The war and the economy (T3)

Question 1

How did war production affect the new deal?

Answer 1

It made the new deal irrelevant as demand for jobs in war production exploded

Question 2

How many tanks did US factories produce?

Answer 2

86,000

Question 3

How many aircraft did US factories produce?

Answer 3

296,000

Question 4

How many rifles did US factories produce?

Answer 4

15 million

Question 5

How much did farm income increase by?

Answer 5

250%

Question 6

How much did farm production increase by?

Answer 6

25%

Question 7

What was unemployment like in 1944?

Answer 7

1.2%

Question 8

How much of the female population was employed by the end of the war?

Answer 8

60%

Question 9

How did the GNP of the US rise?

GNP - total value of goods produced

Answer 9

It rose from $91.3 billion in 1939 to $166.6 billion in 1945

Question 10

How many teenage boys were in work?

Answer 10

66%

Question 11

What about teens in jobs angered their elders?

Answer 11

They often complained that teens were losing their deference through teen culture

Question 12

How did the number of teens in high school change?

Answer 12

6.6 million in 1940 to 5.6 million in 1944

Question 13

Why did the number of teens in high school change?

Answer 13

As they wanted to contribute to the war effort (their employers encouraged this) and they enjoyed the independence that wages gave them

Question 14

How did the national debt change?

Answer 14

$41 billion in 1941 - rose to $260 billion by 1945

Question 15

How much tax did the people in the highest band (over $200,000 a year) pay?

Answer 15

94%

Question 16

How much did war bond contribute to the economy?

Answer 16

50%

Question 17

How did the role of government change?

Answer 17

It got larger:

• 1940 Smith Act -> made illegal to threaten to overthrow the government
• 1940 Selective Service Act -> introduced conscription
• Created agencies such as the Office of War Mobilisation

Question 18

What was the Office of War Mobilisation?

Answer 18

It was created to control production, food prices and rents

Question 19

How did the Office of War Mobilisation affect everyday life?

Answer 19

• The production of cars for ordinary people stopped completely
• Many consumer clothes became simpler and made out of lower quality cloth
• Meat, sugar and petrol were rationed

Question 20

How much did prices rise by in the war?

Answer 20

28%

Question 21

How much did wages rise by in the war?

Answer 21

40%

Question 22

What did people do with their extra dispensable income?

Answer 22

They put it into savings accounts

Question 23

How much was the national saving worth?

Answer 23

$140 billion

Question 24

What was the War Production Board?

Answer 24

It was a federal organisation that oversaw the output of weapons and supplies?

Question 25

How much of the world’s total weapons and supplies did the board oversee?

Answer 25

40%, worth $183 billion

Question 26

How did the board stop production of non essential items?

Answer 26

Denying the factories the raw resources they needed to produce them

Question 27

What was the office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply set up to do?

Answer 27

It was set up to Control inflation

Question 28

How did the Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply control inflation?

Answer 28

It froze prices in March 1942 (except for agricultural commodities) and rationed scarce items

Question 29

What was the National War Labor Board set up to do?

Answer 29

It was set up to settle industrial disputes and determine wages

Question 30

What did the National War Labor Board say in July 1942?

Answer 30

They said that wage rises should not normally exceed 15% of the January 1941 rate

Question 31

What act was passed in October 1942?

Answer 31

The emergency stabilisation act - further tried to limit wage rises

Question 32

What was the Office of Economic Stabilisation?

Answer 32

It was an office that would oversee the work of the agencies responsible for wages and prices