What did the British get under the Lend Lease Act?
Photo 1:
In this photograph, shot in December 1941, British
children, evacuated from London's East End, are
receiving a meal made from American dehydrated
vegetables, provided under the Lend Lease program.
Photo 3:
This photograph taken in the summer of 1941 shows
Churchill inspecting an American M-3 tank. Even though
the U.S. was desperately trying to build up its military
forces throughout 1941, Roosevelt decided to give the
British models of the United States' most advanced
weapons.
Photo 2:
This photograph, taken in the summer of 1941, shows
Winston Churchill as he watches the arrival of the first
B-17 “Flying Fortress.” Even though the U.S. was
desperately trying to build up its military forces
throughout 1941, Roosevelt decided to give the British
models of the United States' most advanced weapons.
Photo 4:
Baby Betty Rothwell loves her orange juice. She was
very thin and ailing until lend-lease concentrated
orange juice arrived in England for special distribution
to children, nursing mothers and invalids. With the juice
added to her wartime diet, she soon became the healthy
one-year-old in the photograph.
Name : _____________________________________
Arsenal of Democracy
In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a speech in which he defended the decision to send
military aid to the British. Read the speech below and answer the questions that follow.
My friends:
Par. 1
This is not a fireside chat on war. It is a talk on national security, because the nub of the whole
purpose of your President is to keep you now, and your children later, and your grandchildren
much later, out of a war…
Par. 2
The Nazi masters of Germany have made it clear that they intend not only to dominate all life
and thought in their own country, but also to enslave the whole of Europe, and then to use the
resources of Europe to dominate the rest of the world…
Par. 3
Some of our people like to believe that wars in Europe and in Asia are of no concern to us. But it
is a matter of most vital concern to us that European and Asiatic war-makers should not gain
control of the oceans which lead to this hemisphere…
Par. 4
If Great Britain goes down, the Axis powers will control the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa,
Australia, and the high seas -- and they will be in a position to bring enormous military and naval
attacks against this hemisphere. It is no exaggeration to say that all of us, in all the Americas,
would be living at the point of a gun -- a gun loaded with explosive bullets, economic as well as
military…
Par. 5
The British people and their allies today are conducting an active war against Germany. Our own
future security is greatly dependent on the outcome of that fight. Our ability to "keep out of war"
is going to be affected by whether or not the British win…
Par. 6
Thinking in terms of today and tomorrow, I make the direct statement to the American people
that there is far less chance of the United States getting into war if we do all we can now to
support the nations defending themselves against attack…
Par. 7
The people of Europe who are defending themselves do not ask us to do their fighting. They ask
us for the implements of war, the planes, the tanks, the guns, and the freighters which will
enable them to fight for their liberty and for our security. Emphatically we must get these
weapons to them, get them to them in sufficient volume and quickly enough, so that we and our
children will be saved the agony and suffering of war which others have had to endure…
Par. 8
Democracy's fight against world conquest is being greatly aided, and must be more greatly
aided, by the rearmament of the United States and by sending every ounce and every ton of
munitions and supplies that we can possibly spare to help the defenders who are in the front
lines…
Par. 9
We must be the great arsenal of democracy. For us this is an emergency as serious as war itself.
We must apply ourselves to our task with the same resolution, the same sense of urgency, the
same spirit of patriotism and sacrifice as we would show were we at war. We have furnished the
British great material support and we will furnish far more in the future…
1. In paragraphs 2 and3, Roosevelt explains why the United States needs to help Great Britain. In your
own words, what is one of his reasons?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Copy a quote from the text that supports what you wrote above:
“________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.”
2. In paragraph 4, Roosevelt outlines what he thinks will happen if Great Britain is defeated. In your own
words, what is he worried will happen?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Copy a quote from the text that supports what you wrote above:
“________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.”
3. In paragraphs 7 and 8, Roosevelt explains what he thinks the United States should do. In your own
words, what is he worried will happen?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Copy a quote from the text that supports what you wrote above:
“________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.”
4. An “arsenal” is a big supply of weapons. In paragraph 9, Roosevelt says the United States should be
the “Arsenal of Democracy.” In your own words, explain what he meant:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Why was the United States called the "arsenal of democracy" in 1940?
(1) The leaders in the democratic nations of Europe were educated in the United States.
(2) Most of the battles to defend worldwide democracy took place on American soil.
(3) The United States supervised elections in European nations before the war.
(4) The United States provided much of the weaponry needed to fight Germany.
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