may 16, 1938 - Naval Act

Description:

The 1938 passage of the $1 billion Naval Construction Act started the United States on the path of preparedness. September 1940 saw Congress legislate the first peacetime draft in U.S. history. With the March 1941 passage of the Lend Lease Law, FDR and Congress threw their support wholly to the Allies. America pledged its economic and industrial resources to defend democratic nations and the U.S.S.R. Lend Lease amounted to $50 billion by the end of the war. In hind sight, America began preparedness not a month too soon.

Added to timeline:

Date: