The Great Depression had left millions of people in the United States unemployed and fearful of competition for the scarce few jobs available. It also fueled antisemitism, xenophobia, nativism, and isolationism. A Fortune Magazine poll at the time indicated that 83 percent of Americans opposed relaxing restrictions on immigration. President Roosevelt could have issued an executive order to admit the St. Louis refugees, but this general hostility to immigrants, the gains of isolationist Republicans in the Congressional elections of 1938, and Roosevelt’s consideration of running for an unprecedented third term as president were among the political considerations that militated against taking this extraordinary step in an unpopular cause.
Roosevelt was not alone in his reluctance to challenge the mood of the nation on the immigration issue. Three months before the St. Louis sailed, Congressional leaders in both US houses allowed to die in committee a bill sponsored by Senator Robert Wagner (D-N.Y.) and Representative Edith Rogers (R-Mass.). This bill would have admitted 20,000 Jewish children from Germany above the existing quota.
Anti-semitism was pretty widespread. In the Garden of Beasts (non-fiction) notes how the state department whitewashed the treatment of Jews info sent from the Munich ambassadors office in the lead up to WWII.
Book is primarily about the experience as to told through the viewpoint of the ambassadors daughter but has a lot of historical detail as well.
That’s great. If you don’t have a full half hour, I’d suggest cueing to about the 20:20 mark and start with the Scott Baio segment and watch the rest from there. Hilarious.
this is basically what happened with his executive order banning school boards from instituting mask requirements. he threatened to withhold funds which he doesn’t have authority to do and then changed course the Friday before school starts in a lot of counties, so schools couldn’t change course anyway.
