Why did the united states respond to the outbreak of world war ii by remaining neutral?

Following WWI the American public and also those in government believed that this war was a disaster and they sought to prevent U.S. entry into major wars such as what came at the outbreak of WWII. There were also laws in place such as the Neutrality Acts which prevented the U.S. from selling arms or supporting states that were actively at war. These provisions were eventually disregarded when the U.S. entered the war on the side of the Allies.