The Lend-Lease Act: Good vs. Evil Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Section.Subsection.Paragraph)

Quote #1

[...] this Act may be cited as "An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States". (1)

It may also be cited by its longer, less known title, "An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States Against the Forces of Darkness."

Quote #2

To manufacture in arsenals, factories, and shipyards under their jurisdiction, or otherwise procure, to the extent to which funds are made available therefor, or contracts are authorized from time to time by the Congress, or both, any defense article for the government of any country whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States. (3.a.1)

Fisticuffs might have worked in the old days, but a set of bare knuckles and a bad attitude aren't gonna cut it in 20th-century warfare. Instead, all of America's infrastructural and industrial resources were deployed for the defense of worldwide democracy.

Quote #3

The terms and conditions upon which any such foreign government receives any aid authorized under subsection (a) shall be those which the President deems satisfactory, and the benefit to the United States may he payment or repayment in kind or property, or any other direct or indirect benefit which the President deems satisfactory. (5.b)

Who said being the good guy came for free? The U.S. might have doled out (literally) tons of war materials as a result of Lend-Lease agreements with foreign nations, but it certainly wasn't charity. This little section of the act suggests that, for the most part, the U.S. expected repayment for all that world-saving help, and that reimbursement would be accepted in many forms.