Allied orders accelerate American industrial mobilization

British and French orders let American industry grow faster than domestic appropriations alone might have permitted. The expansion occurred while Congress remained cautious and the United States still participated in the 1936 naval-treaty framework. Roosevelt could sell the policy as both preparation for a possible war and a means of keeping American forces out by helping others fight. Contemporary fears included a victorious Germany adding captured European resources and even the Royal Navy to a force threatening North America through Canada. Aid to China likewise kept Japan committed on the Asian mainland, while the resulting production base moved ahead of the later expansion of American armed forces.