War Production Board

(noun)

An agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it on January 16, 1942, with Executive Order 9024.

Related Terms

  • rationing
  • Board of Economic Warfare
  • Civil Air Patrol
  • Civil Defense Corps
  • Council of National Defense
  • Office of Price Administration

(noun)

A government agency established on January 16, 1942. Its purpose was to regulate the production and distribution of materials during World War II in the United States and to convert peacetime industries to meet the demands of war.

Related Terms

  • rationing
  • Board of Economic Warfare
  • Civil Air Patrol
  • Civil Defense Corps
  • Council of National Defense
  • Office of Price Administration

Examples of War Production Board in the following topics:

  • Economic Controls

    • Three of them, the Office of Price Administration (OPA; est. 1941), the Office of Administrator of Export Control (est. 1940; its functions later transferred to the Economic Defense Board and in 1943 to the Office of Economic Warfare) and the War Production Board (WPB; est. 1943) were among the federal agencies in charge of controlling the economy so that the United States was able to meet the demands of World War II.
    • The War Production Board (WPB) was established as a government agency on January 16, 1942 by executive order of Franklin D.
    • Roosevelt, replacing the Supply Priorities and Allocation Board and the Office of Production Management.
    • The WPB directed conversion and expansion of peacetime industries to meet war needs, allocated scarce materials vital to war production, established priorities in the distribution of materials and services, and prohibited non-essential production.
    • Describe the role of the Office of Price Administration, the Office of Administrator of Export Control, and the War Production Board in controlling the U.S. economy during WWII.
  • Economic Conversion

    • The Office of Production Management (OPM) and the Supply Priorities and Allocations Board were both in charge of how natural resources were used for the war effort.
    • The most powerful of all war-time organizations whose task was to control the economy was the War Production Board (WPB), established by Roosevelt on January 16, 1942 by executive order.
    • Its purpose was to regulate the production of materials during World War II in the United States.
    • The War Production Board was dissolved shortly after the defeat of Japan in 1945, and was replaced by the Civilian Production Administration in late 1945.
    • Describe how the War Production Board and the transition to a wartime economy helped stimulate U.S. economic growth.
  • Government Involvement

    • New Deal leaders flirted with the idea of building closer ties between business and government, but some of these efforts did not survive past World War II.
    • The National Industrial Recovery Act, a short-lived New Deal program, sought to encourage business leaders and workers, with government supervision, to resolve conflicts and thereby increase productivity and efficiency.
    • This confluence of power grew even more during the war, as the U.S. government intervened extensively in the economy.
    • The War Production Board coordinated the nation's productive capabilities so that military priorities would be met.
    • Converted consumer-products plants filled many military orders.
  • Homefront Security

    • During World War II, millions of American civilians were recruited by civil defense government programs to serve as volunteers and aid the war effort.
    • However, CND was replaced by the Office of Production Management in 1941, which was soon replaced by the War Production Board.
    • The WPB directed conversion of industries from peacetime work to war needs, allocated scarce materials, established priorities in the distribution of materials and services, and prohibited nonessential production. 
    • It was dissolved shortly after the defeat of Japan in 1945, and was replaced by the Civilian Production Administration in late 1945.
    • By the end of the war, CAP pilots had flown more than 500,000 mission hours.
  • America and WWI

    • Therefore the federal government (and states as well) set up a multitude of temporary agencies to bring together the expertise necessary to redirect the economy and society into the production of munitions and food necessary for the war, as well as the production of ideas necessary to motivate the people.
    • Food Administration, the War Industries Board, and the National War Labor Board.
    • The War Industries Board (WIB), created in the mid-summer of 1917, was another federal agency tasked with ensuring that Americans at home and abroad had access to acceptably-priced merchandise and equipment.
    • Wilson created the National War Labor Board (NWLB) in 1918.
    • Food Administration, the War Industries Board, and the National War Labor Board.
  • A New Labor Force

    • World War I saw a change in U.S. labor: women entered the workforce as never before, and labor unions gave firm support to war efforts.
    • As one of the first total wars, World War I mobilized women in unprecedented numbers on all sides .
    • The AFL unions strongly encouraged their young men to enlist in the military and fiercely opposed efforts to reduce recruiting and slow war production by the anti-war groups like the International Workers of the World (IWW) and left-wing Socialists.
    • To keep factories running smoothly, Wilson established the National War Labor Board in 1918, which forced management to negotiate with existing unions.
    • War gardeners, Washington, D.C. or vicinity, circa 1918.
  • Litigating for Equality After World War II

    • Board of Education (1954), which helped integrate public schools.
    • The period after World War II saw a great expansion in civil rights.
    • Board of Education (1954), a Supreme Court case in which justices unanimously decided to reverse the principle of separate but equal.
    • Board of Education was a collection of cases that had been filed on the issue of school segregation from Delaware, Kansas, South Carolina and Washington DC.
    • Board of Education paved the way for integration in schools and other spheres of life, but not everyone supported this decision.
  • Mobilizing a Nation

    • Wilson, oversaw most of the wartime labor programs and included a War Labor Board to adjudicate disputes.
    • The Department of Labor’s new Employment Service attracted workers from the South and Midwest to war industries in the East and was used by federal production offices to hire fresh employees.
    • They fiercely opposed efforts to reduce recruiting and slow war production by groups like the International Workers of the World (IWW), which was controlled by anti-war socialists and subsequently shut down by the federal government.
    • To keep factories running smoothly, the president established the National War Labor Board in 1918, which forced management to negotiate with existing unions.
    • The campaign promoted the cultivation of available private and public lands, resulting in the production of foodstuff exceeding $1.2 billion by the end of the war.
  • Implementing Resource-Based Learning

    • The teacher and media specialist decide on acceptable student-generated products.
    • The teacher should require a product that is challenging but realistic for the student.
    • In the Civil War scenario, Ms.
    • Using the rubric, the teacher judges the student- generated product.
    • In the Civil War scenario, Ms.
  • Conclusion: WWII and the U.S.

    • The middle class swelled, as did GDP and productivity.
    • Air transport was a major beneficiary of the war.
    • Additionally, radar had been developed during the war.
    • The aircraft industry had the highest productivity growth of any major industry, growing by 8.9% per year from 1929-1966.
    • After the Cold War began in 1947 and especially after the Korean War began in 1950, military spending soared.
Subjects
  • Accounting
  • Algebra
  • Art History
  • Biology
  • Business
  • Calculus
  • Chemistry
  • Communications
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Microbiology
  • Physics
  • Physiology
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Statistics
  • U.S. History
  • World History
  • Writing

Except where noted, content and user contributions on this site are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 with attribution required.