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LEND LEASE ACT

Enacted by Congress in 1941, the Lend Lease Act gave the president the power to sell, transfer, lend, or lease war supplies to U.S. allies during World War II (1939–1945). These supplies included food, tanks, airplanes, weapons, and other equipment.

The lend-lease program was originally developed to provide assistance to Great Britain and China. The legislation also gave the president the authority to extend aid to any nation whose defense he deemed vital to that of the United States. By the end of World War II, 38 nations received aid under the lend-lease program; prominent among them were Great Britain, China, and the Soviet Union.

Repayment for aid given under the lend-lease program could be "in kind or property," as well as by other measures agreed to by the U.S. president. Some of the costs were offset by a reverse kind of lend-lease program, where Allied nations gave U.S. troops abroad about $8 billion in aid.

President Harry Truman (1945–1953) ended the lend-lease program in 1945.

See also: World War II