america gets ready for war! fdr and the us after pearl harbor: “dr. new deal becomes dr. win the...
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America Gets Ready For War!
FDR and the US after Pearl Harbor: “Dr. New Deal Becomes Dr. Win the
War”
Pearl Harbor gives FDR new powers
War Powers Act (December, 1941) FDR is given complete
authority Supreme Court justice
James F. Byrnes chosen to head the Office of War Mobilization (OWM)
Hundreds of new agencies set up to control every part of American life
The military grows Only 1.6 million Americans
in the military before Pearl Harbor; 16 million men recruited after
350,000 women served in WACS, WAVES, SPARS
The Pentagon: the world’s largest building opens in 1942; 35,000 employees
Calling All Volunteers! Office of Civilian
Defense (OCD) “An hour a day for the
USA” Air raid wardens Victory Gardens:
produced 40% of all veggies
Scrap metal/rubber/newspaper collections
War and Industry
“If you are going to try to go to war in a capitalist country you have to let business make money out of the process or business won’t work.”
–Secretary of War Henry Stimson
War Production Board (WPB)Established in Jan. 1942
1. Allocate scarce materials to industry 2. Require companies to produce war supplies instead of
civilian goods3. Make war profitable for corporations
guaranteed profitstax write-offs
no prosecutions for anti-trust violationsExamples: Car factories make planes and tanks Merry-go-round factory makes guns Pinball-machine factory makes bullets
The miracle of production In 1941, only 15% of industrial production was for
military purposes; by June, 1942 over HALF! The U.S. makes more war supplies than all of the Axis
nations combined (Twice as much as Germany, five times as much as Japan)
Factories run 24 hrs/day, 7 days/wk. 300,000 military aircraft, 86,000 tanks, 2.6 million
machine guns, 6 million tons of bombs, 86,000 warships New technologies: synthetic rubber, faster processes
for building ships, etc.
The transformation of America FDR: “Something is happening that Adolf Hitler does not
understand… it is the miracle of production.” Stalin: “To American production, without which this war
would have been lost.” The largest 100 corporations received 70% of the
contracts; 500,000 small businesses closed Southwestern “Sunbelt” grows in population; “boomtowns” 60 new military bases in the South, the Manhattan Project
in Tennessee, etc.
More numbers… 17 million new jobs; overtime for everyone Gross national product (GNP) increases
from $90.5 billion in 1939 to $211.9 billion in 1945
Crop prices double between 1940 and 1945 Inflation: 15%+
Paying for the war
The U.S. spends $250 million a day on the war!Federal budget grows: $9 billion in 1940 (Defense spending: 9% of GNP) $98 billion in 1945 (Defense spending: 46% of GNP)
War bond sales: $40 billion sold to small investors, $80 billion to companies and the wealthy
Revenue Act of 1942: payroll deduction system created; top tax rate raised to 94% in 1944 (today, the highest is 35% if you make over $373,650)
Office of Price Administration (OPA)
Established in Apr.1942 Imposed price controls on products to stop
the massive inflation brought on by higher incomes and a lack of consumer goods
Rationing program: gas, coffee, sugar, butter, cheese, meat, etc.
Putting the people to work
War Manpower Commission (WMC) Directed the mobilization of workers
National War Labor Board (NWLB) Settled disputes between labor unions and corporations,
stopped strikes
Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC) Halted discrimination in defense industries and government-
benefited African Americans and women (6 million new female workers)
Strong unions: wages of workers increase 50%; paid vacation time, health benefits, pensions, long workweeks, overtime pay
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