The Neutrality Fight in Congress: 1939

Abstract

When Congress convened in January, 1939, the neutrality legislation of 1935, 1936, and 1937 had been weighed in the balance and found wanting. Ethiopia, Spain, and China had proved unsatisfactory testing grounds, and the President, in his annual message to Congress, hinted that certain changes would be designed (1) to enable the United States to act less favorably vis-à-vis aggressor nations, (2) by means of giving the executive more discretion in the conduct of foreign affairs under the neutrality laws.