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The '''Lend-Lease Act''' was the system by which the U.S. gave  its allies $50 billion in military aid in 1941-45 to help win [[World War II]].<ref> The U.S. GDP was about $200 billion a year.</ref>. There was no repayment required.  $31 billion went to Britain, $11 billion to the Soviet Union, $3 billion to France, and $1.6 billion to China. In addition, Canada operated a similar program of aid to Britain, and Britain had its own program of aid to others, especially the Soviets.

The '''Lend-Lease Act''' was the system by which the U.S. gave  its allies $50 billion in military aid in 1941-45 to help win [[World War II]].<ref> The U.S. GDP was about $200 billion a year.</ref>. There was no repayment required.  $31 billion went to Britain, $11 billion to the Soviet Union, $3 billion to France, and $1.6 billion to China. In addition, Canada operated a similar program of aid to Britain, and Britain had its own program of aid to others, especially the Soviets.

It was a system of mutual and reciprocal aid which gave the U.S. about billions of services in return (especially rental of military bases on Allied soil). More broadly it meant the pooling of the resources, the man power, and the inventive genius of every Allied power. Though the United States initiated the action through the Lend-Lease Act passed by Congress in March 1941 (8 months before Pearl Harbor), and though it furnished by far the largest contribution measured by monetary standards, lend-lease was a two-way affair, each nation giving to the common cause according to its resources.  President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] was the chief promoter, convincing Congress Congress to pass this act so that the Allies could more effectively fight  Nazi Germany and Japan.  Presidential confidant [[Harry Hopkins]] had general oversight on Roosevelt's behalf.  

It was a system of mutual and reciprocal aid which gave the U.S. about billions of services in return (especially rental of military bases on Allied soil). More broadly it meant the pooling of the resources, the man power, and the inventive genius of every Allied power. The original Lend Lease Act was ''An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States''<ref>http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq59-23.htm</ref> passed by Congress in March 1941 (8 months before Pearl Harbor), and though it furnished by far the largest contribution measured by monetary standards, lend-lease was a two-way affair, each nation giving to the common cause according to its resources.  President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] determined that the defense of the [[United Kingdom]] against aggression was vital to the defense of the United States; Presidential confidant [[Harry Hopkins]] had general oversight on Roosevelt's behalf.  

[[Image:Lendlease2.jpg|thumb|400px|Women workers in British factories using Lend Lease machinery to make munitions; Britain received 60% of the Lend Lease aid]]

[[Image:Lendlease2.jpg|thumb|400px|Women workers in British factories using Lend Lease machinery to make munitions; Britain received 60% of the Lend Lease aid]]

==The Arsenal of Democracy==

==The Arsenal of Democracy==

The United States, by adopting lend-lease became what FDR called, "The Arsenal of Democracy." The U.S. dedicated its economic resources to the smashing of Nazi Germany. Lend-lease was the logical outgrowth of the cash purchases which the Allies, and Britain in particular, had made in the United States since the beginning of the war. President Roosevelt had referred to the United States in this role as the "arsenal of democracy." With their dollar balances in 1940 approaching zero, the British could not continue purchasing vital war materials in America. The Lend-Lease Act, passed by Congress seven months after the destroyer transfer, authorized the President to procure from government facilities or elsewhere "any defense article for the government of any country whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States." The term "defense article" included nearly everything directly or indirectly used for war purposes. The President was also given broad power not only to sell, transfer, exchange, or lease any such article, including "defense information," but also to prescribe any kind of payment he deemed satisfactory. These flexible and general provisions, allowing the bill to be adjusted to the changing circumstances of war, were later found to be highly important to Allied strategy. [[Winston Churchill]] called it "the most unsordid act."

The United States, by adopting lend-lease became what FDR called, "The Arsenal of Democracy." The U.S. dedicated its economic resources to the smashing of Nazi Germany. Lend-lease was the logical outgrowth of the cash purchases which the Allies, and Britain in particular, had made in the United States since the beginning of the war. President Roosevelt had referred to the United States in this role as the "arsenal of democracy." With their dollar balances in 1940 approaching zero, the British could not continue purchasing vital war materials in America. The Lend-Lease Act, passed by Congress seven months after the destroyer transfer, authorized the President to procure from government facilities or elsewhere "any defense article for the government of any country whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States." The term "defense article" included nearly everything directly or indirectly used for war purposes. The President was also given broad power not only to sell, transfer, exchange, or lease any such article, including "defense information," but also to prescribe any kind of payment he deemed satisfactory. These flexible and general provisions, allowing the bill to be adjusted to the changing circumstances of war, were later found to be highly important to Allied strategy. [[Winston Churchill]] called it "the most unsordid act."

==Master Lend-Lease Agreements==

==Master Lend-Lease Agreements==

After Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7, 1941), when it became a full belligerent, the United States and fourteen of its allies signed master lend-lease agreements providing for reciprocal aid and the pooling of human and material resources directed and coordinated toward the common goal. From that date forward the United States furnished nearly every kind of material and service to its allies, and received in return much the same kind of aid. Mindful of the World War I debt fiasco, as a result of American loans to its allies and the hard feelings that followed, the negotiators drafted Article VII of the master lend-lease agreements to provide that "the terms and conditions thereof shall be such as not to burden commerce between two countries but to promote mutually advantageous economic relations between them and the betterment of world-wide economic matters."  The British provided numerous bases and supplies for American forces, and furthermore gave the Americans the Rolls Royce Merlin engine for the [[P-51 Mustang]] fighter, the blueprints for the [[proximity fuze]], and vital information on the [[atomic bomb]].   

After Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7, 1941), when it became a full belligerent, the United States and fourteen of its allies signed master lend-lease agreements<ref>http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/decade04.asp</ref><ref>http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/angam42.asp</ref> providing for reciprocal aid and the pooling of human and material resources directed and coordinated toward the common goal. From that date forward the United States furnished nearly every kind of material and service to its allies, and received in return much the same kind of aid. Mindful of the World War I debt fiasco, as a result of American loans to its allies and the hard feelings that followed, the negotiators drafted Article VII of the master lend-lease agreements to provide that "the terms and conditions thereof shall be such as not to burden commerce between two countries but to promote mutually advantageous economic relations between them and the betterment of world-wide economic matters."  The British provided numerous bases and supplies for American forces, and furthermore gave the Americans the Rolls Royce Merlin engine for the [[P-51 Mustang]] fighter, the blueprints for the [[proximity fuze]], and vital information on the [[atomic bomb]].   

==Commonwealth==

==Commonwealth==

[[Canada]], [[Australia]], and [[New Zealand]] had their own lend-lease programs to help the British. Australia and New Zealand imposed rationing on their own people to ship food to Britain.  

[[Canada]], [[Australia]], and [[New Zealand]] had their own lend-lease programs to help the British. Australia and New Zealand imposed rationing on their own people to ship food to Britain.  

===USSR===

===USSR===

The [[Soviet Union]], locked in a struggle with the invading German [[Wehrmacht]] greatly benefited from the US war materials; they were delivered via Arctic seaports of [[Archangel]] and [[Murmansk]], over land across Persia ([[Iran]]), and via [[Vladivostok]]. While Soviets historians downplayed the importance of the aid, recent scholarship has discovered how essential it was to the Soviet war effort.

 

The official Soviet position and that of its [[Comintern]] allies prior to June 22, 1941 was in direct and vocal oppostition to Lend-Lease.  Once the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler violated the terms of the [[Molotov-Ribbentrop pact]], oppostition ceased.

 

As the war progressed the [[Soviet Union]] became locked in a struggle with the invading German [[Wehrmacht]] and greatly benefited from the US war materials; they were delivered via Arctic seaports of [[Archangel]] and [[Murmansk]], over land across Persia ([[Iran]]), and via [[Vladivostok]]. While Soviets historians downplayed the importance of the aid, recent scholarship has discovered how essential it was to the Soviet war effort.

===China===

===China===

Shortly before [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]], Hopkins took on President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]]'s adviser [[Lauchlin Currie]] as deputy for Lend-Lease aid to the  Chinese [[KMT]]. The hope was that Lend-Lease aid would enable the Chinese to tie down large Japanese armies. Some 5000 Studebaker 2.5 ton trucks carried supplies along the [[Burma Road]] into China from India.

Shortly before [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]], Hopkins took on President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]]'s adviser [[Lauchlin Currie]] as deputy for Lend-Lease aid to the  Chinese [[KMT]]. The hope was that Lend-Lease aid would enable the Chinese to tie down large Japanese armies. Some 5000 Studebaker 2.5 ton trucks carried supplies along the [[Burma Road]] into China from India.