The U.S. at War

War Powers Act (Dec. 1941) Gave the president emergency authority to create new executive agencies & reorganize existing ones established controls over trade initiated defense contracts provided for censorship War Powers Act (March 1942) Enabled the president to requisition property, enforce priorities, establish ration controls, and regulate transportation services Office of Price Administration (Jan. 1942) Set price ceilings on all goods except farm produce, & established rent controls to protect consumers’ interests & prevent inflation War Production Board (Jan. 1942) Supervised production & supply authorized to obtain raw materials & allot them to certain industries made contracts regulated production & eliminated nonessential civilian production

National War Labor Board (Jan 1942) Mediated labor disputes to prevent strikes in war industries; was later given authority to stabilize wages Office of War Information (June 1942) Coordinated war news issued by government agencies, & used press, motion pictures, & radio to convey this info to Americans Office of Civilian Defense (1942) Directed a program of civilian defense in case of a direct attack on the U.S. Plans were made for air raid precautions, first aid instruction, & fire protection. “No strike” pledge During the war, unions agreed not to stop production by striking. War in the Pacific The Japanese won victory after victory in the Pacific until they suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Midway (June 1942) American military planners adopted an island-hopping technique, which proved successful in fighting the Japanese. (more battle stuff will come soon)