As World War II began, many Americans wanted to remain neutral and isolated from the conflict in Europe. World War I had been very costly so many members in Congress tried to push a series of laws limiting how the United States could respond. However, as Germany's strength kept on growing, the US had to make decisions to prevent Germany from taking over. Throughout the war, President Roosevelt persuaded Congress to allow the United States to aid their allies, France and Great Britain, while still being neutral. This can be seen through cash-and-carry, where the allies could obtain materials and supplies, as long as they paid in cash and used their own ships as transport.
However, the war started to turn even worse for the Allies, as France was taken over by the Nazis and Britain was struggling to fight alone. It was soon declared that the United States would have to take action in order to stop the Nazis when British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sent out a message for help to FDR. Churchill warned the US that Britain's currency and gold reserves were running out and that soon they would no longer be able to pay for supplies.
Once FDR received this message, he tried to convince Congress to give more direct aid to Great Britain at the risk of becoming part of the war. The new policy that was made was lend-lease which allowed the US to lend supplies and be paid back later after the war. This still meant that the Allies would have to use their boats as shipping but it ignored the "cash" part of cash-and-carry. Roosevelt tried to gain support for this new policy through his fireside chats, claiming "We must be the great arsenal of democracy". This meant that the United States would provide the resources for allied nations to use and fight with.
The lend-lease policy gave the United States more power in the war as they could control where the supplies went without actually engaging in war. This policy was eventually extended to other allies, such as the Soviet Union, throughout the war. Overall, it helped the United States play a part in the war while people were still unsure if the United States should participate in the war and while the military was preparing to fight.
Sources:
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/lend-lease-act-1
https://www.britannica.com/topic/lend-lease
I really enjoyed reading this post and it clarified what lend lease is. Something else I learned was that repaying lend lease was a long process. It wasn't until December 29, 2006 that Britain paid off the final loan installment from the US lend-lease policy. The loan was $4.3 billion, which is about $27 billion today. Even though this was a large loan to repay, lend-lease was an important aspect in providing the Allies with the necessary resources to fight and win the war.
ReplyDeleteSource:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/britain-pays-off-final-instalment-of-us-loan-after-61-years-430118.html