Editing Neutrality Acts of the 1930s (section)

==Neutrality Act of 1939==
Early in 1939, after [[German occupation of Czechoslovakia|Nazi Germany had invaded Czechoslovakia]], Roosevelt lobbied Congress to have the cash-and-carry provision renewed. He was rebuffed, the provision lapsed, and the mandatory arms embargo remained in place.<ref name="isbn=9780198784623"/>

[[File:Treasures of Congress - Postcard against amending the Neutrality Act I.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Postcard sent to a Congressman opposing the Neutrality Act of 1939]]
In September 1939, after [[Invasion of Poland|Germany had invaded Poland]], the United Kingdom and France 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 country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-urges-repeal-of-neutrality-act-embargo-provisions |title=September 21, 1939: FDR urges repeal of Neutrality Act embargo provisions |publisher=History.com |access-date=February 4, 2011}}</ref> Congress was divided. Republican Senator [[Gerald Nye]] wanted to broaden the embargo, and other isolationists like Vandenberg and [[Hiram Johnson]] vowed to fight "from hell to breakfast" Roosevelt's desire to loosen the embargo. An "outstanding Republican leader" who supported helping nations under attack, however, told [[H. V. Kaltenborn]] that the embargo was futile because a neutral country like Italy could buy from the US and sell its own weapons to Germany, while US companies would relocate factories to Canada.<ref name="kaltenborn19390922">{{Cite AV media |url=https://archive.org/details/1939RadioNews/1939-09-22-CBS-H-V-Kaltenborn-Commentary.mp3 |title=CBS H. V. Kaltenborn Commentary |date=1939-09-22 |last=Kaltenborn |first=H. V. |type=Radio }}</ref>

Roosevelt prevailed over the isolationists, and on November 4, he signed the Neutrality Act of 1939 into law,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kennedy |first1=David M. |title=Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945 |year=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0195144031 |page=433}}</ref><ref>Public Resolution 54, 76th Congress, {{USStat|54|4}} of November 4, 1939</ref><ref>[https://www.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/77th-congress/session-1/c77s1ch473.pdf Joint Resolution To Repeal Sections 2, 3, and 6 of the Neutrality Act of 1939, and for Other Purposes, 17 November 1941]</ref> allowing for arms trade with belligerent nations (Great Britain and France) on a [[Cash and carry (World War II)|cash-and-carry]] basis, thus in effect ending the arms embargo. Furthermore, the Neutrality Acts of 1935 and 1937 were repealed, American citizens and ships were barred from entering war zones designated by the president, and the National Munitions Control Board (which had been created by the 1935 Neutrality Act) was charged with issuing licenses for all arms imports and exports. Arms trade without a license became a federal crime.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Douglas |last1=Brinkley |first2=David |last2=Rubel |title=World War II: The Axis Assault, 1939–1942 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4LnoQgC4GKQC&pg=PA99 |year= 2003 |publisher=Macmillan |pages=99–106|isbn=9780805072464 }}</ref>