Mobilizing for WWII

Read Chapter 25-1: Mobilizing for War and note how each of the following contributed to that effort.

1. Selective Service System
Although 5 million Americans willingly volunteered to join up, it was simply not enough. The SSS enlarged the draft, which turned up 10 million more men to fill out the army's needs.

2. Women
Women helped the war effort. They were able to help within the military in any non-combat roles, thanks to the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps. They also filled thousands of service jobs in factories - without the new women's partition of the workforce, it is unlikely that the U.S. would have had enough civilian power to create both a functioning army and factory force.

3. Minorities
Just as with women, minorities contributed invaluable manpower to the war effort. They filled many necessary places in the military forces, as well as filling important factory jobs. Thanks to anti-segregation legislations, African-Americas, Native-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and even Japanese-Americans were able to join the armed forces.

4. Manufacturers

Many manufacturers shifted the purpose of their factories to those that aided the military. Factories that had formerly filled soft-drink bottles now filled shells with explosives, and former mechanical pencil factories now made bomb parts. Thanks to these changes, military supplies were produced at much faster rates.

5. Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD)
The OSRD made several strides in the scientific aspects of the war effort. Radar and sonar technologies were improved; DDT was developed to fight off insects; penicillin became more widely used. Most famously, though, the OSRD began racing against Germany to develop the first atomic bomb.

6 Entertainment industry

The entertainment industry rapidly began producing propaganda films to incite patriotism in Americans. These films focused either on portraying the Axis powers in a negative light, or on glorifying the war and the duty of soldiers. These films were quite popular.

7. Office of Price Administration (OPA)

The OPA fought off inflation that was sure to occur during wartime. The OPA froze rents, wages, and prices, and set up rations on staple items like shoes, meat, and vegetables. Thanks to the OPA, inflation during WWII did not rise above 30%.

8. War Production Board (WPB)

The WPB, similar to the OPA, rationed items for the war effort. Unlike the OPA, though, the WPB rationed items such as rubber, heating oil, metals, and plastics. These items could be used to build military technology.

9. Rationing

Rationing, as mentioned above, was a huge effort during WWII. Not only did it let Americans feel like they had a hand in the war effort, it really did support the troops - rationing meant that there was extra food, leather, rubber, metal, etc. that could go to troops overseas. Rationing prevented consumer waste.