Postcard against amending the Neutrality Act, November 1939

National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the House of Representatives

Supporters on both sides of the neutrality issue lobbied Congress with great intensity. Congressional offices received hundreds of letters, postcards, and petitions promoting their position. These postcards were sent to Representative Sol Bloom of New York, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in the fall of 1939 as the Committee considered neutrality legislation. One postcard evokes isolationist arguments that war was supported by wealthy industrialists. A second recalls George Washington’s admonition that the United States should avoid entangling itself in European affairs. The third backs the "cash and carry" idea arguing that selling munitions to Britain and France will make it less likely that Americans will become directly involved in war.