019 - The Isolationist

Lindbergh's Folly

“We cannot allow the natural passions and prejudices of other peoples to lead our country to destruction. The Roosevelt Administration is the third powerful group which has been carrying this country towards war.” - Charles Lindbergh, September 11^th, 1941

Ironically, it was Aviation hero Charles Lindbergh who was one of the biggest opponents to the upcoming War. America and its president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, had been under pressure by many European countries (like Great Britain, Spain, Greece, and France) to join the War. In the United States, however, there was opposition to joining the war. People like Lindbergh felt that becoming involved in the European War would only cost American lives.

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Lindbergh’s opinion hardly went unnoticed. Not only had Lindbergh been the first solo pilot to cross the Atlantic, but also in March of 1932, his first son, Charles Lindbergh, Jr., had been kidnapped and ransomed for $50,000. Unfortunately, Charles Jr. was found dead in a New Jersey woods after a national manhunt for the child that lasted ten weeks. Congress passed “The Lindbergh Law” that made it a Federal crime to demand ransom for kidnapping victims. In addition, the kidnappers were found and put on trial. Newspapers across the country printed stories about the kidnappers, the Lindberghs, and even Charles Jr. All this attention troubled Lindbergh, Sr. so much he secretly moved to England in 1936 and traveled throughout Europe during his three years of self-imposed exile. During this time, he toured German aircraft facilities extensively.

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When Lindbergh returned to America in 1939, he was Colonel of the U.S. Army Air Corps, but he opposed the United States’ involvement in the War in Europe, arguing on the power of the German War Machine and if America got involved, the Russians would move west across Europe just like the Nazis had done in the late 1930s.
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In April 1941, he resigned from the Air Corps and focused his energy on “America First”, an anti-war organization. He gave speeches to thousands at large venues like Madison Square Garden in New York and Soldier Field in Chicago, affecting millions who were unsure of America’s role in the European War. In response, many Americans wanted to remain Neutral and stay out of the War.
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