Source: William K. Klingaman. The Darkest Year -
The American Home Front, 1941 - 1942 (2019)
The American Home Front, 1941 - 1942 (2019)
On 6 January 1942, FDR gave his State of the Union Address to a Joint Session of Congress. FDR’s basic message was that while the going was awful in the early stages of the war, the nation would develop the necessary strength and might to strike back and hard until victory was won; FDR also mentioned more than once that the war would be long and costly. FDR asked Congress for $568B in military spending for the next fiscal year, which would require 15 million workers in war industries, which was triple the current level. FDR also asked for a substantial increase in taxes and the purchase of war bonds.
The reality of any meaningful offensive lay far into the future, and an increasingly impatient and frustrated public wanted some kind of good news on the military front. War production was bottle-necked due to the confusion and lack of preparation by corporations for the transition to defense manufacturing, and many Americans wondered and worried if it was a case of too-little-too-late. Criticism increased over the following weeks concerning the war production bottle-neck debacle, and in the process there was quite a bit of wasted government spending and energy.
The reality of any meaningful offensive lay far into the future, and an increasingly impatient and frustrated public wanted some kind of good news on the military front. War production was bottle-necked due to the confusion and lack of preparation by corporations for the transition to defense manufacturing, and many Americans wondered and worried if it was a case of too-little-too-late. Criticism increased over the following weeks concerning the war production bottle-neck debacle, and in the process there was quite a bit of wasted government spending and energy.
Confusion and petty jealousies ran rampant in the federal government, which was a direct result of FDR’s decision to let each Executive department/office do their own thing. Senator Harry Truman’s (D; MO) first report from the committee he chaired investigating defense production blasted the Office of Production Management (OPM) as “shortsighted” and “lackadaisical”. Truman’s report also castigated the defense industry for far too much carelessness, negligence, and inefficiency. Truman’s committee was especially critical of the mess that was aircraft production. The overall summary of Truman’s report was that millions of government dollars had been spent with not much to show.
Four weeks after Pearl, the OPM still didn’t have a specific inventory of US industrial resources. On 5 January 1942, the head of the OPM admitted that he had no idea which companies could produce specific war equipment, materials, or weapons. That admission was the final nail in the coffin for the OPM since it showed for all to see how poorly FDR and his administration had coordinated the war effort; giant media figures such as Walter Lippmann let FDR and the government have it in terms of their performance.
On 13 January 1942, FDR responded to demands for change by creating the War Production Board (WPB), which would be run by a “Czar”; the WPB was the 19th major government defense agency created since May 1940. What was different about the WPB was that Donald Nelson (the “Czar”) would have full authority over everything under the agency’s umbrella. Even with that smart move by FDR, the sense of national unity that had occurred after Pearl had already started to unravel due to the overall dissatisfaction with how the government had responded/acted after 7 December 1941.
Four weeks after Pearl, the OPM still didn’t have a specific inventory of US industrial resources. On 5 January 1942, the head of the OPM admitted that he had no idea which companies could produce specific war equipment, materials, or weapons. That admission was the final nail in the coffin for the OPM since it showed for all to see how poorly FDR and his administration had coordinated the war effort; giant media figures such as Walter Lippmann let FDR and the government have it in terms of their performance.
On 13 January 1942, FDR responded to demands for change by creating the War Production Board (WPB), which would be run by a “Czar”; the WPB was the 19th major government defense agency created since May 1940. What was different about the WPB was that Donald Nelson (the “Czar”) would have full authority over everything under the agency’s umbrella. Even with that smart move by FDR, the sense of national unity that had occurred after Pearl had already started to unravel due to the overall dissatisfaction with how the government had responded/acted after 7 December 1941.
FDR was forced to relegate La Guardia to a figurehead role within the Office of Civilian Defense since the NYC mayor kept finding ways to make things worse in his assigned area. However, San Francisco proved to be the worst-managed civilian defense city of them all, and it soon became clear that the Bay City was in no better shape than it was five weeks prior, due mostly to the incompetence by city officials. On 12 January 1942, the US Surgeon General told the US Council of Mayors that the enemy had planned and would use bacteria warfare,, and that local governments needed to take every precaution; now Americans were afraid of their milk.
The movie industry had to adjust to the war effort by starting and ending filming sooner, while also featuring far fewer car chases. Hollywood also could not film in US harbors, ports, airports, bridges, or railroad tunnels. Film productions had to recycle old sets due to lumber shortages, and cap pistols were used for guns. The rubber shortage and tire rationing pretty much ended shooting on location, and some movies in production had to make changes to scripts on the fly when receiving new information from the war. The desire to feature Japanese villains in movies ran high, but there were very few actors/actresses of Japanese descent, and no white actor/actress wanted to play a “Jap”.
Soon enough, the major studios, such as Warner Brothers, started to churn out patriotic movies that featured characters that were soldiers as well as war production workers. Hollywood stars kept disappearing to serve in the military, such as James Stewart, Robert Montgomery, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and director John Ford (as well as many behind-the-scenes workers).
On 16 January 1942, due to pilot error and incompetence, a military plane that was flying through the mountains near Las Vegas (NV) crashed, killing 15 servicemen as well as the famous actress Carole Lombard (who was married to Clark Gable; Lombard had just raised over $2 million in war bonds while in her home state of Indiana). Gable made plans, once he got past at least some of his grief, to join the Army Air Corps, even though he was too old to be a pilot.
The movie industry had to adjust to the war effort by starting and ending filming sooner, while also featuring far fewer car chases. Hollywood also could not film in US harbors, ports, airports, bridges, or railroad tunnels. Film productions had to recycle old sets due to lumber shortages, and cap pistols were used for guns. The rubber shortage and tire rationing pretty much ended shooting on location, and some movies in production had to make changes to scripts on the fly when receiving new information from the war. The desire to feature Japanese villains in movies ran high, but there were very few actors/actresses of Japanese descent, and no white actor/actress wanted to play a “Jap”.
Soon enough, the major studios, such as Warner Brothers, started to churn out patriotic movies that featured characters that were soldiers as well as war production workers. Hollywood stars kept disappearing to serve in the military, such as James Stewart, Robert Montgomery, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and director John Ford (as well as many behind-the-scenes workers).
On 16 January 1942, due to pilot error and incompetence, a military plane that was flying through the mountains near Las Vegas (NV) crashed, killing 15 servicemen as well as the famous actress Carole Lombard (who was married to Clark Gable; Lombard had just raised over $2 million in war bonds while in her home state of Indiana). Gable made plans, once he got past at least some of his grief, to join the Army Air Corps, even though he was too old to be a pilot.
On 14 January 1942, a Navy spokesman warned the US public that German U-Boats were operating up and down the Atlantic Coast. Within hours of that announcement, a German U-Boat sank a Norwegian tanker sixty miles from Long Island, The Navy was reluctant to provide accurate information about the damage done on US and Allied shipping by the Kriegsmarine, only saying that the attacks had become “increasingly serious”. Initially, there were only five U-Boats that were reeking havoc along the Atlantic Seaboard (“Operation Drumbeat”), and the goal was to sink such ships as slow-moving oil tankers.
Oil and gasoline supplies noticeably decreased in the Eastern US since many oil tankers had been sunk leaving ports from the Gulf of Mexico. On 31 January 1942, the Navy confirmed that ten American and Allied ships had been sunk by U-Boats, with nearly 100 sailers KIA/MIA. Cities along the Atlantic Coast still struggled with executing their blackouts, which silhouetted tankers at night, making them easy targets for the U-Boats. The belief that eventually took hold was that a German 5th Column (spy network) was the real reason for the easy sinking of ships; the result of that belief eventually became the Navy catchphrase “Loose Lips Sink Ships”.
On 16 January 1942, the Office of Censorship issued new directives that were designed to curtail inadvertent radio broadcasts that could assist the enemy. Among those restrictions were no interviews at train stations or airports, and stations were to “steer clear” of dramatic programs that brought home the horrors of the war. Also, radio stations were to avoid such traditional items as birthday announcements that could be seen as carrying hidden messages for enemy spies.
Oil and gasoline supplies noticeably decreased in the Eastern US since many oil tankers had been sunk leaving ports from the Gulf of Mexico. On 31 January 1942, the Navy confirmed that ten American and Allied ships had been sunk by U-Boats, with nearly 100 sailers KIA/MIA. Cities along the Atlantic Coast still struggled with executing their blackouts, which silhouetted tankers at night, making them easy targets for the U-Boats. The belief that eventually took hold was that a German 5th Column (spy network) was the real reason for the easy sinking of ships; the result of that belief eventually became the Navy catchphrase “Loose Lips Sink Ships”.
On 16 January 1942, the Office of Censorship issued new directives that were designed to curtail inadvertent radio broadcasts that could assist the enemy. Among those restrictions were no interviews at train stations or airports, and stations were to “steer clear” of dramatic programs that brought home the horrors of the war. Also, radio stations were to avoid such traditional items as birthday announcements that could be seen as carrying hidden messages for enemy spies.
The media struggled to get any accurate information about the war since the government controlled the information and publication of what war really going on; in essence, the truth was deemed forbidden fruit. The most common phrase from the government was “no comment”, and the news that was released for public consumption was far too optimistic and/or exaggerated, and when accurate, focused on the trivial successes. The government chose to paint a picture of daffodils and daisies in the midst of gloom, so Americans went about living their lives unaware of the impending disaster faced by 80,000+ US soldiers in the Philippines as Japan tightened its noose.
A full page ad in Newsweek in early-1942, paid for by a Cleveland defense firm, stated “In Heaven’s Name, Let’s Get Mad” and “Don’t You Want Vengeance?”. At the same time, the Detroit Free Press hoped for “greater realization” to hit the general public as to how long and difficult the war would be. The New York Times used the phrase “the valor of ignorance” to describe the same phenomenon. Once again, Americans waited for FDR to take the lead and to run point, but as was his pattern in recent years, the President refused to do so, not wanting to get ahead of public opinion. Tire rationing was off to a very rocky start, in that the driving public had a very hard time adjusting (the Teamsters Union had freaked out about the restrictions). While seemingly every American understood the need for rubber rationing, a very high number demanded exemptions from rubber rationing, and cities competed against each other for the scarce finished good.
A full page ad in Newsweek in early-1942, paid for by a Cleveland defense firm, stated “In Heaven’s Name, Let’s Get Mad” and “Don’t You Want Vengeance?”. At the same time, the Detroit Free Press hoped for “greater realization” to hit the general public as to how long and difficult the war would be. The New York Times used the phrase “the valor of ignorance” to describe the same phenomenon. Once again, Americans waited for FDR to take the lead and to run point, but as was his pattern in recent years, the President refused to do so, not wanting to get ahead of public opinion. Tire rationing was off to a very rocky start, in that the driving public had a very hard time adjusting (the Teamsters Union had freaked out about the restrictions). While seemingly every American understood the need for rubber rationing, a very high number demanded exemptions from rubber rationing, and cities competed against each other for the scarce finished good.
Every governor was besieged with demands from citizens to loosen the noose on tire restrictions. Those that wanted retreads experienced long delays and shortages as well as high prices; the prices became so high that on 11 January 1942 the government placed a price ceiling on retreading services. Most Americans had little idea why there was rubber rationing was to be a long term prospect, and far too many Americans simply believed that the restrictions on rubber didn’t apply to them (e.g. if they paid enough, they would get new tires).
Time magazine declared that tire rationing presented the greatest opportunities for bootlegging since Prohibition, and tire thefts soared across the nation. On 18 January 1942, the Los Angeles Times provided evidence of tire hoarding in the region. States soon increased punishments for stealing tires, in essence equating stealing tires with stealing horses in the Old West. Firestone started to brand the customer’s initials on the very few new tires they sold. The government released information that accentuated the positives of rubber rationing, claiming that the consumption of gasoline would decrease by at least 35%, and that Americans would get more physically fit. Automobile rationing had been enacted on 2 January 1942, with sales of new cars were prohibited until until the permanent car rationing rules were released on 15 January 1942; used car prices promptly increased by 10%, and the price of new cars went up 25%.
Time magazine declared that tire rationing presented the greatest opportunities for bootlegging since Prohibition, and tire thefts soared across the nation. On 18 January 1942, the Los Angeles Times provided evidence of tire hoarding in the region. States soon increased punishments for stealing tires, in essence equating stealing tires with stealing horses in the Old West. Firestone started to brand the customer’s initials on the very few new tires they sold. The government released information that accentuated the positives of rubber rationing, claiming that the consumption of gasoline would decrease by at least 35%, and that Americans would get more physically fit. Automobile rationing had been enacted on 2 January 1942, with sales of new cars were prohibited until until the permanent car rationing rules were released on 15 January 1942; used car prices promptly increased by 10%, and the price of new cars went up 25%.
By the end of January 1942, the last vehicles that could be purchased by civilians rolled off the assembly lines, leaving at least 400k unemployed (2/3’s of that number in Michigan) at least temporarily. The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) blamed the delay on industrial conversion to war to administrative and executive selfishness and incompetence, and demanded an equal say in the process of converting to war production. The Big Three (GM, Ford, Chrysler) countered that the CIO was really trying to get “certain groups” in charge of the converted factories. At least automobile assembly line workers had the necessary skills for war production, but little was done about the displaced car salesmen. The government hadn’t realized the need for finding new jobs for displaced white collar workers. The 650k new cars in hand were for government use, including the Allies via Lend-Lease. Increasingly, more Americans realized that traveling for fun/leisure was out, which hurt roadside services.
During the first week of January 1942, the FBI had detained about 3000 enemy aliens that were suspected of being spies or saboteurs (out of the 1.8 million enemy aliens in the US), and the “Super Patriots” decided that all aliens residing in the nation were fair game. A growing number of men in the US were getting married in order to avoid military service. For the first 15 months of the Selective Service Act (October 1940 - December 1941), deferments were given in a man was married, due to the assumption that the wife depended on the man’s income. Overall, 7.5 million men had received “dependency” deferments, but after Pearl, every state noticed that far too many men used marriage as a way to avoid the draft. Most states simply didn’t grant dependency deferments after Pearl Harbor.
Another problem was that there were too many men in the Selective Service that had a venereal disease, with syphilis being #1; already, 50k had been rejected by the Army. The problem was exacerbated due to the shortage of doctors in the civilian population. In early-1942, there were only 186k doctors in the US, with 13k entering the military. The military needed about 20k additional doctors by the end of 1942, and there was also a shortage of nurses.
Addendum: The Sugar Shortage in January 1942 . . .
During the first week of January 1942, the FBI had detained about 3000 enemy aliens that were suspected of being spies or saboteurs (out of the 1.8 million enemy aliens in the US), and the “Super Patriots” decided that all aliens residing in the nation were fair game. A growing number of men in the US were getting married in order to avoid military service. For the first 15 months of the Selective Service Act (October 1940 - December 1941), deferments were given in a man was married, due to the assumption that the wife depended on the man’s income. Overall, 7.5 million men had received “dependency” deferments, but after Pearl, every state noticed that far too many men used marriage as a way to avoid the draft. Most states simply didn’t grant dependency deferments after Pearl Harbor.
Another problem was that there were too many men in the Selective Service that had a venereal disease, with syphilis being #1; already, 50k had been rejected by the Army. The problem was exacerbated due to the shortage of doctors in the civilian population. In early-1942, there were only 186k doctors in the US, with 13k entering the military. The military needed about 20k additional doctors by the end of 1942, and there was also a shortage of nurses.
Addendum: The Sugar Shortage in January 1942 . . .