“America's response to World War II was the most extraordinary mobilization of an idle economy in the history of the world. During the war 17 million new civilian jobs were created, industrial productivity increased by 96 percent, and corporate profits after taxes doubled. The government expenditures helped bring about the business recovery that ;had eluded the New Deal. War needs directly consumed over one-third of the output of industry, but the expanded productivity ensured a remarkable supply of consumer goods to the people as well. America was the only nation that saw an expansion of consumer goods despite wartime rationing. By 1944, as a result of wage increases and overtime pay, real weekly wages before taxes in manufacturing were 50 percent higher than in 1939. The war also created entire new technologies, industries, and associated human skills. The war brought full employment and a fairer distribution of income. Blacks and women entered the workforce for the first time. Wages increased; so did savings. The war brought the consolidation of union strength and far-reaching changes in agricultural life. Housing conditions were better than they had been before.” - American Prospect
“Toward this end a "WORK OR FIGHT" propaganda campaign was waged. "ROSIE THE RIVETER" posters beckoned housewives to leave the home and enter the nation's factories. About 6.5 million females entered the workforce during the war years, many for the first time. African Americans continued the Great Migration northward, filling vacated factory jobs. Mexican Americans were courted to cross the border to assist with the harvest season in the BRACERO GUEST-WORKER PROGRAM. Thousands of retirees went back on the job, and more and more teenagers pitched in to fill the demand for new labor. The United States government spent over twice as much money fighting World War II as it had spent on all previous programs since its creation. Tax rates were raised to generate revenue and control inflation. Some people paid 90% of what they earned toward taxes. Still, more money was needed so the government again launched Liberty and VICTORY LOAN DRIVES like those that helped finance the First World War. In addition, the size of the federal government more than tripled from about a million workers in 1940 to almost 3.5 million in 1945.” - Independence Hall Association
“The United States managed to raise enough food and raw materials in the First World War through voluntary measures. This time, federal officials agreed that only through RATIONING could the demands be met. Americans were issued books of stamps for key items such as gasoline, sugar, meat, butter, canned foods, fuel oil, shoes, and rubber. No purchase of these commodities was legal without a stamp. VICTORY SPEED LIMITS attempted to conserve fuel by requiring Americans to drive more slowly. Rotating blackouts conserved fuel to be shipped overseas. Groups such as the Boy Scouts led scrap metal drives. Consumer goods like automobiles and refrigerators simply were not produced. Women drew lines down the backs of their legs to simulate nylon stockings when there were such shortages. Backyard gardens produced about 8 million tons of food.” - Independence Hall Association
“But the economic shortages of the Great Depression were replaced during the war by government- enforced shortages of those goods. Consumers were issued ration cards to limit their purchase of groceries and gasoline. Factories that had made everything from automobiles to waffle irons were now producing war materiel exclusively. The diversion of fabrics to the military dictated civilian fashion: long evening gowns went out, along with cuffs, pleats, vests, patch pockets, and wide padded shoulders. To the alarm of many, the skimpy two- piece women’s bathing suit came in. Posters reminded Americans of the reasons for the shortages and asked them to make do by conserving, by avoiding the black market, and by generally becoming more self-reliant. Nowhere is the totality of the war effort seen more clearly than on posters that connect the campaigns overseas with growing vegetables in a home “Victory Garden,” cleaning one’s plate, or saving bacon grease. (Glycerin in recycled fat was used for ammunition and for some medicines.)”
-Smithsonian Museum
"By the end of 1942, half of U.S automobiles were issued an 'A' sticker which allowed 4 gallons of fuel per week. That sticker was issued to owners whose use of their cars was nonessential. Hand the pump jockey your Mileage Ration Book coupons and cash, and she (yes, female service station attendants because the guys were over there) could sell you three or four gallons a week, no more. For nearly a year, A-stickered cars were not to be driven for pleasure at all. The green 'B' sticker was for driving deemed essential to the war effort; industrial war workers, for example, could purchase eight gallons a week. Red 'C' stickers indicated physicians, ministers, mail carriers and railroad workers. 'T' was for truckers, and the rare 'X' sticker went to members of Congress and other VIPs. Truckers supplying the population with supplies had a T sticker for unlimited amounts of fuel." - Clark Reynolds
“Uncle Sam last week assumed the role of fashion designer. Sweeping restrictions aim to save 15 percent of the yardage now used on women's and girls' apparel through such measures as restricting hems and belts to two inches, eliminating cuffs on sleeves. Exempt categories include bridal gowns, maternity dresses, vestments for religious orders.” - Clark Reynolds
"A product that never became scarce was the war- effort poster itself. In the 1930s, the government Works Progress Administration (WPA) had developed a silk-screening process that facilitated the mass reproduction of color posters. In 1943, the WPA put out a handbook for amateurs that stated, “Anyone can make a poster.” By the end of the war, businesses and private organizations were producing more posters than were government agencies. The government urged employers to “use enough” posters, at least one for every hundred workers.” - Clark Reynolds
“Government figures show that women’s employment increased during the Second World War from about 5.1 million in 1939 (26%) to just over 7.25 million in 1943 (36% of all women of working age). Forty six percent of all women aged between 14 and 59, and 90% of all able-bodied single women between the ages of 18 and 40 were engaged in some form of work or National Service by September 1943 (H M Government, 1943, p. 3). The level of employment could have been higher as domestic servants were excluded from these figures. Many domestic servants would have been redeployed to national service, but no exact figures exist.”
- Oakland Museum of California
“American women were instrumental in the war effort during WWII. With ever-growing orders for war materials combined with so many men overseas fighting the war, women were called upon to work in ways previously reserved only for men. While the most famous image of female patriotism during WWII is Rosie the Riveter, women were involved in other aspects of the war effort outside of factories. More than six million women took wartime jobs in factories, three million volunteered with the Red Cross, and over 200,000 served in the military. Women’s auxiliary branches were created for every branch of the military, including the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Women were restricted from combat zones; however, many became nurses to help the men injured in combat.”
- The National WWII Museum
“fear of attack translated into a ready acceptance by a majority of Americans of the need to sacrifice in order to achieve victory. During the spring of 1942, a rationing program was established that set limits on the amount of gas, food and clothing consumers could purchase. Families were issued ration stamps that were used to buy their allotment of everything from meat, sugar, fat, butter, vegetables and fruit to gas, tires, clothing and fuel oil. The United States Office of War Information released posters in which Americans were urged to “Do with less–so they’ll have enough” (“they” referred to U.S. troops). Meanwhile, individuals and communities conducted drives for the collection of scrap metal, aluminum cans and rubber, all of which were recycled and used to produce armaments. Individuals purchased U.S. war bonds to help pay for the high cost of armed conflict”(History.com)
“During the war years, the decrease in the availability of men in the work force also led to an upsurge in the number of women holding non-war-related factory jobs. By the mid-1940s, the percentage of women in the American work force had expanded from 25 percent to 36 percent” (History.com)
“Because of its strength as an automobile manufacturer, Detroit was an ideal city to step up to the task set by the President. Thus, the Detroit-area’s automobile industry underwent rapid transition in order to handle the production of weapons and vehicles of war. Factories halted the production of automobiles for civilian use and began rapidly producing jeeps, M-5 tanks, and B-24 bombers. By the summer of 1944, Ford’s Willow Run plant cranked out one bomber an hour” (Encyclopedia Of Detroit).
“Huge numbers of men were conscripted during the First World War in Germany and, as more were called up each year, this left the country short of male labour.
A shortfall in food importation, partly due to blockades by the Allied Forces, resulted in food shortages across Germany. Significant loss of life in the armed forces resulted in many homes being without a husband or father. So, how did German society adapt to such dramatic changes?
With mass conscription and subsequent call-ups year after year, employers were faced with the problem of filling the positions of millions of men. They opened up jobs to the remaining population on the German home front and turned to two social groups, each of which experienced the workplace differently; women and youths.”
“Youths started to experience a new sort of independence, no longer relying on their families and schools. They began to experience financial freedom for the first time, taking up jobs working in armament plants, replacing those who had been called to war.
According to Herwig, between 1914-18 youth employment was up by 225% in the chemical branch, 97% in steel and 59% in machinery.* It was the young people in these jobs that supplied the German army with much needed equipment for the war effort. So, it was young people and women in Germany who covered the worker shortage supplemented the small income provided by the government for families.”
“A shortfall in food production and importation meant that Germany was required to increase its agriculture to feed both a vast army, as well as civilians.
The food that was available to civilians was expensive too, with wages often not high enough for families to afford a proper diet. Mortality rates for children rose along with those of adults and elderly citizens, and many people died of malnutrition or diseases related to weakened bodies.
By 1915 the food situation reached critical levels in urban areas. This resulted in resentful feelings towards those who worked in rural areas, with rumours spreading that farmers were stockpiling food for themselves. Food riots spread across the land in response to the food shortage, as basic amenities became more and more scarce.
By 1916 soap, fat, cheese, butter and eggs were unavailable, while coal, shoes and textiles were scarce. With food prices getting higher and higher, the government implemented maximum prices on certain products, including sugar and potatoes. To combat the decrease in availability of food, the German government also established compulsory 'meatless' and 'fatless' days.
The people left on the home front largely relied on a diet of potatoes on bread, but these also became difficult to purchase towards the end of the war. To control the supply and distribution of essential household produce, Germany established a war food office; although its limited power meant that it could not control other organisations that dealt with produce
“Toward this end a "WORK OR FIGHT" propaganda campaign was waged. "ROSIE THE RIVETER" posters beckoned housewives to leave the home and enter the nation's factories. About 6.5 million females entered the workforce during the war years, many for the first time. African Americans continued the Great Migration northward, filling vacated factory jobs. Mexican Americans were courted to cross the border to assist with the harvest season in the BRACERO GUEST-WORKER PROGRAM. Thousands of retirees went back on the job, and more and more teenagers pitched in to fill the demand for new labor. The United States government spent over twice as much money fighting World War II as it had spent on all previous programs since its creation. Tax rates were raised to generate revenue and control inflation. Some people paid 90% of what they earned toward taxes. Still, more money was needed so the government again launched Liberty and VICTORY LOAN DRIVES like those that helped finance the First World War. In addition, the size of the federal government more than tripled from about a million workers in 1940 to almost 3.5 million in 1945.” - Independence Hall Association
“The United States managed to raise enough food and raw materials in the First World War through voluntary measures. This time, federal officials agreed that only through RATIONING could the demands be met. Americans were issued books of stamps for key items such as gasoline, sugar, meat, butter, canned foods, fuel oil, shoes, and rubber. No purchase of these commodities was legal without a stamp. VICTORY SPEED LIMITS attempted to conserve fuel by requiring Americans to drive more slowly. Rotating blackouts conserved fuel to be shipped overseas. Groups such as the Boy Scouts led scrap metal drives. Consumer goods like automobiles and refrigerators simply were not produced. Women drew lines down the backs of their legs to simulate nylon stockings when there were such shortages. Backyard gardens produced about 8 million tons of food.” - Independence Hall Association
“But the economic shortages of the Great Depression were replaced during the war by government- enforced shortages of those goods. Consumers were issued ration cards to limit their purchase of groceries and gasoline. Factories that had made everything from automobiles to waffle irons were now producing war materiel exclusively. The diversion of fabrics to the military dictated civilian fashion: long evening gowns went out, along with cuffs, pleats, vests, patch pockets, and wide padded shoulders. To the alarm of many, the skimpy two- piece women’s bathing suit came in. Posters reminded Americans of the reasons for the shortages and asked them to make do by conserving, by avoiding the black market, and by generally becoming more self-reliant. Nowhere is the totality of the war effort seen more clearly than on posters that connect the campaigns overseas with growing vegetables in a home “Victory Garden,” cleaning one’s plate, or saving bacon grease. (Glycerin in recycled fat was used for ammunition and for some medicines.)”
-Smithsonian Museum
"By the end of 1942, half of U.S automobiles were issued an 'A' sticker which allowed 4 gallons of fuel per week. That sticker was issued to owners whose use of their cars was nonessential. Hand the pump jockey your Mileage Ration Book coupons and cash, and she (yes, female service station attendants because the guys were over there) could sell you three or four gallons a week, no more. For nearly a year, A-stickered cars were not to be driven for pleasure at all. The green 'B' sticker was for driving deemed essential to the war effort; industrial war workers, for example, could purchase eight gallons a week. Red 'C' stickers indicated physicians, ministers, mail carriers and railroad workers. 'T' was for truckers, and the rare 'X' sticker went to members of Congress and other VIPs. Truckers supplying the population with supplies had a T sticker for unlimited amounts of fuel." - Clark Reynolds
“Uncle Sam last week assumed the role of fashion designer. Sweeping restrictions aim to save 15 percent of the yardage now used on women's and girls' apparel through such measures as restricting hems and belts to two inches, eliminating cuffs on sleeves. Exempt categories include bridal gowns, maternity dresses, vestments for religious orders.” - Clark Reynolds
"A product that never became scarce was the war- effort poster itself. In the 1930s, the government Works Progress Administration (WPA) had developed a silk-screening process that facilitated the mass reproduction of color posters. In 1943, the WPA put out a handbook for amateurs that stated, “Anyone can make a poster.” By the end of the war, businesses and private organizations were producing more posters than were government agencies. The government urged employers to “use enough” posters, at least one for every hundred workers.” - Clark Reynolds
“Government figures show that women’s employment increased during the Second World War from about 5.1 million in 1939 (26%) to just over 7.25 million in 1943 (36% of all women of working age). Forty six percent of all women aged between 14 and 59, and 90% of all able-bodied single women between the ages of 18 and 40 were engaged in some form of work or National Service by September 1943 (H M Government, 1943, p. 3). The level of employment could have been higher as domestic servants were excluded from these figures. Many domestic servants would have been redeployed to national service, but no exact figures exist.”
- Oakland Museum of California
“American women were instrumental in the war effort during WWII. With ever-growing orders for war materials combined with so many men overseas fighting the war, women were called upon to work in ways previously reserved only for men. While the most famous image of female patriotism during WWII is Rosie the Riveter, women were involved in other aspects of the war effort outside of factories. More than six million women took wartime jobs in factories, three million volunteered with the Red Cross, and over 200,000 served in the military. Women’s auxiliary branches were created for every branch of the military, including the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Women were restricted from combat zones; however, many became nurses to help the men injured in combat.”
- The National WWII Museum
“fear of attack translated into a ready acceptance by a majority of Americans of the need to sacrifice in order to achieve victory. During the spring of 1942, a rationing program was established that set limits on the amount of gas, food and clothing consumers could purchase. Families were issued ration stamps that were used to buy their allotment of everything from meat, sugar, fat, butter, vegetables and fruit to gas, tires, clothing and fuel oil. The United States Office of War Information released posters in which Americans were urged to “Do with less–so they’ll have enough” (“they” referred to U.S. troops). Meanwhile, individuals and communities conducted drives for the collection of scrap metal, aluminum cans and rubber, all of which were recycled and used to produce armaments. Individuals purchased U.S. war bonds to help pay for the high cost of armed conflict”(History.com)
“During the war years, the decrease in the availability of men in the work force also led to an upsurge in the number of women holding non-war-related factory jobs. By the mid-1940s, the percentage of women in the American work force had expanded from 25 percent to 36 percent” (History.com)
“Because of its strength as an automobile manufacturer, Detroit was an ideal city to step up to the task set by the President. Thus, the Detroit-area’s automobile industry underwent rapid transition in order to handle the production of weapons and vehicles of war. Factories halted the production of automobiles for civilian use and began rapidly producing jeeps, M-5 tanks, and B-24 bombers. By the summer of 1944, Ford’s Willow Run plant cranked out one bomber an hour” (Encyclopedia Of Detroit).
“Huge numbers of men were conscripted during the First World War in Germany and, as more were called up each year, this left the country short of male labour.
A shortfall in food importation, partly due to blockades by the Allied Forces, resulted in food shortages across Germany. Significant loss of life in the armed forces resulted in many homes being without a husband or father. So, how did German society adapt to such dramatic changes?
With mass conscription and subsequent call-ups year after year, employers were faced with the problem of filling the positions of millions of men. They opened up jobs to the remaining population on the German home front and turned to two social groups, each of which experienced the workplace differently; women and youths.”
“Youths started to experience a new sort of independence, no longer relying on their families and schools. They began to experience financial freedom for the first time, taking up jobs working in armament plants, replacing those who had been called to war.
According to Herwig, between 1914-18 youth employment was up by 225% in the chemical branch, 97% in steel and 59% in machinery.* It was the young people in these jobs that supplied the German army with much needed equipment for the war effort. So, it was young people and women in Germany who covered the worker shortage supplemented the small income provided by the government for families.”
“A shortfall in food production and importation meant that Germany was required to increase its agriculture to feed both a vast army, as well as civilians.
The food that was available to civilians was expensive too, with wages often not high enough for families to afford a proper diet. Mortality rates for children rose along with those of adults and elderly citizens, and many people died of malnutrition or diseases related to weakened bodies.
By 1915 the food situation reached critical levels in urban areas. This resulted in resentful feelings towards those who worked in rural areas, with rumours spreading that farmers were stockpiling food for themselves. Food riots spread across the land in response to the food shortage, as basic amenities became more and more scarce.
By 1916 soap, fat, cheese, butter and eggs were unavailable, while coal, shoes and textiles were scarce. With food prices getting higher and higher, the government implemented maximum prices on certain products, including sugar and potatoes. To combat the decrease in availability of food, the German government also established compulsory 'meatless' and 'fatless' days.
The people left on the home front largely relied on a diet of potatoes on bread, but these also became difficult to purchase towards the end of the war. To control the supply and distribution of essential household produce, Germany established a war food office; although its limited power meant that it could not control other organisations that dealt with produce