The document summarizes how the U.S. government and economy mobilized for World War II. It discusses how: 1) Government spending increased dramatically, taxes were raised across all classes, and war bonds were issued to finance the war effort. 2) Many new government agencies were created to centrally plan and coordinate the economy, like the WPB which directed production and contracts. 3) Industry was converted to military production, inflation was controlled, and women entered the workforce as men went to war, though women and minorities still faced discrimination. 4) By 1945, massive amounts of weapons, ships, and aircraft had been produced to equip U.S. and allied forces, and the economy

1. Organizing for Victory

3. Financing the War
• Government had a huge role in
the economy during WWII
• 1945 Federal Budget was
$95.2 billion, which was 10X
what it was in 1939
• National Debt was $258.6
billion,which was 6X greater

4. Taxes!...& Bonds
• Tax collections rose from $2.2
billion to $35.1 billion
• Mass taxation, not only on the
upper class, but also on the
middle class
• This was sold as a way for
citizens to show their
patriotism
• $135 Billion in war bonds

6. Bureaucracy
• Number of government workers
increased to 3.8 million during
WWII
– A 4X increase in number
– Far more job creation than the New
Deal!
• Leadership of federal agencies
moved from reformers during New
Deal to business executives
– Dollar a year men, because they
volunteered for government work as
corporate workers

7. Inflation
• Consumers had a lot more money to
spend, so producers began to
increase their prices: inflation!
• Office of Price Administration:
regulated the domestic economy
• By Feb. 1942, prices were rising by
2% a month; in April the OPA froze
prices and rents at their March
levels
• Congress passed the Anti-Inflation
Act, which stabilized prices, wages,
and salaries

8. War Production Board
• Awarded defense contracts
• Evaluated military and civilian
requests for scarce resources
• Oversaw the conversion of industry
to military production
• WPB encouraged businesses to
move to war production by granting
generous tax writeoffs that
guaranteed a profit and keeping the
factories open after the war

9. WPB and Efficiency
• WPB dealt with major corporations
rather than with small businesses
• The 56 largest corporations
received 3/4 of the war contracts,
and the top ten received 1/3 of
them!
• Large corporations became the
major form of output
• 1940: largest 100 companies
manufactured 30% of industrial
output; by 1945 it was 70%

10. What were they
producing?
• By 1945, business and gov’t
produced:
– 100,000 tanks
– 296,000 airplanes
– 15 million rifles and machine guns
– 64,000 landing craft
– 6,500 ships
• By 1944, the U.S. produced 2X what
the Axis powers did combined

12. End results:
• Government’s role was very large in
turning the economy around
• GDP went from $99.7 billion in
1940 to $211 billion in 1945
• Federal government was the driving
force during WWII, like it was in
the New Deal
• So it goes back to our question:
was it the New Deal or WWII that
got the US out of the
depression?????

13. Mobilization for War
• 15 million men and women in military by
end of WWII
• Draft boards had registered 31 million
men and women between 18-44
• Over half of men were rejected due to
things such as poor teeth, poor vision
• Race discrimination was prevalent:
700,000 African Americans fought in
segregated units
• Other groups were never segregated

14. Women in the War
• 350,000 women enlisted in the
armed services
• Served many roles from nurses to
volunteer services to volunteering
for actual duty
• Women were barred from combat
• Clerical work, communications, and
health care were most common
jobs

15. Jobs at Home
• The US faced a labor
shortage due to
large numbers of
military personnel
• 7 million new
workers were
available for industry
• “Rosie the Riveter”
• Women made up
36% of workforce in
1945, only 24% in
1940

16. Unequal Conditions
• Women were seen by many
men as a temporary fix until
the men came home from war
• Pay was not even close to
equal
• In shipyards: the top women
made about $7 an hour, while
the top men made $22

17. National War Labor
Board
• FDR set up the NWLB in 1942
• Established wages, hours, and working
conditions
• Had the authority to order government
seizure of plants that did not comply
• 40 plants were seized during the war
• Many minor disputes arose but were
averted by the NWLB (RR’s, miners)
• Union membership rose during WWII due
to perceptions that the situation was far
worse

18. Civil Rights During
Wartime
• Due to time constraint, I am
asking you to look at this
information on your own
• Please refer to your textbook,
pages 760-761 (you should
have already read this!!!)

19. Politics During Wartime
• FDR did not call for much social or
economic change during the early
years of WWII
• Republicans had made small gains
in Congress in 1942
• As a result, FDR agreed to drop
several New Deal Programs such as
the CCC and National Youth
Administration, which weren’t as
necessary due to full employment

20. Later during the war…
• FDR began to promise new social welfare
measures
• Lots of rhetorical speaking, Congress did
not necessarily support this
• One that did work was the GI Bill:
• Provided education, job training, medical
care, pensions, and mortgage loans for
men and women who served in armed
forces in WWII
• Later extended to Korean War Veterans

21. Election of 1944
• FDR called for a 4th term due to
WWII
• A new VP candidate was chosen:
Harry Truman, who was known
from his time in Congress for
heading a Senate investigation of
government efficiency in awarding
wartime defense contracts

22. Dewey
• Thomas Dewey was Republican candidate
– Only 42 y.o.
– Ran again in 1948
• Famous for fighting organized crime in NY
• Closest election since 1916, many were
concerned about FDR’s health
• 60% of FDR’s votes came from urban
areas, showing diversity of voters support
of him
– New Deal Coalition