How we cite our quotes: (Section.Subsection.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Be it enacted by the Senate add House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as "An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States". (1)
It's interesting to notice how war almost inevitably is started in the name of "defense." Take, for example, the very name Nazi Germany gave to its army: Wehrmacht, or "defense force." The Wehrmacht, probably more than any other army in history, was an invading force. In Nazi ideology, however, its many invasions were necessary for the preservation of their heritage or whatever.
Anyway, the American use of the word "defense" was entirely appropriate, although the Lend-Lease Act was mostly about keeping the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and China alive in the face of enormous military losses.
Quote #2
(b) 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.)
During wartime, it seems to be necessary to give the highest executive a lot of leeway in making decisions, because as we know, if everything had to go through Congress, the war effort wouldn't be able to get off the ground.
Quote #3
(d) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize or to permit the authorization of convoying vessels by naval vessels of the United States.
(e) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize or to permit the authorization of the entry of any American vessel into a combat area in violation of section 3 of the neutrality Act of 1939. (5.d-e.)
These clauses were put in there to give credence to the idea that America wasn't really getting in the war. Think of it as a reassuring pat on the head for both domestic isolationists and the Axis powers.
Quote #4
SEC. 8. The Secretaries of War and of the Navy are hereby authorized to purchase or otherwise acquire arms, ammunition, and implements of war produced within the jurisdiction of any country to which section 3 is applicable, whenever the President deems such purchase or acquisition to be necessary in the interests of the defense of the United States. (8)
This section opens up the war trade between the Allies, allowing them to exchange weapons and technologies even more openly than they had before then.
Quote #5
SEC. 10. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to change existing law relating to the use of the land and naval forces of the United States, except insofar as such use relates to the manufacture, procurement, and repair of defense articles, the communication of information and other non-combatant purposes enumerated in this Act. (1)
Another section to minimize the diplomatic impact of the act.