Rationing in the United States
Rationing in the United States was introduced in stages during World War II, with the last of the restrictions ending in June 1947.
Propaganda was targeted disproportionally towards middle class white women and their organization provided some of the most substantial support to Hoover's program to limit consumption.
In Wisconsin, the Council of Defense asked wholesale bakers to sign a pledge guaranteeing they'd keep bread on the shelves for longer durations.
We discovered that the American people are basically honest and talk too much.In the summer of 1941, rationing in the United Kingdom increased because of military needs, and German attacks on shipping in the Battle of the Atlantic.
[6] It believed that with factories converting to military production and consuming many critical supplies, rationing would become necessary if the country entered the war.
Each ration stamp had a generic drawing of an airplane, gun, tank, aircraft carrier, ear of wheat, fruit, etc.
The red and blue tokens were about the size of dimes (16 millimetres (0.63 in)) and were made of thin compressed wood fiber material, because metals were in short supply.
[11] The War Production Board (WPB) ordered the temporary end of all civilian automobile sales on 1 January 1942, leaving dealers with one half million unsold cars.
[5]: 124, 133–135 Automobile factories stopped manufacturing civilian models by early February 1942 and converted to producing tanks, aircraft, weapons, and other military products, with the United States government as the only customer.
Each person in a household received a ration book, including babies and small children who qualified for canned milk not available to others.
[16] After just two days, on August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered, and World War II gas rationing was ended on the West Coast of the United States.
[17][18] From the time that the United States entered the war to the August 1945 Japanese surrender, there was a dramatic shift in behavior: Americans drove cars less, carpooled when they did drive, walked and used their bicycles more, and increased the use of public transportation.
ODT-imposed rationing of gasoline to civilians caused car owners to drive less, thus extending tire life and conserving fuel to maximize the oil and rubber available for military use.
In order to extend the lifespan of tires and reduce the use, the ODT contacted the governors of all the states to establish lower speed limits.
In March of the same year to decrease the large amount of single occupied drivers, car sharing programs were encouraged for workplaces that had more than 100 employees from the ODT and the Highway Traffic Advisory Committee.
[20] Coffee was rationed nationally on 29 November 1942 to 1 pound (454 g) every five weeks, about half of normal consumption, in part because of German attacks on shipping from Brazil.
[5]: 118, 124, 126–127 By the end of 1942, ration coupons were used for nine other items:[5]: 138 typewriters, gasoline, bicycles, shoes, rubber footwear, silk, nylon, fuel oil, and stoves.
[22] Many retailers welcomed rationing because they were already experiencing shortages of many items due to rumors and panics, such as flashlights and batteries after Pearl Harbor.
[citation needed] Scarce medicines such as penicillin were rationed by triage officers in the US military during World War II.
In California, even-odd rationing systems were created which alternated which day even and odd numbered license plates could get gas.
[26] These plans faced scrutiny from the Chamber of Commerce, who stated in 1979 that they “opposed any form of rationing or allocation as solutions to current or future energy problems”.
[29] Another amendment was added at the request of the Republican opposition which would require a twenty percent shortage for 30 days in order to enact the plan.
