Role Of Rationing In Ww2

Originally, my interest in the rationing process by the U.S. citizens during WWII sprouted from an interview I conducted with my grandmother. Currently an 83 year old woman, her name is Josefina Gutierrez and she was born in the country Peru in the year 1931. She told me how she lived with six other siblings on the land her family owned alongside many domesticated animals. In addition to this her family got by with no technology at their disposal and my grandma got her duties done by leading expeditions into the forest to feed her animals and also by leaving home to earn money for her family. Her methods of survival made me wonder how others could get by in the state of war because my grandmother was my age in the year 1945, coincidently also the last year of WWII. This brought me to the U.S. because the average U.S. citizen’s lifestyle was changed by a method for survival and helping with the war effort. After the United States joined the Second World War the scales were tipped in favor of the Allies, however the final win was caused not just by our brave U.S. soldiers fighting on the battlefield, but by our courageous Americans citizens whose efforts in the process of rationing

| Among the necessities or near-necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C rations, and two or three canteens of water. (pg. 2)

Conserving resources for soldiers became a big deal, especially since a great majority of the people went through the depression before the war. The idea of Victory Gardens came about, growing your own food and saving to conserve food for the brothers, husbands, and sons fighting in the war. Many advertisements included products to help buy supplies for the gardens that women could keep. (Document 1) People on the homefront really believed in conservation to help the soldiers, which is how the idea of rationing began. Rationing helped families get their fair share of everything to conserve supplies and food for the people they knew fighting in the war. (Document 3) Some items that Americans rationed were sugar, coffee, chocolate, oil, rubber, metals, or anything that would be a shortage due to the pause in international trading. Even though the U.S. was in the Great Depression as the war started, the wartime economy helped to pull it out and rationing became a new normal for Americans during the

novel and in reality. For example, Among the necessities the war required were P-38 can opener, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C rations, and two or three canteens of water. Together, these items weighed between 12 and 18 pounds. Along with the war necessities certain individuals also carried something along with them that molded their character and formed as a necessity to them. For instance,

18. To prepare the country for World War I, what became an early focus of American industrial mass production? 31

In April of 1942, the Food Rationing Program was put into place by the U.S. Food Administration. Sugar rationing was introduced in 1943 through distribution of Sugar Buying Cards. In 1943, a new list of foods was added to the list of rationed provisions such as meat, cheese, fats, canned fish, canned milk, and

September 1st, 1939 is a day that changed the course of history. Lives were lost, families ripped apart, towns destroyed, and jobs were created. World War II had just begun with the majority of the main countries in our world participating in the war that would ultimately kill millions of soldiers and civilians. Two years later, on December 8th, 1941 after the Japanese surprisingly attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States entered the war fully. During this time, the U.S. enlisted the help of the entire nation; soldiers, factory workers, nurses, and doctors were required both overseas and on the home front. While many men were sent to fight over-seas or prepare at combat training on bases in the U.S., factories and other business were left with a shortage of workers. World War II encouraged, or more accurately, forced, women and wives to leave their homes to begin working. A familiar image that many Americans are familiar with is of the women flexing announcing “We Can Do It!”, which is greatly recognized as a symbol of the female presence in the workforce. Young adults dropped out of school to help out in numerous ways. The amount of children working also increased greatly. Desperate measures to save money and help in the wartime effort lead to many drastic changes in roles and lifestyles of American families on the home front.

like cars, new housing, kitchen appliances, were all banned until the war ended. In industrial

One way that daily life changed in the United States was many sacrifices were made and conservation of certain types of food became urgent. During World War II, many sacrifices had to be made to American daily customs and habits. An example of this was rationing. Many Americans had to eat less so soldiers could eat more (Cohen). Rationing limited the amount of something an American could consume each day. For example, Americans would eat less sugar, drink less coffee, and drive slower so the military could have more sugar, coffee, and gas. Although the post-great depression demands of Americans were very large, a lot had to be sacrificed for the greater good of American soldiers during World War II (Cohen). Americans would have to drive slower

Rationing is defined as a fixed allowance of provisions of food, especially for soldiers or sailors or for civilians during a shortage (dictionary.com). In 1942 a rationing system began to guarantee minimum amounts of things people needed. During World War II, people couldn’t just walk into a store and buy whatever they wanted. Ration books are books that contained coupons where shopkeepers could cut out the coupon for the person to use. War ration books and tokens were issued to each American family, controlling how much gas, tires, sugar, meat, silk, shoes, nylon and other items any person could buy (Rationing on the US Homefront). The Office of Price

As previously stated, America lent out billions of dollars to Great Britain and France. Another expense the country faced was paying all of the soldiers and their families. Women began to be payed an amount equal to what men earn. This was because the women needed to fill in for the men at their jibs while they were at war. They needed to be able to sustain themselves and children. A final expense was producing extra supplies and food during the war. America had to produce food for not only itself, but for the its other allies. Industries had to expand to create supplies for the war. All of this put America in a state of needing money.

World War II was a devastating event that happened in history, especially when people had to face food rationing as well. Food rationing was an issue in the 1940’s which caused people to starve or to use the black market. The black market was an illegal trade system that some people turned to. Food rationing started in 1940 and ended in 1946. There were so many aspects of food rationing such as: ration books, stamps, and the ways it affected people.

Rationed foods were in high demand: meat, sugar, and coffee; milk, eggs, and butter; fish, processed foods, jam,and much more. Material that was rationed during World War II was also vended, especially in America. Gasoline and nylon were big targets in the black market in America. Nylon suppliers switched to help the war effort and scraped making consumer goods. Nylon was a popular product for women as stockings.

The economic impact of WWI meant that there were shortages of all produce, most importantly food. Consequently, rationing of bread, tea, sugar and meat was introduced in 1918. This was widely welcomed by the British public, as a voluntary rationing system had been introduced a year before, and people were eager to see their neighbours taking part as they were.

Fast forward to World War II, and Troops ate C-Rations for up to 90 days. It was generally disliked by soldiers who often did not consume all the parts of the meal due to menu monotony. One of the most famous rations of World War II was the K-Ration, first requested for paratroopers to carry in their pockets. Its components were the most nutritionally balanced of any ration available at the time (“Food Distribution”). Of the 9 requirements for