What actions did the US take before going to war with the axis powers?

Prior to US entry into World War II, the US was in a state of
isolationism. However, FDR realized that isolationism was not going to aid America and her allies
in Europe, so FDR began moving away from isolationism as the US policy towards involvement by
providing aid for the allies in Europe to fight totalitarianism. FDR introduces several different
policies that begin to shift US closer to war.

• Prior to
  1939, the US did not allow the sale of weapons to warring nations since the many believe that the
  arms industry pushed the US into World War II. By 1939, FDR realized that the allies in Europe
  need US aid so he passed the Neutrality act of 1939 which allowed the US to sell arms to warring
  nations as long as they are democracies and had to pay cash and carry all goods.
  


• However, the cash and carry system established by the neutrality
  act forced the allies to pay up front but the cost of war diminished their ability to do so. FDR
  created the destroyers for bases which exchanged old US ships for the right to put bases on
  English colonies primarily in the Caribbean.


• Lend-lease act
  allowed for the sale of goods to the allies as long as they promised to pay later or return the
  goods after the war. This enabled the uS to increase their support for the allies.
  

The US's movement away from isolationism towards
involvement was caused by the realization that at some point the US would have to
fight.