Introduction:

 

I am watching the series, Plot Against America that is based upon Philip Roth’s novel. Roth created an alternative history in which Charles Lindbergh, an admirer of Nazi Germany and an isolationist, defeated Franklin Roosevelt for the American presidency in 1940. While the HBO series alters substantially Roth’s message, it is extremely well done. 

 

Charles Lindbergh

 

Charles Lindbergh enjoyed incredible prestige and popularity in America after his 1927 solo nonstop flight from New York to Paris. Subsequently, he became the leading spokesman for the American First Committee, which opposed America supporting the democracies against Nazi Germany. This included opposition to providing financial and military aid to the United Kingdom.  In September 1941 Lindbergh gave an address that stated the British, the Jews, and the Roosevelt administration were the most important group pressing for greater American involvement in World War II. He also said that capitalists, intellectuals, American Anglophiles and communists were all agitating for war. (In a complete reversal, the American Communist party went from advocating neutrality to supporting the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union following the June 22, 1941 surprise attack by Germany on Russia.)

 

Plot Against America Series

 

The Series captures the vulnerability of a Jewish family living in Newark, New Jersey. While the Levin family recognizes the danger to Jews of a Nazi victory in Europe, Mrs. Levin’s sister is engaged to a Rabbi, who supports Charles Lindbergh. 

 

The role of American Jewry pre-World War II was complicated. Most American Jews recognized the peril of European Jewry because of the virulent anti-Semitism of Hitler’s Nazi regime. A small minority of Jews followed the pacifist leadership of the Communist International following the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (1939).  At the opposite end of the political spectrum, some conservative Jews fearful of being labeled of having dual loyalty (Zionist) also supported Isolation.

 

Members of the Levin family questioned whether living in “Lindbergh” dominated America was optimal. Mrs. Levin inquired whether she could gain residency in Canada. Her nephew volunteered for the Canadian army. (In truth, while anti-Semitism in the United States was rampant during the World War II era, Canada was equally hostile to Jews.)

 

In the series, the Levin family is kicked out of their hotel in Washington D.C. because they are Jewish. Sadly, starting in the late 1870’s until the early 1950’s, many hotels would not register Jewish guests.

 

1940 Election

 

Roosevelt garnered a 9.9% margin over his Republican opponent, Wendell Wilkie. His electoral margin was 449-82. Despite the seemingly lopsided vote, polls showed Wilkie neck and neck with Roosevelt as late as October. 

 

Democratic Nominee

 

In an unprecedented move, Roosevelt broke American tradition and ran for a third term. Roosevelt kept his intention of breaking the two-term precedent a deeply held secret. Roosevelt working with Chicago Mayor Edward Kelly filled the convention center with pro-Roosevelt sympathizers. Thomas Garry, the head of sewers in Chicago, for 45 minutes bellowed into the microphone “We Want Roosevelt.” The next day Roosevelt won on the first ballot over his opponents, John Nance Garner and James Farley. Both Garner and Farley were firm isolationists who opposed any aid to Great Britain. Without American help Britain would have sought some accommodation with Hitler. We need to remember from June 1940 to June 22, 1941 Britain fought alone against Nazi Germany.

 

Republican Nominee

 

In a stunning surprise, Wendell Wilkie, won the nomination over Thomas Dewey, Robert Taft, and Arthur Vandenberg. 

A longtime Democratic activist, Willkie changed his party registration to Republican in late 1939. He did not run in the 1940 presidential primaries, but positioned himself as an acceptable choice for a deadlocked convention. He sought backing from uncommitted delegates, while his supporters—many youthful—enthusiastically promoted his candidacy. As German forces advanced through western Europe in 1940, many Republicans did not wish to nominate an isolationist like Thomas E. Dewey. Instead, they turned to Willkie, who was nominated on the sixth ballot over Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft. Willkie's support for aid to Britain removed it as a major factor in his race against Roosevelt, and Willkie also backed the president on a peacetime draft. Both men took more isolationist positions towards the end of the race. 

 

Conclusion

 

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. That is, Lindbergh was a leading figure in the American First Movement, that had strong backing in the Midwest and Mountain States. Opposing the isolationists were the population centers of the East and West Coast and the Solid South.

 

However, the big surprise was FDR’s decision to seek a third term and the Republican nomination of Wilkie. Both FDR and Wilkie were strong Anglophiles. Their opponents for the nomination were isolationists, foolishly believing the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans protected America from Germany and Japan.

 

To cut to the chase, if isolationists such as James Farley or Robert Taft would have been elected president in 1940, Great Britain would have made some accommodation with Nazi Germany.