Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy - Ludwig von Mises ...

Foreign Relations in an Election Year 33
When Churchill saw a copy of this secret message, he wired
Roosevelt that he considered it “absolutely vital that this message
should be published tomorrow, June 14, in order that it may play
the decisive part in turning the course of world history.” 9 Th en
Roosevelt must have realized that he had exceeded his authority
in giving such an assurance to a belligerent nation. He wired
Ambassador Kennedy in London:
My message to Reynaud not to be published in any circumstances.
. . . It was in no sense intended to commit and does not
commit this Government to the slightest military activities in
support of the Allies. . . . Th ere is of course no authority except
in Congress to make any commitment of this nature. 10
German troops entered Paris on June 14, 1940. On June 17
the French sued for peace. France and Germany signed an armistice
fi ve days later. France had fallen.
FDR Moves toward a Third Term as President
Since February 1940, FDR had been hinting to various friends
and confi dants that he might run for a third term, thus breaking
with the precedent set by George Washington and followed
by all succeeding U.S. presidents. He made no public announcement,
but he had apparently settled the matter in his own mind
by June.
Because of the international situation, the fall of France,
and his unannounced intentions, FDR considered it important
to have a united country. He decided to replace the two cabinet
offi cers who had obstructed some of his foreign-policy initiatives
and make his cabinet bipartisan. Roosevelt maneuvered the
9 Joseph P. Lash, Roosevelt and Churchill, 1939–1941: Th e Partnership Th at Saved
the West (New York: W. W. Norton, 1976), p.185.
10 Department of State, Diplomatic Papers, 1940, p. 250.