America was in the middle of the Great Depression when they got involved in WWII. America had been thrust into a war by being attacked by Japanese warriors and they came together as a nation to fight for their country. Men and women enlisted to help serve their country. Americans were eager to help out in any way possible in order to help their own armed forces. By being in the war, the United States needed equipment of all sorts to help the men and women serve and fight off the enemy. Since all this new equipment was needed, manufacturers had to hire more people in order to meet the demands. This increase in the work force brought the Great Depression to an end. The government controlled inflation and by doing this people slowly started to bring themselves up out of poverty.
The government also started to ration supplies for every person within the country. While people were making more money than before they were only allowed to buy a specified amount of food and clothes. Ration stamps helped each family get only what they needed and no more so that everyone could have the essentials. Everyone chipped in at home in order to serve the fighting men that were many miles away. Men, women, and children did their part in helping out. Clothes hemming and stitching were changed to ration material. As you can see in the picture below, women’s dresses were altered in small ways, but just those few changes made a big difference in the war effort.
The government also started to ration supplies for every person within the country. While people were making more money than before they were only allowed to buy a specified amount of food and clothes. Ration stamps helped each family get only what they needed and no more so that everyone could have the essentials. Everyone chipped in at home in order to serve the fighting men that were many miles away. Men, women, and children did their part in helping out. Clothes hemming and stitching were changed to ration material. As you can see in the picture below, women’s dresses were altered in small ways, but just those few changes made a big difference in the war effort.
Retrieved from http://www.ameshistoricalsociety.org/
Works Cited:
Ames Historical Society (n.d.). World War II Rationing on the U.S. Homefront. Retrieve from: http://www.ameshistoricalsociety.org/exhibits/events/rationing.htm
Tassava, Christopher J. (February 5th, 2010). The American Economy during WWII. Retrieved
from: http://eh.net/encyclopedia/
United States History (n.d.). World War II Rationing. Retrieved from:
United States History (n.d.). World War II Rationing. Retrieved from: