The massive World War II military mobilization required immense amounts of materials and supplies to support our troops on the battlefield. Civilians were asked to conserve on everyday necessities like food, gasoline, and other things required in great quantities to supply the military, but the government soon found that it needed to control supply and demand to insure that supplies would be available to both the military and that the remainder would be equitably distributed among the civilian population.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941, creating the Office of Price Administration (OPA) under Leon Henderson within the Office for Emergency Management. The OPA was authorized to place ceilings on all prices except agricultural commodities to stabilize prices and rents and to ration scarce consumer goods to prevent wartime inflation. It could also authorize subsidies for production of some scarce commodities.
The OPA initiated price controls in the summer of 1941 to stabilize wartime prices and rents. The OPA became an independent agency under the Emergency Price Control Act of January 30, 1942. In April, 1942, the OPA issued a general maximum price regulation making prices charged in March, 1942, the ceiling prices for most commodities and placed ceilings on residential rents. OPA administrators Leon Henderson, Prentiss Brown, and Chester Bowles continued to gradually modify and extend the regulations through 1946 until almost 90% of retail food prices were frozen.
In April, 1942, just four months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the OPA began rationing critical goods needed for the war effort. This was the first time America experienced rationing, and the only time since that broad rationing covering many goods has been imposed. Rationing was instituted to avoid public anger over shortages and to prevent only the wealthy from being able to purchase critical commodities. The rationing programs allowed civilians to buy only a certain amount of these critical goods each week or month in order to make more supplies available for the military's use.
Rationing was administered by local ration boards in each community. Ration registration usually took place at local schools. Students took detailed questionnaires home for their family to complete. The local Ration Board used the information to determine the amount of each item that families required to live. Each family was asked to send only one member to register, and they had to be prepared to describe all other members of their family in detail including age, sex, height, and weight.
There were severe penalties for anyone disobeying ration quotas. The cover of the ration coupon book contained spaces where the owner would record their name, address, age, sex, weight, height, and occupation. This served to identify the owner as well as to aid in returning lost books and prevent the use of stolen ones. The ration coupon book's cover displayed the warning "This book is the property of the United States Government. It is unlawful to sell it to any other person or to use it or permit anyone to use it, except to obtain rationed goods in accordance with regulations of the Office of Price Administration. Any person who finds a lost War Ration Book must return it to the War Price and Rationing Board which issued it. Persons who violate rationing regulations are subject to $10,000 fine or imprisonment or both." Editor's note: realize that a car sold for between $800 to slightly over $1,000 in 1942, so the fine in today's money would be equal to an amount around $200,000 or higher.
The rationing programs were accompanied by massive propaganda campaigns in the form of government sponsored ads, radio shows, posters and pamphlets to urge American public to comply by asking people to conserve and to abide by price controls and rations. The Office of War Information distributed a poster stating, "Do with less so they'll have enough," and another asking "Be patriotic, sign your country's pledge to save the food." The propaganda was highly effective in reaching the masses and created a sense of urgency in appealing to civilians to contribute in any way they could without complaint. Wartime life meant daily sacrifices, but few complained because they knew the men and women in uniform were making a far greater sacrifice.
Food rationing began in the spring of 1942 for scarce food items like coffee, meats, sugar, and processed foods, but others were not rationed. Sugar, butter, coffee, and beef-steak were especially scarce and valued items. Items that were not rationed were eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, dried and dehydrated fruits (prunes, raisins, etc.) fish and shellfish of all varieties (except in sealed containers), bread and cereals, milk, grain products like spaghetti, macaroni and noodles, poultry and game, jams, preserves and jellies, mayonnaise and salad dressing, perishable cheeses
To insure that a person didn't buy more than they were allowed, the government issued ration coupons for each commodity. A different type of coupon was required to purchase each rationed item (gasoline, sugar, tires, etc).
Almost all food items required coupons with items identified by a point system, with each person allowed a certain number of points weekly. Sheets of ration coupons, which were perforated like postage stamps are now, were bound in books that were mailed to American families each month. When a person wanted to buy a rationed commodity, they had to present the book to the merchant at the time of purchase. The merchant would tear the coupon from the book, which reduced the amount of the commodity that the purchaser could buy in the future until they received their next coupon book. While the coupon book allowed the holder to buy a specified amount, possession of a coupon book did not guarantee that the item would be available. Americans adjusted accordingly.
Coupons were distributed based on family size. Each family member, including small children, was issued their own ration books and each coupon book had its own specifications and deadlines. It was the homemaker's responsibility to pool the stamps and plan healthy meals for the family within the limits set. Some people grew tired of trying to figure out what coupon went with which item, and how many points they needed to purchase them.
To aid homemakers in using the ration coupons, the government held training sessions to teach women to shop wisely, conserve food, and plan nutritious meals. They printed monthly meal-planning guides with recipes and a daily menu. Good Housekeeping Magazine's 1943 cookbook contained a special section for rationed foods. Numerous national publications also featured articles explaining what rationing meant to America. The government also taught women how to can fresh food items for future use.
"Blue Stamp" rationing allowed the purchase of canned, bottled, and frozen fruits and vegetables, juices, and dry beans. It was also used for processed foods like soups, baby food and catsup. "Red Stamp" rationing covered all meats, butter, fat, and oils, and with some exceptions, cheese. Some food manufacturers took advantage of the wartime shortages to flaunt their patriotism to their profit. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner became a very popular substitute for meat and dairy products. Two boxes required only one rationing coupon, which resulted in sales of 80 million boxes in 1943. Food substitutions became evident with real butter being replaced by margarine. Cottage cheese was a substitute for meat, and sales exploded from 110 million pounds in 1930 to 500 million pounds in 1944. The government's persuading people to reduce red meats and fats resulted in more healthy eating.
The propaganda campaigns also encouraged people to grow "Victory Gardens" in their yards to produce fruits and vegetables to both save money and make more supplies available for the troops. Combined with home canning, a small investment in seed and time could provide a family with fresh vegetables for months. An estimated 20 million victory gardens produced approximately 40 percent of America's vegetables by 1945.
Early in the war, the Japanese seized the Dutch East Indies, which supplied 90 percent of American raw-rubber supplies. Gasoline rationing was started in the United States more to save rubber than gasoline. The government decreed that all United States civilian vehicle production was to cease February 10, 1942 so the massive automotive industry could shift full production to war vehicles and materials.
Tires, gasoline, fuel oil, and vehicles became in short supply and were likewise rationed. Speed limits were reduced to conserve gasoline. A person's allotment depended on the type of work they did and the distance they had to travel to their job. Some civilians serving in critical jobs like doctors, truckers, policemen, firemen, and others were allowed higher rations than ordinary citizens to prevent disruptions in essential services. The freezing order was later amended to permit vehicle sales to three categories: I) Army, Navy, US Marines, Panama Canal Commission and certain other government agencies; 2) Persons assigned to an A-l-j or higher preference rating: 3) Prime contractors with the Army or Navy for construction of defense projects with an A-1-j or higher rating.
Vehicles were issued gasoline allowance stickers that were attached to the vehicle's windshield. By the end of 1942, half of the nation's automobiles were issued an A sticker, allowing 4 gallons per week. The other half of automobiles had either a B sticker (supplementary allowance for war workers) or a C sticker (vital occupation like as doctor or policeman). Truckers had a T sticker for unlimited amounts.
If your vehicle needed gas, the service station owner asked for your gas coupon ration book. All coupons had to be attached to the book, as loose coupons were not accepted. The station owner had to compare the vehicle's and owner's identity, the gasoline allowance sticker on the windshield, and a dated coupon allowed the purchase of gasoline. The vehicle owner and station owner had to sign the back of the coupon along with date and vehicle identity.
Ration stamps became a type of currency, and lost ration books a major headache. A predictable side effect of commodity rationing was the growth of a black market where people could illegally buy rationed items, but at higher prices, using stolen or counterfeit ration coupons. The black market developed in stolen or counterfeit fuel stickers accounted for an estimated 5-30% of gasoline sales. By 1945, 32,500 motorists had been arrested for using false stickers, 1300 were convicted, and 4000 gas stations had been closed.
Ration coupons were required to replace or repair all rubber items. You had to present a used tire with the ID number intact to purchase a new one. Inner tubes were often cut, a section removed and then vulcanized back together to make it fit a smaller tire.
Clothing rationing restricted shoes, silk, and nylon. It was designed to conserve leather for military use and silk and nylon which were used in making parachutes and other military items.
World War II ended three years after rationing began, but rationing continued until 1946. Price controls were gradually abolished and the OPA was disbanded in 1947.
