Under which policy could Allied nations buy weapons and transport them themselves?

• A. Lend-Lease Act
• B. Selective Service Act
• C. Neutrality Act of 1939
• D. Cash-and-Carry Provision

Answer: (C)

The policy is the cash-and-carry provision embedded in the Neutrality Act of 1939. It allowed belligerent nations to purchase weapons from the United States, but only if they paid in cash and used their own ships to transport the arms. This arrangement let Allies obtain arms while the U.S. remained out of direct involvement in the fighting, avoiding debt and the risk of American ships being drawn into war.

This is different from the later Lend-Lease approach, where the U.S. lent or leased military equipment to Allies and often handled delivery or financing in ways that didn’t require the buyers to arrange transport with their own ships. The other option listed relates to U.S. conscription, which isn’t about arming or shipping weapons at all.