World War II has been described as the bloodiest and deadliest war the world has ever seen. More than 38 million people lost their lives, most of them innocent civilians. The war was also the most destructive war in history and took place in more than 50 countries. For Americans, World War II had a clear objective. Americans knew what they were fighting for: to defeat tyranny. Nazi Germany had conquered much of Europe (it was under the iron fist of dictator Adolf Hitler). America's role in 1877 During this period, America experienced tremendous growth which led to industrial, commercial and agricultural development. For this reason, it exported some of its products to other countries as well as some technological know-how to other countries so that they could benefit from Lend-Lease. Lend-Lease gave the President the authority to transfer weapons or any other defense item for which Congress appropriated funds to the “government.” of any country whose security the president deems vital to the protection of the United States. By authorizing the transfer of supplies without compensation to China, Britain, the Soviet Union, and other countries, the law allowed America to strengthen its war interests without getting drawn into excessive war. Since 1939, Britain has engaged in some combat with Germany on land and in the air. As a result of this war, Britain's currency and gold reserves were depleted and were in danger of defeat by the Germans. The Lend-Lease Act proved useful for Britain as it was now well equipped to deal with the aggressiveness of the Germans (Nazi-German expansion). Although World War II presented a great challenge, the Lend-Lease program proved very useful and overcame all challenges. The threat posed by war had prompted Congress and President Roosevelt to approve the nation's first peacetime military project. In December 1941, U.S. military strength numbered approximately 2.2 million soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. The majority of American military forces were composed primarily of “citizen soldiers,” men and women from civilian life. The military force came from the entire state of the country and from all economic and social strata. The majority, approximately 10 million soldiers, entered the military through conscription. Conscripts were assigned to the army. In 1942, the American military base numbered 36 million people. Their military force was sent to aid other allies of America while others were kept on standby and would later serve as reinforcements to those already on the battlefield.