After two months of protracted discussions and in defiance of isolationistsΓÇÖ opposition, Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act. ChurchillΓÇÖs entreaty from LondonΓÇö"Give us the tools and we will finish the job"ΓÇöalso had an influence.
The Lend-Lease agreement authorized the president to lend and lease military equipment to the anti-Axis powers for direct or indirect payment. The transfer of mammoth sums of money ($50 billion by the end of the war) and important war material effectively terminated the American neutrality policy.
Roosevelt responded to the passage of the Act by proclaiming: "This decision is the end of any attempt at appeasement in our land; the end of urging us to get along with the dictators; the end of compromise with tyranny and the forces of oppression."
