Chapter 392 Roosevelt's Trouble

Churchill had more than a few worries, the first being the disappearance of a ship carrying American pilots, which was likely sunk by the German forces.

He could only inform Roosevelt through a telegram (during World War II, there were only telegraph cables under the Atlantic between the UK and the US, no telephone lines. It wasn't until September 25, 1956, that the first transatlantic telephone cable (TAT-1) was opened from the UK to North America), yet he could still sense Roosevelt's anger.

But what could be done when the people are already dead? Since these pilots were secretly dispatched, Roosevelt couldn't publicize it; if Congress and the public found out, it would be troublesome for him, especially as he was preparing for another round of elections.

Just when he thought the matter was over, the next day, the German propaganda department's newspapers and radio stations simultaneously announced that they had captured a group of fighter pilots supported by the US during an attack on a British transport fleet. They even listed each person's name, date of birth, home address, family members, and current position in detail. The newspapers also published photos of these pilots and their handwritten "confessions," stating that they were secretly dispatched by the US government to support the UK.

This caused an immediate uproar in the US, with massive protests erupting again in Washington, D.C., and other major cities. The last time was in protest of a British submarine attack on the "New Jersey" passenger ship, and the Roosevelt administration has yet to make a clear statement on this incident; now with this new issue, the public wanted to settle both new and old scores.

Roosevelt's electoral opponent, Willkie, took the opportunity to shout the slogan "Never send American children to fight abroad." He also scared voters by saying that if Roosevelt were re-elected, he would immediately lead the US into war.

For the American public, who were isolationists, this was simply shocking.

It is important to know that American isolationism is a long-standing tradition.

From the founding of the United States, Washington urged the country to be highly vigilant when making alliances, although isolationist ideas were not initially supported in the US. However, as John Adams lost the second presidential election for avoiding getting the US involved in the Napoleonic Wars, and his successor Thomas Jefferson's approval ratings plummeted during his second term for cutting off trade with Europe to avoid the same wars, followed by James Madison's presidency ending with the dismal War of 1812; since then, "not getting involved in European wars" gradually became a tacit agreement among all American politicians.

There's a saying that World War I made the US a fortune from the war, but by the 1920s, many Americans began to believe that the US's involvement in World War I was absolutely a mistake. And when Germany began rearming in the 1930s, more people realized that a large-scale war would inevitably break out on the European continent. Isolationism is not incompetence; Americans, including many isolationists, had foresight. Thus, rumors about arms dealers profiting from the war began to spread, and many Americans felt that their country should avoid getting involved in the war at all costs this time. This anti-war sentiment became even stronger with the arrival of the Great Depression, and the prevailing anti-war views and mourning for the soldiers who died in World War I convinced many that the US must never again get involved in any European conflicts. People began to focus more on domestic events and became indifferent to changes in the international political situation.

And now, President Roosevelt has committed a great taboo by violating the obligations of a neutral country and sending pilots to help the UK?

Roosevelt quickly stated, "I hate war, now more than ever," "We will never participate in foreign wars, we will never send our land, sea, and air forces to fight in foreign countries outside of the Americas, unless we are attacked."

He also explained that those pilots went to the UK voluntarily, but unfortunately, he didn't notice that the "confessions" of those pilots mentioned that they were accompanied by the latest American P-38 fighters. Such a clumsy lie made the public even more furious. The pilots volunteered, but did those fighters also "volunteer"?

The president elected by their own votes is trying to fool them? Large crowds gathered around the White House, shouting slogans for Roosevelt to step down.

Congress was not idle either. After the "New Jersey" incident, the isolationist faction in Congress proposed to revert to the Neutrality Act, refusing to sell even a single bullet or barrel of oil to Britain. At that time, the proposal did not receive the approval of half of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. (If a bill receives the approval of more than half of the members of both the Senate and the House, it is sent to the President for signature and becomes law. If the President approves the law passed by both houses, he must sign it. If not, he should return it along with his objections to the house that originated the bill. That house should enter the objections at large on its journal and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house agree to pass the bill, it is sent, together with the objections, to the other house, which likewise reconsiders it, and if approved by two-thirds of that house, it becomes law.)

This time, the members of Congress were quite angry about the President's actions bypassing Congress, and the proposal to revert to the Neutrality Act received more than half of the votes, officially submitting it to President Roosevelt.

The isolationist faction in Congress clamored that if President Roosevelt did not agree with this proposal, they would initiate impeachment proceedings. Impeaching a US President can be easy or difficult. It's easy because the process is not complicated: if someone in the House of Representatives thinks the President is unfit, they can initiate impeachment proceedings, and after discussion and voting, if more than half agree, the impeachment clause can be passed, and the formal impeachment process against the President can begin.

Then, the baton is passed to the Senate, which judges the President. How? By voting again. But this time the requirements are stricter; if more than two-thirds of the Senators vote that the President is guilty, the President can no longer hold office and must step down.

As for why it's difficult, there have only been three Presidents in US history who have been on the brink of impeachment, and none of them were removed from office due to successful impeachment.

The first was Andrew Johnson, the 17th President, who was impeached during the Civil War for dismissing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, involving complex conflicts of interest between the North and South, and was impeached in 1868 but was not removed from office due to a single vote.

The second was Bill Clinton, who was acquitted in the 1999 trial due to insufficient votes.

The third was Richard Nixon, the main character of the famous "Watergate scandal"; however, this President wisely chose to resign, thus escaping impeachment and avoiding becoming the first US President to be removed from office due to impeachment.