The Lend-Lease Policy During World War II

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World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It was caused by political instability and economic devastation in Europe, along with the rise of fascism in Germany, Italy, and Japan. It directly involved over 100 million people from over 30 countries, and had an estimated 50-85 million fatalities, making it the most widespread and deadliest war in history. A well-known genocide that took place during this period was the Holocaust, where approximately 11 million people were killed in concentration camps. The many nations that participated split themselves into two opposing groups: the Axis and the Allies.
On September 1st, 1939, Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland with the false pretext that the Polish had carried out …show more content…
Although, when payment did take place, it was emphasized that the main form would be “consideration”, which would consist of joint action towards of a “liberalized international economic order in the postwar world”.
Isolationist Robert Taft stated that this act gave the President “power to carry on a kind of undeclared war all over the world, in which America would do everything except actually put soldiers in the front-line trenches where the fighting is.” This was true, for even though the United States was careful in trying to distance itself from the battle, the Lend-Lease Act only pushed the country one step closer to entering the war.
The second factor that led to US involvement in WWII was Pearl Harbor. In 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina. After that, the US stopped sending supplies, such as airplanes, parts, and aviation gasoline, to them, which Japan recognized as a hostile act. American officials reasoned that the embargoes would to discourage their expansionism. Months of negotiation followed, but neither side would budge. It seemed that war was unavoidable. However, the US government would’ve never expected for the Japanese government to start it on American territory. …show more content…
At 7:48 A.M., Japanese warplanes filled the skies, hailing bombs and bullets on the unguarded vessels beneath them. About 20 minutes later, a 1,800 lb bomb was dropped on the USS Arizona, and landed in her forward ammunition magazine, with over 1,000 sailors were still inside. The ship exploded and sank. By the time the attack was over, all 9 battleships in the harbor were damaged significantly. Nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 airplanes were devastated. 2,500 men were killed, and another 1,000 were wounded. Although, the initial plan of the Japanese government was to destroy the Pacific Fleet, which they did not. Many of the American aircraft carriers, which were the more vital than the battleships, were away from the base that day. The important base installations, such as the power station, shipyard, and the fuel and torpedo storage facilities, were not attacked. This allowed the US Navy to quickly
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