With the war going badly for the British, it was clear that
Great Britain would require assistance from the United States.
The British were running out of money to pay for the arms they
were buying. President Roosevelt, therefore, went before the
country in a Fireside Chat, in which he called for America to
become an "arsenal of Democracy". Roosevelt then introduced a
bill to Congress on January 8, 1941, providing the president
with the power to lend military equipment to countries that the
president believed were in need. The bill passed the House
260-165 and the Senate 60 to 31, with votes split primarily on
party lines. By the end of the war the United States had
provided the following aid: Great Britain.............$31
billion Soviet Union.............$11 billion
France...................... ..$ 3 billion Other
European..........$ 500 million South America.............$400
million The amount totaled: $48,601,365,000. The British fleet
met the Italian fleet at the battle off of Cape Matapan. The
Italian Fo