Why did the United States support Lend-Lease before formally entering the war, and what did it gain? Britain was only one beneficiary. Aid to China and Greece connects the policy to conflicts already under way and to the wider debate over when the Second World War began. Germany, Britain, and the United States had all assisted China during the Sino-Japanese War. German support ended as Berlin aligned more closely with Japan through the Anti-Comintern Pact, while American and British aid continued. Lend-Lease therefore answered threats to American interests as well as supplying countries already at war.
Chapter · 0:16-2:14
Why Lend-Lease served American strategy before Pearl Harbor
The opening places aid to Britain, China, and Greece inside an American security strategy already taking shape before Pearl Harbor.