Effects Of Ww2 On The Us Economy

The Economy of the United States during World War II World War II was a period of great economic diversity for the United States Of America. The war pulled America out of the Great Depression and turned it into a superpower that prospered in economic and political power after 1945. The American industry was radically revived and oriented into producing materials for the war effort. This led to a surge in organized labor for workers and bringing together of America. After the war The United States of America was considered a superpower. But how exactly did the economy of America evolve before, during and after the war? The period of time before The Great Depression and after World War I was called the roaring twenties. From 1920-1929 the

This event revived the struggling American economy and kicked it into full gear. President Roosevelt ordered for a staggering number of military vehicles to be made from 1941-1942, including 185,000 aircraft and 120,000 tanks. This caused automobile plants to be converted into military vehicle plants to be able to keep up with the huge demand of vehicles needed for the war. For example, Chrysler made fuselages, General Motors made parts for airplanes, an array military vehicles and weapons. This industry created more than half a million jobs and helped to bring down the unemployment rate from 14 percent in 1940 to 4.7 percent in 1942. 65 percent of these jobs were occupied by women who served a critical purpose in the production of supplies for the war effort. The unemployment rate drop was also due to the ten million men who where drafted or volunteered to join the military. The unemployment rate had a small spike in 1946 to 3.9 percent from 1.2 percent in 1944 when the production of military vehicles was

America was considered a superpower amongst other countries. The years after World War II were called the golden era of American capitalism. $167.5 billion in war bonds had matured into nearly $200 billion, and the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (G.I. Bill) helped make a strong and intelligent work force. The G.I. Bill was passed in 1944, the bill made money available to America veterans so that they could go to college, buy houses, and buy farms. The bill gave American veterans the option to buy new houses for zero down and with very low interest. This encouraged many veterans to move out of their apartments in the cities and make new houses in the suburbs. Since there was nearly 12 million American soldiers in World War II the amount of veterans using this benefit was massive. This in term made the middle class grow immensely. Wealth was evenly distributed amongst the social classes mainly due to the growing membership of labor unions. The labor union membership was due in part to the urbanization of farm workers into larger cities. These farm workers were in search of better pay and better jobs and to assure that most of them joined unions. American citizens were happy, more people spent money and since the rationing was over the American lifestyle drastically improved. The golden era of American capitalism ended in 1970s with the stock market crash of