Charles A. Lindbergh

Charles A. Lindbergh is presented chiefly as a public voice in the debate over whether the United States should aid nations resisting Nazi Germany. The book gives no account of his life or the content of his speeches, but places him in sharp contrast with Harry S. Truman’s growing insistence on military preparedness and aid to Britain.

Lindbergh in the Debate over Intervention

As war spread in Europe, Truman became increasingly gloomy about the threat posed by Nazi Germany. He opposed the Senate’s strident isolationists and argued for preparedness, lifting the arms embargo, and strengthening American defenses. In that setting, the speeches Lindbergh was making, alongside the arguments of the America First movement, became targets of Truman’s outrage.

Political Association with Bennett Clark

Lindbergh also appears through his connection to Bennett Clark, Truman’s fellow Missourian and a prominent opponent of aid to Britain. Clark had made himself a favorite of the America First movement and praised Lindbergh. He argued that the United States had everything to lose and nothing to gain from war, and that it should defend itself rather than send supplies to Europe. The book thus locates Lindbergh within a political current that Truman regarded as dangerously shortsighted, without specifying the content of Lindbergh’s speeches or assigning him Clark’s particular claims.

Narrative Role

Lindbergh’s brief appearance helps establish the stakes of Truman’s break with isolationism. The narrative does not develop him as a biographical subject; instead, his speeches and the praise he received from Clark mark the public influence of arguments Truman opposed. That contrast becomes especially clear as Truman speaks for preparedness and votes against efforts to restrict the administration’s execution of Lend-Lease.