FDR and World War Two

 

Presidential Leader:

    directed the war effort and determined strategy:

        defeat Hitler first, Japan second

    met with Allied leaders in wartime conferences

    established government agencies to direct the economy

 

Mobilizing the Economy:

    War Production Board:

        ordered military equipment

        shifted plants from peacetime to war production

        set priorities on raw materials

        built new plants (for aluminum and synthetic rubber)

    War Labor Board:

        settled labor-management disputes

        permitted wage increases to offset cost of living

        worked to avoid strikes

   

    War Manpower Commission:

        trained workers and sent them to industries

        supervised the Selective Service System

        recruited new workers, many of them women

    Fair Employment Practices Committee:

        worked against racial and religious discrimination to maximize labor

    Office of Price  Administration:

        imposed price and rent ceilings to combat inflation

        rationed consumer goods such as sugar, meat, gasoline

       

Civil Liberties:

    mainly survived during the war unlike WWI

    less hysteria over the war and people could criticize the government

    main exception: relocation of Japanese on West Coast to “relocation

        centers”

 

Financing the War:

    raised corporate and individual income taxes

    taxed lowest brackets for the first time

    taxpayer numbers went from 8 million to 55 million

    introduced payroll deductions system

    increased excise taxes (alcohol and tobacco)

    taxes provided 1/3 of war revenue

    the rest was raised by borrowing through war bonds

    debt rose from 50 to 250 billion during the war

 

Manpower:

    using the draft, 15 million Americans were enrolled in the military

    women’s branches were created for non-combat duties