USA HISTORY

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM(1890 1919)

THE UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR I

[SOURCES]
What was the purpose of the “cash and carry” policy adopted by the US government in 1939?

(A) ** to preserve US neutrality

(B) to gain access to new trade markets

(C) to spread democracy around the world

(D) to punish aggressor nations

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -The purpose of this policy was to allow the Allied nations at war with Germany to purchase war materials while maintaining a semblance of neutrality for the United States.

Concept note-2: -In 1939, after Germany invaded Poland, Roosevelt bypassed these restrictions by persuading Congress to permit the government to sell military supplies to France and Britain on a cash-and-carry basis-in other words, they could pay cash for American-made supplies and then transport them on their own ships.

Concept note-3: -Initially, this proposal failed, but after Germany invaded Poland in September, Congress passed the Neutrality Act of 1939 ending the munitions embargo on a “cash and carry” basis. The passage of the 1939 Neutrality Act marked the beginning of a congressional shift away from isolationism.

Concept note-4: -In the 1930s, the United States Government enacted a series of laws designed to prevent the United States from being embroiled in a foreign war by clearly stating the terms of U.S. neutrality.

Concept note-5: -20. This joint resolution may be cited as the “Neutrality Act of 1939". Approved, November 4, 1939, 12:04 p. m.