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Lend Lease
Class Presentation
Public Law (77-11)
• Lend-Lease (Public Law 77-11) was the name
of the program under which the United States of
America supplied the United Kingdom, the
Soviet Union, China, France and other Allied
nations with vast amounts of war material
between 1941 and 1945 in return for, in the case
of Britain, military bases in Newfoundland,
Bermuda, and the British West Indies.
• It began in March 1941, over 18 months after the
outbreak of the war in September 1939.
Public Law (77-11): Questions
1. Which law established the “Lend Lease”
program? Public Law 77-11
2. What exactly did America provide to the Allies
under the “Lend Lease” program? War
materials were provided to the Allies in
exchange for land to establish American
military bases
3. Which countries made up the “Allied Powers”?
The United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China,
and France
American Policy Changes
• This program is seen as a decisive step away
from American non-interventionism since the
end of World War I and towards international
involvement.
• In sharp contrast to the American loans to the
Allies in World War I, there were no provisions
for postwar repayments.
• Some historians consider it an attempt to bolster
Britain and the other allies as a buffer to forestall
American involvement in the war against Nazi
Germany.
American Policy Changes:
Questions
1. What was America’s policies toward armed
conflict in the years leading up to WWI?
Isolationism and non-interventionism
2. What did America hope to gain from the lendlease program? They hoped that they could
merely bolster the Allies with military goods,
while staying completely out of the armed
conflict.
3. Was this strategy successful? No (Pearl
Harbor was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941, and
Hitler declared war on the U.S.)
Political Background
• Lend-Lease came into existence with the
passage of the Lend Lease Act of 11 March
1941, which permitted the President of the
United States to "sell, transfer title to, exchange,
lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of, to any such
government (whose defense the President
deems vital to the defense of the United States)
any defense article".
• In April, this policy was extended to China as
well.
• Roosevelt approved US $1 billion in Lend-Lease
aid to Britain at the end of October, 1941.
Political Background: Questions
1. When was lend lease officially established?
March 11, 1941
2. What did the language of the law actually say?
It permitted the President of the United States
to "sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend,
or otherwise dispose of, to any such
government (whose defense the President
deems vital to the defense of the United
States) any defense article".
The Success of Lend Lease
• Lend-Lease was a critical factor in the eventual success
of the Allies in World War II, particularly in the early
years when the United States was not directly involved
and the entire burden of the fighting fell on other nations,
notably those of the British Commonwealth and, after
June 1941, the Soviet Union.
• Although Pearl Harbor and the Axis Declarations of War
brought the US into the war in December 1941, the task
of recruiting, training, equipping U.S. forces and
transporting them to war zones could not be completed
immediately.
• Through 1942, and to a lesser extent 1943, the other
Allies continued to be responsible for most of the fighting
and the supply of military equipment under Lend-Lease.
The Success of Lend Lease
• In 1943-44, about a fourth of all British munitions
came through Lend-Lease. Aircraft (in particular
transport aircraft) comprised about one-fourth of
the shipments to Britain, followed by food, land
vehicles and ships.
• Lend Lease was a critical factor that brought the
US into the war, especially on the European
front. Hitler cited the Lend-Lease program and
its significance in aiding the Allied war effort
when he declared war on the US on 11
December 1941.
The Success of Lend Lease:
Questions
1.
2.
3.
How did the lend lease program help the allies to
achieve victory in World War II? During the crucial
years of the war (1943-1944), the Allies had a ready
supply of weapons, ammunition, and military
hardware.
How did lend lease actually wind up bringing America
into the war? Hitler cited the Lend-Lease program and
its significance in aiding the Allied war effort when he
declared war on the US on December 11, 1941
Was America actually ever fully repaid by the Allied
nations for the military support provided by lend-lease?
No