Final answer:
The Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937 were designed to prevent the United States from being drawn into foreign wars by prohibiting the sale of arms, lending money, and American travel to belligerent nations. These acts reflected the isolationist mood of the time, which was reinforced by a congressional investigation into World War I profits made by arms manufacturers. These restrictions were later modified to aid the Allies through the 'Cash and Carry' policy during World War II.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937
The Neutrality Acts passed in the years 1935, 1936, and 1937 by the United States Congress were significant legislations aimed at keeping the U.S. out of foreign conflicts as tensions rose globally. The Neutrality Act of 1935 prohibited the sale of armaments to nations at war, in an effort to avoid the circumstances that drew the U.S. into World War I. Escalating foreign aggression led to subsequent amendments with Neutrality Acts of 1936 and 1937, which also banned American citizens from traveling on ships of warring nations and restricted loans to belligerents. It wasn't until the outbreak of World War II that these acts were modified to allow support to Allied Powers through the 'Cash and Carry' policy, which enabled the sale of arms under stringent conditions and was tailored to help opponents of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan while benefiting the U.S. economy.
These neutrality policies were indicative of the era's strong isolationist sentiment, influenced partly by the findings of the Nye Committee, which investigated the role of arms manufacturers in the U.S. entry into World War I. The goal was to prevent another entanglement in overseas conflicts by reducing incentives for American stakeholders in potential war outcomes—by ensuring that the U.S. would neither finance nor supply nations at war—unless under the payment and transportation terms of the 'Cash and Carry' amendment.