of fifty refurbished destroyers in exchange for land rights on British possessions.

  In October 1940, British Treasury officials notified Churchill that, by January 1941, the government would not have sufficient money to purchase munitions and other supplies necessary for the war effort. Churchill alerted Roosevelt, a longtime political crony. FDR then proceeded to pressure Congress to pass the Lend-Lease Bill which would become effective on March 11, which would allow the British to buy those essential goods on credit. In exchange, British officials had to agree to relinquish $50 million of gold from South Africa. They also had to sell one of their Pennsylvania-based corporations, American Viscose, which, in 1910, first produced the artificial fiber, rayon, to a group of bankers. 1175

  On February 20, Lord Beaverbrook told Churchill that American contractors had “immense armaments orders,” but that Britain did not have the money to pay for them. He said that the manufacturers believed that the U.S. Government would pay the bill when Congress passed the ‘Lease and Lend’ Bill. He then reminded Churchill that the Americans persuaded Britain to break its alliance with Japan, making Japan Britain’s relentless enemy and America Britain’s relentless creditor. After Dunkirk, Churchill told the British population that Britain would fight on “until in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and liberation of the Old.” On May 3, he cabled FDR and pleaded desperation. 1176

  FDR told Congress that the Lend-Lease Act would facilitate the transfer of billi
ons of dollars in American made products, war materials, ships, airplanes to Britain instead of to the floundering Communist Bolshevik nation. 1177 Author Francis Neilson, former member of the British Parliament, in his book The Makers of War, states, “The American Comptroller of Taxes declared that something like $50,000,000,000 of the cost of World War II went in graft.” 1178 In January 1941, Roosevelt sent Hopkins as his emissary to Churchill suggesting that the two heads of state meet sometime very soon to discuss their mutual defeat of Germany. Felix Frankfurter wrote the Lend-Lease Act and on March 11, Congress passed it. Republican Representative Everett Dirksen maneuvered Lend-Lease legislation through the House.

  America and Britain began a special alliance in 1897. Lend-Lease was simply an outgrowth of that politically incestuous relationship. Isolationists would have demanded Roosevelt’s impeachment had they known of his Lend-Lease treachery in addition to his other subversive actions. Lend-Lease prepared other countries for war with America. By the spring of 1941, the following changes, among others, were in progress between the United States and Britain:

  1.They agreed to a total exchange of all scientific information, including atomic energy. Roosevelt, under Hopkins’ influence, approved of Sir Henry Tizard’s Mission to Washington in September 1940. James B. Conant visited Britain as an agent of Vannevar Bush’s Office of Scientific Research and Development from which the Manhattan Project emerged.