Why did the US commit to isolation prior to the attack on pearl harbor?

Answer 1

Isolationists in the public and in Congress wanted to avoid US involvement in foreign wars, which would recur on a regular basis in Europe and Asia. The stories of US soldiers in World War 1 clearly described the horrors of war, and the deaths and injuries that invariably resulted from such conflicts. Many influential people welcomed the rebuilding of the economy after the Depression, and were not anxious for the government to begin the huge expenditures and industrial retooling necessary for the expansion of the armed forces.

Answer 2

The US did not adhere to a strict policy of neutrality prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The Lend-Lease program, which supplied war material to the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union, China and other Allied nations, was signed into law on March 11, 1941. Adolph Hitler recognized that this ended all pretense of neutrality and ordered German submarines to attack US vessels, such as the unarmed merchantman SS Robin Moor, sunk on May 21, 1941. The policy of neutrality, while not strictly adhered to, was deemed necessary given the American public was divided on the issue of entering a war involving Asian and European powers with sizable numbers advocating for various alternatives, such as support for the Allies, peace, isolationism, and support for Germany.

Answer 3

War is a very expensive process, in which soldiers and civilians die, property is destroyed, and huge expenses arise in terms of buying weapons, training and transporting and feeding troops, and so forth. In the early years of WW II (prior to 1941) it was felt by many people in the US that if Germany and France have a dispute that they want to fight about, and if they have various allies whom they can bring in to support them in this fight, that is not in itself a good reason for the US to get involved at enormous cost. They did not see any vital American interest in the outcome of the war.