The first agency, known as the National Wage Stabilization Board, was established by President Harry S. Truman within the United States Department of Labor in on January 1, 1946.
[4] Executive Order 9809, issued on December 12, 1946, abolished the National Wage Stabilization Board effective February 24, 1947.
After an initial (and significant) surge of inflation, President Harry S. Truman's war mobilization effort began to achieve some success in stabilizing the American economy.
If any price ceiling was imposed, the government was required to issue regulations and orders stabilizing wages in the affected industry.
[8] The next day, President Truman issued Executive Order (EO) 10161, which established the Economic Stabilization Agency (ESA) to coordinate and supervise wage and price controls.
Utilizing the wage and price control model developed in World War II, the Truman administration created two sub-agencies within ESA.
Placing the onus solely on workers to keep wages low risked the wrath of labor, a lesson the administration had learned from the WWII experience.
On February 6, 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10434, which effectively abolished the Wage Stabilization Board.