American World War II Rationing
A Recipe for Triumph
By: Rhyder Cowart, Middle Tennessee State University
World War II began when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. As war in Europe erupted, America battled strains from the Great Depression. Burdens on America’s economy caused by these two catastrophes forced President Roosevelt to sign Executive Order 8875 in August 1941; thus, establishing the Office of Price Administration (OPA) and enacting maximum price regulations and consumption restrictions for many consumables. In December 1941, after the Japanese bombardment of the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, the United States officially entered World War II. The aftermath forced the OPA to include additional commodities to the list of rationed products due to their necessity overseas.[1] Regulatory rationing implemented by the United States Government resulted in the creation of propaganda designed to invoke a political cultivation of sacrifice.
Following Pearl Harbor, America’s involvement in both the European and Pacific Theatres deepened significant deprivations on the home front. Various resources became unavailable due to servicemen’s needs. Rubber, metal, and certain textiles became scarce, but consumable shortages posed the most significant consequences to the everyday lives of Americans. The Japanese occupation in the Pacific created the inability for sugar to be imported, and canned foods, such as soups, were withheld as they were shipped overseas for soldiers' consumption. The rationing regulations on fuel and tires minimized the transportation of fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats. The OPA allocated most commodities for war use, and the home front received the remainder. These actions made obvious the need for sacrifice by Americans due to this international conflict.[2]
Roosevelt attempted to promote his agendas for supporting the war prior to Pearl Harbor. His initial strategy pleaded with Americans to unite against Fascism and the Nazi Regime; however, at first, he was unsuccessful in gaining support for America’s involvement in the war. Following his inefficacious attempt at national condemnation of Nazi Germany, Roosevelt redirected his approach to create a unified nation on the basis of religion. Correspondingly, Roosevelt developed a new political structure in America centered around sacrifice. Propaganda tactics invoked fear among the American population and led them into acceptance. War Bond posters painted the buildings of cities displaying a mummified soldier and the words “I died today…What did you do?”[3] The Roosevelt administration created this illusion that being unsupportive of the war effort was unpatriotic. Due to the implemented fear tactics, Americans were more than happy to oblige to war time restrictions. The government painted a picture that sacrifice on the home front provided the soldiers overseas with the necessities required to secure victory. This mentality carried throughout the duration of the war and into the next presidency.[4]
Whether due to moral conviction or developed guilt, Americans continued to accept the rationality of sacrifice. In May 1942, the OPA issued Ration Book One, beginning the process to regulate various essentials. The OPA supplied families with this ration book to purchase certain commodities such as sugar and coffee. Book One contained the rules and regulations associated with stamp utilization, the punishments for failure to comply with said regulations, and information pertaining to the book’s owner. Only those who were given authorization, such as owners and register family members, were permitted to purchase goods. Ann Dickerson was a child living in Mississippi during rationing times. She recalled her mother using oleomargarine, a creamy white substance that came in a clear bag with a yellow tablet inside, because true butter was not available. To form oleomargarine into a butter-like resemblance, the bag required kneading until the tablet dissolved and changed the entire oleomargarine into a yellow color. Rationing required homemakers became adept at using modified products like these.[5]
In January 1943, Farrar and Reinhart publishing company circulated a cookbook to assist consumers in providing adequate meals in light of scarce resources. Recipes provided additional nutrients to combat the lack of meat. The Good Housekeeping Cookbook and Wartime Supplement contained a section dedicated to the conservation and cultivation of food management. Within the cookbook, readers received a detailed five-step method to aid them in a new process called point rationing. This step-by-step instructional guide on conserving various consumables played a vital role in America’s survival of food scarcity.[6]
As the war continued to devastate Europe, the need for more product rationing became imperative. In 1943, the OPA issued Ration Book Two, allowing Americans to purchase canned fruits and vegetables. As with Ration Book One, Book Two included instructions to assist the consumer in properly using the stamps and a pamphlet to inform the consumer of the reasoning behind rationing. The pamphlet enclosed stated, “Every week we are sending shiploads of canned goods to feed our fighting men and our fighting allies in Africa, Britain, and the Pacific Islands. We must see that they get all the food they need.”[7] Ration Book Two contained red and blue stamps featuring a letter and number, and this letter/number combination corresponded to the price of most products. Multiple stamps could be combined to equal the points needed to purchase a certain good. Blue stamps applied to canned fruits and vegetables. This ration book tightened American kitchen cupboards with the intention of ensuring food for deployed troops.[8]
The European and Pacific Theatres continued to ravage American commodities on the home front. In the summer of 1943, Ration Book Three debuted and added to the restrictions experienced by many. This ration book contained numerous pages of numbered stamps highlighting the point system. Other pages were dedicated specifically to coffee, sugar, and shoes. The growing use of propaganda to support war efforts appeared within its pages. Each stamp, whether point or unit based, displayed pictures of military equipment needed for Allied victory in the war. Examples of these included tanks, aircraft, and naval vessels. The government continued to push the mindset that Americans must sacrifice for the war effort.[9]
As 1943 closed, Americans faced a new form of devastation. The OPA issued Ration Book Four forcing more hardships onto those already imposed by the three previous ration books. This new ration book contained four separate colors: red, blue, green, and black. Blue stamps continued to be used for canned fruits and vegetables. After the implementation of Ration Book Four, red stamps were utilized for the rationing of meat. The OPA introduced green stamps to be used in coordination with the blue stamps for high consumption foods, and black stamps were supplementary stamps that could be utilized for possible changes in policy.[10]
Possessing enough stamps did not always guarantee access to rationed goods. Sensible meat became the most difficult commodity to procure due to the increased need for meat in the war zones. The Ogden-Standard Examiner’s issue on March 18, 1943, consisted of an advertisement by the American Meat Institute titled “Our Country’s Crisis in Meat.” This advertisement anticipated a rise in black market industries because of rationing and the lack of available meats. It also insisted Americans take an oath to refuse involvement in the black market and to report those they knew were. The increased awareness failed to produce the desired loyalty to free market enterprise.[11]
Red meat such as ribeye, chuck, and ground beef became a rarity on the home front. Americans were forced to change their cooking and shopping methods to adapt to this new norm. To combat shortages, the government attempted to persuade Americans to incorporate one meatless meal each week. The consumption of animal organs and wild game increased due to the scarcity of prime cuts of meat. This, however, did not prevent the ever-growing epidemic of black marketing as it was the only method through which some Americans were able to acquire certain vital items. This period of uncertainty caused an increase in shortages, inflation, and strain on American families. Unfortunately, the governmental gavel did not come down on these black marketeers for several years.[12]
Propaganda paved a path of persuasion by attempting to convince Americans to forfeit their food to support the war effort. The United States Government, in correlation with the Office of War Information (OWI) and Bureau Motion Pictures, produced a short film to convince Americans rationing was the best policy. The video opened with scare tactics discussing the millions starving globally and the responsibility Americans had of insuring they were fed. The nation’s food and resources were being used to defeat the evils of the Axis powers in Europe and the Pacific. As the video progressed, it reinforced its narrative of going without, rationing, and sharing minute resources, proclaiming such acts as the ultimate civic duty to America. This short film was not the only form of propaganda used to convince the American population. The government created the OWI specifically for propaganda purposes. Led by Archibald MacLeish, the OWI relayed specific “accurate” (governmental corruption) information pertaining to the war directly to the public. However, the OWI lost much of its funding in 1943 after accusing the government of misleading the public about specific economic hardships, such as food shortages.[13]
Vernon Grant, Don’t Waste Food, Lick the Platter Clean, 1944, print, Washington, D.C.
The American people did not need a source to blame but rather an alternative. The Tennessee Virtual Archive World War II Collection contained an interview of Margaret Sanders conducted by Susan Gordon. Sanders had ties with the Nashville Council of Garden Clubs’ Board and the cultivation of victory gardens. The Tennessee Board of Education permitted the Nashville Garden Clubs to teach women how to create said gardens and preserve fruits and vegetables through canning and other methods. It was no secret that rationing caused a great strain on the nation, but victory gardens symbolized a newly budding hope for the American people.[14]
Victory Gardens became a way for Americans to reclaim a small portion of the freedoms and control the war stripped from them. Mary Frazer, a Tennessee resident, wrote to her brother Captain Preston Frazer explaining the popularity of the gardens. She stated it seemed everyone immersed themselves into producing and cultivating. She was hopeful victory gardens would give her community the surge of energy needed to overcome the deprivations. The thought of a bountiful harvest invoked a sense of pride in her. Doris McCusker, wife of a defense contractor, also exchanged correspondence discussing Victory Gardens. From May 1942 until October 1943, McCusker wrote to her father about the hardships she and her family were facing. On May 23, 1942, McCusker informed her father that a portion of her garden failed to produce a harvest. Thankfully, the most nutritional and sustaining crops such as potatoes, radishes, and tomatoes were able to be harvested and utilized. McCusker explained she was looking forward to attempting to replant the failed crops in future planting periods. However, by late May 1943, her garden flourished with lettuce, radishes, muskmelons, pumpkins, squash, peas, and tomatoes.[15]
McCusker’s letter on June 25 highlighted the barter system used by many Americans. She picked five quarts of strawberries from her next-door neighbor and was charged fifteen cents per quart. However, instead of paying in monetary funds, McCusker paid in eggs. On July 31, McCusker informed her father of the kindness of her neighbor. He permitted her to pick as many tomatoes from his garden as she wished, which allowed her to can three quarts and one pint for later use. She concluded the letter with encouragement as her acorn squash and corn were ready to eat, and her tomatoes were ripening. By the summer’s end, she reported the tomatoes from her previous letter had ripened, yielding 22 quarts of canned tomatoes. McCusker explained peaches were $5.50 a bushel, and the family was unable to afford this type of expense. She informed her father of 60 hens she attained from a neighbor who was deploying. Neighborly kindness and assistance bloomed in the face of adversity. Roosevelt’s campaign of sacrifice bled into all aspects of life throughout America. Halloween 1943 encountered the conclusion of letters. McCusker aimed to persuade her father to speak to the ration board about his need for additional stamps as he, like many Americans, were running out. McCusker explained citizens on special diets were allotted additional stamps with a recommendation from a medical professional. She further expressed her sympathy for her father explaining even her family does not have adequate stamps, let alone meat. Victory gardens attempted to bridge the gap a lack of stamps left. However, even for families whose gardens flourished, like the McCusker’s, Americans still lacked adequate supplies.[16]
Though the government could not create more commodities for American families, they attempted to overshadow the negativity associated with this sacrifice. In 1944, Universal Newsreel, in corporation with the United States Government, created a short video highlighting the rationing of food and gasoline. The video displayed American women receiving their rationing books. Universal Newsreel also explained to viewers about how to utilize the book and the “how” behind rationing. This piece of propaganda attempted to paint a beautiful picture as the narrator praised American’s creativity. The OPA utilized the rose-colored glass effect by sharing stories of families who overcame disastrous experiences by falling back on the government’s mantra of doing without. One scene conveyed the idea of meatless Tuesdays portrayed in a shop window. The sign read, “Okay, Uncle Sam! We’ll cooperate to the letter. We’ll even do you one better. Tuesday is meatless and also is eatless for we will be closed on Tuesdays. Gallagher’s, famous for steaks.”[17] The government’s propaganda campaign was strengthened when women were pressed into saving unused meat fat for four cents per pound and extra meat points. America utilized every method and incentive available to form its people into one sound mindset of ration, save, and do without.[18]
Victory gardens supplemented food lost to the war; however, gasoline could not be cultivated in the same way. Beginning in 1945, Mileage Ration Books were issued to conserve fuel. Each book contained 80 coupons which amounted to approximately 400 gallons of petrol. However, most individuals were only allotted three gallons a week. In August of 1945, another Mileage Ration Book was issued to individuals without commercial vehicles. They were allocated 15 coupons a month, significantly less than before. The booklet forced these individuals to sign each stamp with their name and address. The intent was to damage black market sales and protect the consumer. This became another way American’s administration rolled out propaganda designed to illicit compliance.[19]
The scarcity of necessities continued to run rampant despite the access to items through the black market. Fuel regulations forced automobiles to leave the roadways, and Americans were required to cultivate ingenuity within their kitchens. The national food supply was critically low leading President Truman to write a letter addressing Americans and pleading for their aid to remedy the situation. Propaganda could no longer paint over the realities of life in America. The letter titled, “A Message About Food,” illustrated the presidential seal and the words “From the President of the United States” written atop it. President Truman wrote:
In this fourth year of war the need for food is greater than ever before.
I call upon every American to help increase the Nation’s food supply…
By growing larger and better victory gardens and seeing them through
to the harvest.
By preserving our food at home or in a community canning center.
By conserving food in every possible way—wasting not an ounce.
Our food will make a real contribution to the final victory and the peace.
There can be no lasting peace in a hungry world.[20]
From 1941 until 1945 America refined her way of life. The Roosevelt and Truman administrations created propaganda designed to breed patriotism through the need and development of sacrifice. The foregoing of commodities remained the main objective of their viewpoint. Propaganda repeatedly told Americans on the home front their family’s need remained subordinate to the needs of soldiers fighting the war. Americans were eager to support their country and aid in the war effort, even at the expense of their own sustenance. Banning together, Americans cultivated creativity through their use of victory gardens, culinary ingenuity, and their desire to unite as a nation of one sound mind. America overcame adversity by sacrificing for her soldiers overseas. These books and stamps soon became a recipe for triumph.
Notes
[1]US Department of the Interior, “Sacrificing for the Common Good: Rationing in WWII (U.S. National Park Service),” National Parks Service, June 3, 2016. https://www.nps.gov/articles/rationing-in-wwii.htm
[2] Marshall, "Rationing: The National WWII Museum: New Orleans." The National World War II Museum, Published July 11, 2018, https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/rationing
[3] Mark H. Leff, “The Politics of Sacrifice on the American Home Front in World War II.” The Journal of American History 77, no. 4 (1991): 1308. https://doi.org/10.2307/2078263
[4]Andrew Polk, Faith in Freedom: Propaganda, Presidential Politics, and the Making of An American Religion, (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2021): 13; Mark H. Leff. “The Politics of Sacrifice on the American Home Front in World War II.” The Journal of American History 77, no. 4 (1991): 1308. https://doi.org/10.2307/2078263; Ibid, 1296–1318.
[5] Office of Price Administration, “War Ration Book One,” United States Government, Leesburg, Alabama, 1942.; Rhyder Cowart and Ann Dickerson, Interview of Ann Dickerson Concerning World War II Rationing, February 28, 2023.
[6] Farrar & Reinhart, The Good Housekeeping Cookbook and Wartime Supplement, January 1, 1943.
[7] Office of Price Administration, “Why Canned Fruits, Vegetables, and Soups are Rationed,” United States Government, January 1943, Paragraph 1.
[8] Office of Price Administration, “War Ration Book Two” United States Government, Leesburg, Alabama, 1943.; Office of Price Administration, “How to Use Your New Ration Book to Buy Canned or Bottled Fruits, Vegetables, Soups, and Juices; Frozen Fruits and Vegetables; Dried Fruits,” United States Government, January 1943.
[9] United States Office of War Information, “War ration book no. 3,” United States, ca. 1943, Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017697619/
[10] Office of Price Administration, “War Ration Book Four,” United States Government, Leesburg, Alabama, 1943.
[11] American Meat Institute, “Our Country’s Crisis in Meat.” The Ogden-Standard Examiner, p. 2, March 18, 1943. https://newscomwe.newspapers.com/image/597187815/?terms-Black%20markets&pasid
[12] Alicia Depler and Franklin & Marshall College, “American Women in World War II: The Impact of Rationing and Shortages on Eating and Food Procurement.” (State College: Pennsylvania State University, 2016). https://journals.psu.edu/ne/article/download/60343/60302/63119;Alexander Uhl, “Crack Down on Black Market,” The Gazette and Daily, p. 13, York, Pennsylvania, July 10, 1945. https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/65916918/?terms=Crack%20down%20on%20black%20market&pqsid=CYU91hPp9zcqclyVAmxSSw%3A25112%3A347487776&match=1
[13] Office of War Administration, “Wartime Nutrition,” Nuclear Vault, 1943. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ8Wq7VNHHg&feature=youtu.be; Andrew Polk, Faith in Freedom: Propaganda, Presidential Politics, and the Making of An American Religion. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2021): 51.
[14] Susan Gordon and Margaret Sanders, Interview with Margaret Sanders about Victory Gardens and Shortages during World War II. https://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15138coll18/id/1173
[15] Mary Washington Frazer, Letter to CPT George Preston Frazer. “Dearest Preston, 43193_02.” TEVA, March 30, 1943. https://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15138coll18/id/2319; Doris B. McCusker, “Dear Dad,” Letter to Edd Owen, Kansas City, Kansas, May 23, 1942; Doris B. McCusker, “Dear Dad,” Letter to Edd Owen, Kansas City, Kansas, May 30, 1943.
[16] Doris B. McCusker, “Dear Dad,” Letter to Edd Owen, Kansas City, Kansas, June 25, 1943.; Doris B. McCusker, “Dear Dad,” Letter to Edd Owen, Kansas City, Kansas, July 31, 1943.; Doris B. McCusker, “Dear Dad,” Letter to Edd Owen, Kansas City, Kansas, August 17, 1943.; Doris B. McCusker, “Dear Dad,” Letter to Edd Owen, Kansas City, Kansas, October 31, 1943.
[17] Universal Newsreel, “Yesterday’s Big Story,” Critical Past, ca. 1944. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4sG-Xle5gwU&feature=youtu.be
[18] Ibid.
[19] Office of Price Administration, “Mileage Ration Identification Folder,” United States Government, Leesburg, Alabama, February 16, 1945.; Office of Price Administration, “Mileage Ration,” United States Government, Leesburg, Alabama, July 10, 1945.
[20] President Harry S. Truman, “A Message about Food.” Smithsonian Learning Lab. https://www.smithsonianeducation.org/idealabs/wwii/primary_sources/home-front-ammunition.pdf
