Lend-Lease Act of 1941

The Lend Lease Act of 1941: Supplying America’s Allies the Means to Fight World War II

Aviation Legislation ASCI 254

October 2, 2014

Abstract

In 1941, the winds of war had swept across Europe, and Eastern Asia, affecting numerous countries in what would later be known as World War II. The United States, in an effort to remain neutral, decided to assist her allies such as the United Kingdom, and Russia in the form of war material, without becoming embroiled in the conflict itself. The Lend Lease Act was created and drafted that same year to enable the US to provide this war material. In this paper, we will take a look at the circumstances surrounding the drafting of this legislation, as well as the effects upon the US that resulted from the passage of this Act.

The Lend Lease Act of 1941: Supplying America’s Allies the Means to Fight World War II

In September of 1939, World War II began when Germany invaded Poland, prompting Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany in response to its aggression. In 1940, Germany invades and conquers France, then proceeds to bomb Great Britain in preparation for an invasion of the British Isles in the summer of that same year. Britain is able to defeat the German Air Force, or Luftwaffe, and stave off an invasion by the German Army. Great Britain depletes much of its war fighting material and equipment in the process, and asks the United States for assistance in fighting the war. When war broke out in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had declared that the United States would remain neutral, and to continue the policy of isolationism that had begun in the 1930s. While remaining neutral in law, President Franklin still made every effort to assist those nations fighting against Nazi Germany, and supply them with the necessary supplies and material in order to do so, without fully engaging the US in the war. As a result of these efforts, the Lend Lease Act was...