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May 30



Todayinah Editor Editor says, what if FDR inherited Churchill's worst fears after the Fall of Britain? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).

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In 1940, on this day bitter recriminations were exchanged between President Roosevelt and Viscount Halifax just twenty-four hours after his Peace Government accepted overlordship and protection from Nazi Germany.

Clearing the DecksThroughout the summer, Winston Churchill (pictured) had warned that "the British Fleet would be the solid contribution with which [a] Peace Government would buy terms".

And despite the expectation that a defeated Britain and France would continue the fight from their respective Empires, Churchill had already informed the Canadian Ambassador that "There is no question to make a bargain with the United States .. our despatch of the Fleet across the Atlantic should the Mother Country be defeated..I shall myself never entry into any peace negotiation with Hitler, but obviously I cannot bind a future Government, which if we were deserted by the United States and beaten down here, might very easily be ready to accept German overlordship and protection".

Matters came to a head when the British Army capitulated at Dunkirk. Between May 24 and 28th, British Ministers were locked in a closed session during whilst Churchill and Halifax struggled for control of events. Backed by King Edward VIII, Halifax would emerge as the victor by using the familiar language of appeasement to convince the Cabinet that the British Government should at least ascertain what Hitler might be willing to offer Britain if they sued for terms. Recognising the inevitable trajectory of such a next step, and having set his face against negotiation, Churchill had no choice but to resign. British capitulation was complete after a humiliatingly short period of armed struggle against Hitler.

By theatrically raging against the British Peace Government, Roosevelt had to shore up his own crumbling position in advance of the 1940 Presidential Election. And the threat from individuals such as Herbert Hoover, Charles Lindbergh and Joseph Kennedy who favoured the establishment of a similiar administration in Washington.

Yet in the midst of this struggle, emerged a third group who had shared Churchill's view that America would stand alone against a Nazified "United States of Europe". Their immediate concern was the threat posed by a combination British and French Fleet in Nazi Hands, albeit deployed around the world. And the nightmarish possibility of the need for a pre-emptive cowardly strike by the US Navy on the moored fleets of her former allies..


Entry posted by Todayinah Editor Email the AuthorVisit the Authors Web Site © Lukacs, John. "Churchills Offers Toil and Tears to FDR" published in American Heritage magazine, Spring/Summer 2008 Edition
Story Tags Click on the hyperlinked metadata to surf the site! Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Alternate Nations Source: Wikipedia Labels: George Washington, Sally Cary Fairfax, Martha Dandridge Custis, America, Civil War.

Readers Comment Chris Oakley commented on 2010-03-30 18:53:38 ~ You misspelled "Lindbergh", dude... :D Fixed - thanks. Ed

Readers Comment Eric Oppen commented on 2010-03-30 19:30:28 ~ Churchill in OTL would have been willing to cut a deal...his writings mention Gibraltar and some of the colonies as bargaining chips.

Readers Comment Michael N. Ryan commented on 2010-03-30 20:04:31 ~ I must confess displesure with implication that Hoover, Linderbergh and Joe Kennedy favored an authoritarian state for the United States. Kennedy was certainly a closet anti-semite but I have yet to hear of him having anti-democratic beliefs. America First was a politcally Moderate movement unlike Left wing groups of the time who were just as isolationist until Germany moved on Russia. As for Roosevelt losing office, that was most likely. With growing pulic resentment over growth of government and movement into the economy and no threat of war from Germany imminent, his proverbial goose would be well cooked. Indeed, some believe Senator Robert Taft would be the Republican candidate for president rather than Wendel Wilkie. So the New Deal would be history. Of course, that does not end chance of war between the US and J apan. Japan's warlords were not known for htier common sense. And there is a chance for anschlose between the US and Canada in which perhaps by only informan means the two primarily english speaking peoples would come together. Canada was already part of the American Economic sphere.

Readers Comment Eric Lipps commented on 2010-03-31 00:08:22 ~ I agree with Michael Ryan's objections re Hoover, Lindbergh and Kennedy. However, America First was not as "moderate" as he seems to believe: its isolationist program was heavily influenced by pro-German sentiment fomented by actual Nazi agents (the Nazis had planted operatives in the U.S. even before they assumed power in Germany). As for the left, one must draw a distinction between liberals, many of whom were isolationist out of disgust with what they perceived to have been the way the U.S. had been suckered into World War I by Britain or out of fealty to the American tradition of avoiding "entangling alliances," and the Communist Party, whose inner circle followed the Moscow line. And it's with noting that Stalin'a 1939 pact with Hitler and the CP's embrace of it was for all intents and purposes the Party's death knell in America: from a membership approaching 100,000 in 1939, it shriveled until by the time Joe McCarthy came along it had perhaps 5,000 members, a sizable proportion of whom were really FBI infilktrators. The overwhelming majority of the party's membership left in disgust after the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact--not that that saved them from being Red-baited later.

Readers Comment Scott Palter commented on 2010-04-02 05:59:02 ~ Kennedy gets smeared for saying the UK would fall to Hitler. Marshal predicted the same but was not smeared. Draw your own conclusions. As for Kennedy being an anti-Semite - sure, it was common at the time. The difference is that Kennedy didn't hide his behind the usual hypocrisies. Hoover was not either authoritarian or pro-Nazi. He was against the New Deal but very specific pieces of it - indeed he had proposed many of the programs only to have a Democratic Congress refuse to go along. Similarly Lindbergh was an isolationist and may have overestimated the size of Hitler's AF but was neither pro-Nazi nor anything except a patriot. As for halifax having a fight with Churchill for power...ROFL. Halifax turned down the job before Winston got it. They did disagree on policy but then most of the Tory caucus disagreed with Churchill on policy.



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