Lend-Lease

Several conservatives criticized this cartoon, primarily on Twitter. Some made claims that were only half true, such as, “the last repayment for WWII from the UK to the US was in 2006,” implying that Britain had fully paid for all the arms it received during WWII. Others noted that until 1941, the U.S. was selling arms and profiting from the war.

The truth is more complex. Several factors led many Americans in the 1930s to believe their country should avoid foreign entanglements. One major factor was the lingering trauma of World War I. Although the Allies had defeated Germany in 1918, the staggering toll on American lives—over 100,000 deaths in just a few months—left many questioning whether the sacrifices had been justified.