Rationing

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In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, warfare changed from seasonal campaigns and battlefield conflicts that involved only military personnel to what has been term "total war." Total wars not only make civilians targets of warfare, as they were during the bombing of cities in World War II, but engage the entire population in sacrificing for the war effort. The purpose of imposing civilian sacrifices, such as rationing food and consumer goods, is not only to increase war production but also to forge unity between soldiers and civilians in winning the war. In this way modern warfare has both material and psychological effects on the home front that have long-term effects on society and culture.

During the First and Second World Wars, the United States sent millions of men into battle overseas. They left the farms for the front lines. Many factories switched to making munitions rather than consumer goods. Exotic foods (such as pineapple) that required shipment over the ocean were in short supply. Fats found in popular foods were needed to make glycerin, a key component in wartime explosives. The metal used to can food was more urgently needed for the war effort. Rubber was needed to make jeep tires and tank tracks for vehicles that rolled through hundreds of miles of terrain in Africa and Europe. Massive quantities of gasoline were needed to fuel these vehicles.

For all of these reasons, the United States government found it necessary to limit the consumption of these and other critical items in order to prevent hoarding and severe shortages. During World War I, a voluntary policy of food conservation was devised by the United States Food Administration, headed by Herbert Hoover. Rationing of foods such as sugar, meat and flour were suggested, not mandated. "Meatless Mondays" and "Wheatless Wednesdays" were recommended. Americans were also encouraged to grow their own food and eat less to ensure a steady food supply.

The more intense and longer American involvement during World War II meant stricter rationing policies. President Roosevelt created the Office of Price Administration (OPA) in early 1942 to oversee rationing and the rules of wartime product pricing. A system was established under which all families were given ration books filled with coupons that they could use for certain foods such as sugar, butter, meat, and canned goods. Each food had a certain point value per unit. Different cuts of meat were valued according to their rarity; ground beef was seven points while steak was twelve points. There were also ration coupons for shoes.

Once the coupons for the month were used up, the family was not entitled to buy any more rationed goods until the next month. Cookbooks of the time responded to rationing with suggestions for "extending" rationed items such as butter and meat and for substituting similar non-rationed foods. One 1943 pamphlet was titled "Your Share" and focused on telling housewives how to use their share of America's food to best advantage. The booklet explained how to make the most of meat by knowing point values and by storing and cooking meat properly. Many American households were already used to limiting their food intake due to the decade of the Depression that preceded the war.

Gasoline and tires were rationed according to a four-tiered government system of classification that rated a consumer's need to drive. The wartime speed limit was set at thirty-five miles per hour to keep tires from wearing out too quickly and to maximize fuel efficiency. In a way, automobiles were also rationed; new cars were not produced at all between early 1942 and 1945—only warrelated vehicles were made.

Coupled with rationing was a system of price ceilings set up by the government to ensure that prices of rare items remained stable. Of course, this system led to a black market for some rationed goods. There were two

forms of black market transactions—selling rationed items to people without ration coupons, and selling items at more than the ceiling price. It is estimated that as much as twenty-five percent of the supply of some rationed goods was sold through the black market. The OPA received thousands of complaints about price violations during the course of the war.

Public response to rationing was mostly favorable. Despite complaints, rationing was seen as a way to help the United States defeat the enemy. Wartime posters issued by the government played on the public's sentiment. "Be patriotic, sign your country's pledge to save the food," a World War I posted explained, while another told the public to "Eat less and let us be thankful that we have enough to share with those who fight for freedom." World War II posters were similar in sentiment; "Do with less—so they'll have enough," a 1943 poster exclaimed, depicting a smiling GI holding a cup of coffee.

Rationing was also closely connected with scrap drives. Americans were encouraged to save fat drippings, and to collect and turn in metal items for use in the war effort. Another response to wartime rationing was the creation of millions of backyard "Victory Gardens." These gardens were a good source of fruit and vegetables that helped ease the hardship of rationing, especially by reducing the need for canned foods and taking some pressure off of farmers.

Whereas many of these activities, such as scrap drives, may not have contributed much of material value to the war effort, they were very effective in sustaining morale on the home front by allowing citizens to make their own contribution to winning the war. The effect was profound, as civilians and soldiers during World War II have been celebrated by their descendents as "The Greatest Generation," marking an iconic period in American culture and identity as a society.

Auerbach, Alfred. OPA and Its Pricing Policies. New York: Fairchild Publishing, 1945.

The Home Front: America During World War II. Compiled by Mark Jonathan Harris, Franklin D. Mitchell and Steven J. Schechter. New York: Putnam, 1984.

Lawson, Don. An Album of World War II Home Fronts. New York: Franklin Watts, 1980.

Panchyk, Richard. World War II for Kids: A History with 21 Activities. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2002.

Your Share. (pamphlet) Minneapolis: General Mills, 1943.

"America from the Great Depression to World War Two." American Memory Website of the Library of Congress. Available from <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsa html/fahome.html>.

"Herbert Hoover Biography: U.S. Food Administrator." U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Available from <http://www.ecommcode.com/hoover /hooveronline/hoover_bio/food.htm E;.

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