Today, September 11, 1941, in a still-neutral America, Roosevelt ordered US warships to ‘shoot-on-sight,’ claiming a German submarine attacked the USS Greer unprovoked. But he concealed a vital truth: the Greer had tracked U-652 for hours, broadcasting coordinates for British bombers to drop depth charges before the desperate sub fired back.
Reference:
U.S. Senate Naval Affairs Committee (Greer Incident Report, October 1941) & Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library (Fireside Chat: September 11, 1941)
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It was definitely a huge moral debate and some called it deception, but others argued it was a necessary move. With Nazi Germany crushing Europe, if FDR didn't wake up the public and help Britain, Britain could have fallen, leaving the US to fight all alone.