African Americans migrated from the rural south to work in the industrial centers of the

north and west. Many were refused jobs because of their race – as a result President

Roosevelt issued an executive order barring hiring discrimination in defense industries

and the government and established the Fair Employment Practice Committee to report

on unfair work practices, opening the doors of employment for more than two million

African Americans. By the end of the war U.S. industry and the American worker were

producing more weapons and firepower than all other nations combined.

Superior technology would prove vital to defeating the enemy. President Roosevelt

established the OSRD – the Office of Scientific Research and Development - to bring

America's leading scientists into the war effort. Many innovations developed or

improved during World War II are still used today – like radar and sonar technology

needed to spot enemy airplanes and submarines, and so called miracle drugs like

penicillin - which prevented infection of battlefield wounds. Secretly, the OSRD was

supervising a weapons project that would play a deciding role in the war - the creation of

the first atomic bomb.

The cost of war was staggering. To finance the effort, government advertisements

encouraged citizens to “Buy War Bonds;”

“Buy War Bonds” Public Service Announcement

“Pearl Harbor…Pearl Harbor…Pearl Harbor. What do they ask of us, the heroes that we

mourn? What do they ask of us, our marching sons across the seas? To stand shoulder to

shoulder with them here at home – to do the job of forging the guns of vengence. Bonds

are our weapons, stop on the way out. You want to say what is in your heart? Say it with

bonds.”

Americans responded by investing over $185 billion dollars towards victory. Congress

raised income taxes, and for the first time, deducted federal taxes from paychecks each

week. To control inflation, Congress created the Office of Price Administration - the

OPA - which froze the price of many goods. The OPA issued ration books – limiting the

purchase of groceries, clothing and fuel and sending the badly needed surplus to supply

Allied soldiers.

Americans grew “Victory Gardens” for food, they cut back on travel and car-pooled or

rode bicycles to save precious gasoline – driving alone was considered unpatriotic.