https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/05/the_thrill_and_terror_of_the_world_on_the_brink_of_world_war_ii.html
The mood in the U.S. during the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany could have been personified in Charles Lindbergh, America’s aviation hero of those times. An antisemite, he admired German efficiency and felt that America shouldn’t waste its resources helping Britain battle the Nazis. Ordinary Americans, too, were focused not on Hitler, but on the domestic economy. The shadow of the Great Depression was looming. Why sacrifice blood and treasure to save Europe? A negotiated peace with Hitler was acceptable.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who took first took office in 1933 and held four terms until his death in 1945, knew that the U.S. must actively engage in international affairs. But he was restricted by the isolationist sentiment saturating the nation. And since he needed congressional support for his domestic New Deal policies, FDR was wary of going against the grain. In the mid-1930s, however, tensions increased as German invasions began. With war clouds gathering over Europe, the need for U.S. involvement became apparent.
In Watching Darkness Fall: FDR, His Ambassadors, and the Rise of Adolf Hitler, David McKean presents a gripping, well documented history of America’s turnaround — from watching from the sidelines to fighting the Nazi evil. FDR’s decisions were influenced by his ambassadors in five capitals: Breckinridge Long in Rome; William Bullitt in Moscow, and later Paris; Joseph P. Kennedy in London; and William Dodd in Berlin. As was customary, FDR rewarded friends and campaign contributors with such appointments. But he was aware of their strengths and foibles and tempered their reports with his astute judgment.