True, The US was NOT a super power at the time and was (I think) ranked
about 18th in the world. At any rate, we were not in the top 10 powers of
the world. The USA was a mostly agricultural based country with massive
natural resources, coming out of a depression. The war jump started US
industry and started us towards prosperity. Americans are isolated. We have
no threatening nations on our boarders. In Europe, the next nation is a
state away. Imagine the south still being armed and independent. Some
American's have a nuke'em till they glow attitude with other nations. They
don't have the community attitude, because they don't have any neighbors.
The USA has only been a power for the last 50-60 years.
We are like cocky "new money" in the "old money" world.
Half German-American
Mike Thompson
> From: "Michael Marr" <mmarr@idcnet.com>
> Reply-To: "Michael Marr" <mmarr@idcnet.com>
> Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 14:17:18 -0600
> To: <naldous@ccgmail.com>, "triumphs" <triumphs@autox.team.net>
> Subject: Re: Attitude
>
>
> Winston Churchill's strategy for winning World War 2 was to encourage the
> USA to enter on the side of the British, French etc. He NEVER had a
> "pompous attitude" towards the USA, for which he had a soft spot in his
> heart, having an American for a mother. He new that when Britain stood
> alone, which it did from Dunkirk until Pearl Harbor, its only chance of
> beating Hitler was to involve the USA. The reason the USA was not involved
> until Pearl harbor was because of the isolationist policies favored by the
> House and Senate at that time. FDR was in favor of aiding the British and
> did so through lend - lease, but he knew that the house and senate would not
> allow a declaration of war unitl the USA was, itself, attacked. People such
> as Joe Kennedy and that great American hero, Charles Lindbergh, were in
> favor of working with the Nazis, in fact. As in most cases, this war was
> not a simple case of the good guys versus the bad guys - politics ruled.
> Thus, your statements about the US saving Britain and France are an
> over-simplification of what really happened. And remember, if the USA had
> entered WW2 in 1939, it would probably have not been able to contribute much
> except naval forces. The air force was small and ill-equipped as was the US
> army. England's "delaying tactics" in Europe and North Africa gave the USA
> time to become the military powerhouse that did, ultimately, play the major
> part in saving the free world.
>
> Now, don't get me started on what happened after the war ended...
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