Quote Originally Posted by Thorne View Post
I'm a student of WWII and I've never heard anything like this before. FDR was helping out England long before Pearl Harbor, and against the wishes of Congress and possibly the majority of American people, who wanted to remain out of the war. FDR came up with the idea of Lend/Lease which allowed him to send weapons and supplies to England and later Russia, even though we were not yet in the war. I doubt that there was ever much of a chance of the US joining with Hitler. The Jewish owned banks would not have allowed it, for one thing. And let's not forget, there were Americans fighting WITH the British well before Pearl Harbor, notably in the Eagle Squadron. In fact, there was an American "observer" on Catalina Z of Coastal Command, which located the Bismarck after she'd slipped away from the British cruisers which had been tailing her. ("Pursuit" by Ludovic Kennedy)
As for the Empire being an obstacle to trade, I must admit I'm not very well informed on economic activities of the era, so I can't really comment on that. But this is definitely the first time I've ever heard anything which suggested the possibility of the US joining Germany.
To my regret, I have never been a student of history, let alone of this War specifically. I shall set out my understanding, and leave it to you to pick the bones out of it, and to expose the flaws in the rest. I have no sources to quote and this is my understanding of history and my interpretation of its causes and effects - or, at least, without authorities to cite, I must accept responsibility for them.

Britain was probably the richest nation in the world before WW1 and had the most powerful economy, thanks to its position at the head of the British Empire. The Great War changed that significantly: Britain fell into debt to pay for the war, and it traded less with the Empire, and it began to loosen its grip on the colonies. The Depression was also a factor, and the British economy suffered every bit as much as the America's did.

Meanwhile, British industry was becoming more and more outdated, being based on Victorian factories and practices, whereas other countries, which industrialised later, had better, more modern industries. Germany, in particular, had a much more modern heavy industry than we did, being centred upon rearming itself after its earlier defeat.

America, too, was later into industrialisation, but with its growing size, wealth and power, and with no significant international debt burden following the First World War, it was able to grow much faster than Britain. Its big problem after the War was the Depression, and to deal with it, it needed more trading outlets to stimulate growth. The British (and French) colonies were seen as ideal new trading partners, if only the colonising powers would relinquish their control/influence.

When Germany's expansionist ambitions became clear, most of the US Establishment was hostile. But there were movements such as the German-American Bund which were small in themselves, but able to promote the German cause through highly effective propaganda, and with influence among prominent and wealthy American politicians and industrialists. This gave Britain much concern, and, in its turn, it did whatever it could to counter the propaganda and to promote its own cause. It was very concerned that the Nazi propaganda would have a greater influence than it in fact did have, and that led to Churchill virtually prostituting himself to America (a habit that seems hard to stop, once begun).

When hostilities broke out in Europe, USA proclaimed its neutrality: Americans had no taste for another squabble between the European countries, and felt it best to let them sort it out themselves. Consequently, USA could not be seen to favour either side. Its policy of "Cash and Carry" arms sales had to be open to all belligerents, and, although it favoured Britain most, that was because (a) Britain was desperate for arms, while Germany could produce its own, and (b) The Royal Navy/Royal Canadian Navy controlled the North Atlantic sea lanes, making arms exports to Germany difficult (though not impossible). The Lease/Lend policy also had to appear neutral, and, in return for the aid Roosvelt was able to send to us, we had to allow him to open military bases in our colonial possessions, while Australia and New Zealand had to provide aid and support to US forces in the Pacific. This was to enable FDR to say that the transactions were for the defence of America.

Thus, although Britain received valuable assistance from America even before Pearl Harbour, equivalent assistance would (or, at least nominally, should) have been available to Germany had it sought it, and, from this side of the Atlantic, it appeared that the activities of Nazi sympathisers in USA could quite easily swing public opinion against the Allies, which would have meant either that USA stayed out of the war or that it would join in on the other side.