Impact Of Ww2 On The American Economy

How did the American economy shift to support World War II?

Economics is typically defined as how resources are managed within a system. However, the resources mentioned are not the ones that are typically thought of. Typically resources are only thought of as oils, gases, and minerals. Although, those are not always the most important. This is especially true in times of war. One perfect example of this would be World War II. This war put a tremendous amount of strain on the American economy. The economy had to shift to make it through the war. In America it was easy to see just how the economy changed. The focus of the economy had to change to meet to meet the production and labor demands. Everyone throughout the country had to do their part

However, labor is one of the most important resources there is for any economy. If there is no labor being done then essentially there is nothing being done. This was not the case during World War II. If anything there was too much labor needing to be done and not enough people to do it. With a draft being put in place men were being recruited in large quantities and forced to leave their jobs to fight in Europe.According to The National World War II museum, “ By the end of the war in 1945, 50 million men between eighteen and forty-five had registered for the draft and 10 million had been inducted in the military” (The National World War II History Museum). That is possibly 10 million men taken away from their jobs in order to fight in the military. This could have been detrimental to the economy. Especially since there was such a high demand for labor and new workers at the time also. All of these things combined could have sent America in another depression very easily. However, the everybody did their part and carried the economy through a very demanding time.

With economic demands like these and such a limited work force it is amazing that America did not experience another depression or recession. However, the true spectacle was how well the economy was able to shift to support the war effort. If it was not for the preparedness of the United States government this part of history may have been completely different.

The American government knew that they would not be able to win this war on their own. They needed the help from Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. With Britain being targeted by German bombers and France being near to falling under complete German control it was important to support them in any way they could since they had not entered the war yet. America was able to help Britain by providing things such as intel, weapons, food, and other raw materials that were necessary for the U.K. to survive. However, they did not just give them away. America always used some sort of trade system where they receive something in return for providing these supplies. For example, according to The United States Office of the Historian, “...the United States gave the British more than 50 obsolete destroyers, in exchange for 99-year leases to territory in Newfoundland and the Caribbean, which would be used as U.S. air and naval bases”. This is a perfect example of how the United States executed their exchange system. Also, it is good to see just how much America was producing at the time. They had not even entered the war yet and they were already able to produce enough destroyers that they were able to give 50 to the British. This shows how prepared the United States was for World War II at the time. However, this was not the only way that the United States prepared itself for World War