[hayfried]

Now we're getting somewhere.

But then, what exactly does telling the Brits to f*** off mean?

Business was booming for the US as a neutral supplier to both sides, but especially to the Allies. Should Congress have passed a law making it illegal to trade with the Brits? Would such a law even have been constitutional? Could the President and Congress have endured the political fallout from choking off trade and causing a recession?

[weikel]

Business was booming for the US as a neutral supplier to both sides, but especially to the Allies. Should Congress have passed a law making it illegal to trade with the Brits?

No but I'd threaten to enter the war on the side of the Germans if the Brits( and they weren't longstanding allies back then) if they didn't lay off the blockade.