American Economy During World War II Essay

Prior to its entry in the Second World War, the United States asumed an isolationist (neutral) stance by the 1930’s even though the threat of war was looming over Europe and Asia with the rise of militarism when democracies in these regions failed to address the economic problems they were having which were similar to the US. Through the efforts of President Franklin D. Roosvelt, the US took a more â€Å"democratic† approach in addressing the socio-economic problems created by the Great Depression called the New Deal and this saw the American economy gradually recovering and the confidence and self-esteem of individual citizens returning. When the US entered World War II following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, America committed itself to â€Å"total war. † The entire nation was mobilized but it was not merely limited to raising an armed force and preparing it for combat, it was getting every sector of American society involved. Even those who did not serve in the military had significant roles to play, especially in the economic aspect of the war. Rationing became the norm as food production and resources had to be redirected to support America’s fighting forces. This was in line with an aphorism alluded to Napoleon that an army travels on its stomach (cited in Murray & Millet, 2000). Despite the rationing, the home front did not suffer considerably from food shortage compared to those in the occupied countries of Europe or Asia where German and Japanese forces would confiscate their foodstuffs and commodities to feed their own people and sustain their war effort. Nevertheless, it showed that these nations too were exceeding their requirements and were resorting to pilfering the resources of the occupied territories, depriving the local inhabitants of their needs and causing deaths from starvation in these countries. American farmers were able to exceed their expectations by producing considerably higher outputs following the end of the First World War. They were to produce huge volumes of foodstuffs that American forces overseas were amply fed and had plenty to share to their allies. It was because of this that the United States became known as the â€Å"Granary of Democracy. † (Murray and Millet, 2000, 530) America was also known as the â€Å"Arsenal of Democracy. † Even before the start of the war, the United States was already rearming as there was already cooperation between government and industry. Despite the isolationist stance and commitment to peace, there was still that commitment to develop and employ new weapons to keep pace with the changing times and not become stagnant or their weapons obsolete. America’s entry into the war, the transition of its industries to war production was smooth, owing the to relationship between the government and businesses. Not only was it able to amply supply their armed forces, they had surplus material that they distributed to their allies as well (Murray & Millett, 2000, 533). Contrary to what others thought, that women took over the factories when all the men left to fight the war; not all able-bodied men were called up to serve in the military. There were a considerable number of them kept to sustain the production of the industries as they churned out war machines for use by their fighting forces. The government ensured there was balanced distribution of able-bodied males in the workforce so as not to completely cripple their economy as opposed to the Axis nations that committed its able-bodied men to fight, leaving women and the less-abled to manage their economies (Murray & Millett, 2000, 544-545). In conclusion, the economy of the United States was prepared for wartime production mode. They were aware of the growing threats the world was facing and prepared accordingly. Ironically, the war solved the problems caused by the Great Depression by providing people much-needed jobs and made them productive again. America’s strategic grographic location of being bordered by two great oceans shielded it from the ravages of war which prevented it from reaching its shores. The shift to a wartime economy also underscored the commitment of the American people in fighting for a just cause. They believed that their cause was just and fully committed themselves to it regardless of their role from paying one’s taxes to working continuously in the factories. One did not have to serve in the military to prove their patriotism and commitment to the war and the people on the home front demonstrated it and it can be seen that their contribution of keeping America’s fighting forces fed and supplied with everything the need to fight was instrumental to final victory. Reference Murray, W. & Millett, A. R. (2000). A War to be Won: Fighting the Second World War. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.