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| 1941, Feb. 1 |
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| The U.S. patrol force in the Caribbean area was raised to fleet status. Naval bases at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, were developed rapidly. A third set of locks was designed for the Panama Canal. | 1 |
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| March 11 |
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| The LEND-LEASE ACT was signed by President Roosevelt. It had passed the Senate by a vote of 60 to 31 and the House of Representatives by 317 to 71. Under this enactment “any country whose defense the president deems vital to the defense of the United States” became eligible to receive any defense article by sale, transfer, exchange, or lease. | 2 |
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| March |
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| The Republic of Panama granted the U.S. the right to extend its air defenses outside the limits of the Canal Zone. A Pan-American highway, to extend ultimately from Mexico City through Central America to Santiago, Chile, and thence across the Andes to Buenos Aires, and up the Atlantic coast to Rio de Janeiro, was two-thirds completed by Dec. 1941. A highway from the state of Washington to Alaska was also undertaken. | 3 |
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| Nov. 24 |
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| The U.S. sent forces to occupy Dutch Guiana, to protect the resources and prevent possible activities by agents of the Axis powers. | 4 |
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| Dec. 7 |
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| THE JAPANESE ATTACKED HAWAII AND THE PHILIPPINES. | 5 |
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| Dec. 8 |
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| THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES DECLARED WAR ON JAPAN. | 6 |
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