Thanks babble-on. Having had a lot of older (b 19th c) relatives that I remember well, the everyday hostility toward Jews clearly displayed by Lindbergh (despite denials, including those in this topic) has always seemed unremarkable to me. I was, uh, surprised to see that retired comedian Robert Klein, in his appearance on Seinfeld's "Comedians In Cars" show, showed off his model of the Spirit of St Louis, and expressed admiration for the flying exploits of Lindbergh, but then joked, but we mustn't forget that he was 'very fond of Hitler'. Heh. Lindbergh was a patriot, but and served his country, but he also had an undying admiration for Hitler, much like (as someone mentioned up there) Henry Ford.
The fact is, FDR was a populist, and enjoyed the undying support of a large majority, even for US participation in WWII.
OTOH, I don't buy into the line of total innocence claimed by his still-rabid defenders -- he obviously knew that Pearl Harbor was likely to be attacked (I also agree with those who have written that he even knew the date, finding out barely in time, but at minimum, it was Pearl where the attack was going to come), which is the reason the Pacific Fleet's aircraft carriers were all kept out of Pearl and well out of the range of potential attacks by Japan. They were going to be crucial in the coming war. I also don't have any problem with that, the outcome of WWII was not ideal, but it was the best that could be managed, given the possibilities.
It’s certainly true that old biases brought over from the old country were very influential at times in this country. The Italians, Irish, “Bohunk” and of course Jewish immigrants all faced persecution and disdain, as much for their immigrant poverty as for their national “sins” of criminality, alcoholism, stupidity and scheming malevolence respectively, but in most cases those stereotyped beliefs in national sins faded over time. It’s only when the hatreds are married with a political ideology, as in Father Coughlin’s that Pat Buchanan still reflect in the present day that they become truly pernicious.
My Jewish grandfather grew up in the American south, son of an immigrant father who never became perfectly fluent in English. He said there was zero social mixing between Jews and non-Jew when he was young in the 1910s and 20s. But in my life I can truly say I never or never knowingly encountered anti-Semitism. Maybe there would be a joke or something, like a moment of uncomfortable “differentness” being mentioned or something, but never more than that. What a great country we live in!!