Encyclopedia > United States Political Leadership in World War II
The United States retained a fully civilian democratic government structure throughout World War II. Certain expediencies were taken, but on the whole, the basic structure and function of the Federal government remained unchanged by the war. This was exemplified by the holding of elections as scheduled in 1944. It is not then necessary for the sake of this article to discuss the fundamental structure of the United States Government. Many civil liberties were suspended during this time, especially for Japanese-Americans, many of whom were interred by the US Government on no other basis than their ethnic heritage.
The United States entered World War II with the same Administration that had been at the helm of the nation since 1932, that of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This Administration had been preparing for war for a while by the time of Pearl Harbor, but once the war began, numerous changes occurred, primarily in the form of a plethora of new agencies to meet wartime needs.
President of the United States
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Vice President Henry A. Wallace won the election of 1940, and were at the helm of the nation as it prepared for and entered World War II. Roosevelt sought and won an unprecedented fourth term in office in 1944, but this time with Harry S. Truman as his Vice President. Roosevelt, who had been a victim of Polio early in life, died in April 1945, and Truman assumed the Presidency through the end of the war.
Foreign Economic Administration under Director Crowley, formed September 1943 from the Office of Economic Warfare, the Office of Lend Lease Administration, and the Office of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation Operations.
Office of Price Administration under Administrators Henderson, Brown, and Bowles, formed April 1941 (originally named the Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply).
Office of War Mobilisation and Reconversion under Chairmen Byrnes and Vinson, formed in May 1943 as the Office of War Mobilisation.
War Production Board under Chairmen Nelson and King, formed in January 1942 from the Office of Production Management and the Supply Priorities and Allocation Board.
Economic Stabilisation Board under Chairmen Byrnes and Vinson, formed in October 1942 as the Office of Economic Stabilisation.
War Manpower Commission under Chairman McNuff, formed in April 1942.
WorldWarIIWorldWarIIWorldWarII also known as The Great Patriotic War (in Russia and other parts of the former USSR for the war after June 1941) and The War Against Aggression (before the involvement of the UnitedStates and Japan) was fought chiefly between the Allies and the Axis Powers.
However, Japan had invaded China already in 1937 the (Second Sino-Japanese War), which sometimes is considered the start of the Second WorldWar (Withdrawal of the Japanese after their defeat also catalysed the Chinese Communist Revolution.) Nazi Germany surrendered on May 7, 23:50 PM 1945, ending the war in Europe.
After the war, many high-ranking Nazis were prosecuted for war crimes, as well as the mass murder of the Holocaust committed mainly on the area of General Government, in the Nuremberg trials.
The UnitedStates entered WorldWarII with the same Administration that had been at the helm of the nation since 1932, that of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Vice President Henry A. Wallace won the election of 1940, and were at the helm of the nation as it prepared for and entered WorldWarII.
Office of War Mobilisation and Reconversion under Chairmen Byrnes and Vinson, formed in May 1943 as the Office of War Mobilisation.
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