What were the main goals of the Neutrality Acts

The Neutrality Acts, a series of laws formulated in the 1930s, were passed with the intention to avoid the American entanglement in foreign wars, mainly in Europe. They stated clear terms of neutrality. Critics of US participation in WWI charged that the US involvement in the First World War had been useful for bankers, arms and ammunition producers that wanted to do big business in the conflict. Congress passed the first neutrality law in 1935, prohibiting the sales of "arms, ammunition and implements of wars" to foreign nations and asking arms producers to get an export license. The second act was passed in 1937 witth the Spanish Civil War as background, it prohibited US citizens to travel onboard belligerent ships and American ships to transport weapons for the conflicting sides. The final neutrality law passed, it reformed the arms embargo and allowed belligerents to purchase US materiel on a cash-and-carry basis.