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War Production Board
War Production Board, US civilian agency, headed by Donald M. Nelson (1888–1959), which was formed in January 1942 to organize economic mobilization for the war, encourage industrial expansion, and develop policies controlling every aspect of production. One of its main tasks was to divide scarce materials between the military and civilian production sectors which it was authorized to do under the Second War Powers Act passed in March 1942. It also had the power to stop or ration the production of civilian goods and in agreement with the military, which retained responsibility for procurement contracts, to set production quotas and schedules to eliminate bottlenecks and cut down on waste. To speed the conversion of industry to war production, its first decision was to outlaw the production of all cars and light trucks after 31 January 1942; and by June, when the Smaller War Plants Corporation was formed as part of it, the production of consumer durable goods had been cut by 29%. It was, Nelson later commented, not so much industrial conversion as industrial revolution.
Though effective at first, the Board's authority was undermined by other, autonomous, agencies and Nelson had difficulty in dealing with the services and keeping the Board unified. In February 1943 Roosevelt agreed to replace him with Bernard Baruch. He then changed his mind, but power soon shifted to Nelson's deputy, and in May 1943 Roosevelt created the Office of War Mobilization which assumed much of Nelson's role as a policy-maker. The following June, Nelson's premature plans for reconversion to a civilian economy were so strongly opposed by the services that he was forced to resign and was replaced by Julius A. Krug in September 1944. Krug, too, wanted reconversion to start, but the military won the argument and it was not until April 1945 that wartime economic controls began to be dismantled. See also USA, 2. |
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Cite this article
I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "War Production Board." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 7 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "War Production Board." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (February 7, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-WarProductionBoard.html I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "War Production Board." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved February 07, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-WarProductionBoard.html |
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War Production Board
War Production Board (WPB), former U.S. government agency, established (Jan., 1942) by executive order to direct war production and the procurement of materials in World War II. The chairman (Donald M. Nelson, 1942-44; Julius A. Krug, 1944-45) was granted sweeping powers over the nation's economic life. The WPB converted and expanded the peacetime economy to maximum war production; controls included assignment of priorities to deliveries of scarce materials and prohibition of nonessential industrial activities. During its three-year existence the WPB supervised the production of $185 billion worth of weapons and supplies. Businessmen serving with the WPB were sharply criticized by a Senate committee headed by Harry S. Truman . WPB organization changed frequently, and disputes with the armed services occurred. After the defeat of Japan, most restrictions were quickly lifted, and the WPB was abolished in Nov., 1945. The Civilian Production Administration was set up to take over the remaining WPB reconversion functions. |
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"War Production Board." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 7 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "War Production Board." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 7, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-WarProdu.html "War Production Board." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 07, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-WarProdu.html |
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War Production Board
WAR PRODUCTION BOARDFederal War Production Board (WPB) was an executive branch office in charge of mobilizing the U.S. economy for World War II (1939–1945). Established within the Office of Emergency Management on January 16, 1942, WPB had authority to obtain financing, enter contracts for procurement of industrial materials, and issue directives to private enterprises. With this authority WPB allocated resources between the military and civilian production sectors. Civilian production that was wasteful or unnecessary was stopped, while scarce or valuable goods were rationed. Quotas on consumer purchases were created for a host of commodities. Commercial automobile manufacturing plants were expanded under the WPB's direction, and then converted for the production of armored vehicles, jeeps, and bombers. Although WPB was effective at first, its authority eventually became diluted by other agencies with overlapping power, including the Office of War Mobilization. WPB was officially replaced by the Civilian Production Administration on October 4, 1945. See also: Office of Emergency Management, Rationing |
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"War Production Board." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 7 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "War Production Board." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 7, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3406401018.html "War Production Board." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. 2000. Retrieved February 07, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3406401018.html |
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WPB
WPB see War Production Board . |
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Cite this article
"WPB." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 7 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "WPB." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 7, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-WPB.html "WPB." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 07, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-WPB.html |
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WPB
WPB See WITHIN-PLATE BASALT.
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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "WPB." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 7 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "WPB." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (February 7, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-WPB.html AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "WPB." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved February 07, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-WPB.html |
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WPB
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Cite this article
FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "WPB." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 7 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "WPB." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 7, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-WPB.html FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "WPB." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Retrieved February 07, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-WPB.html |
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