World War II: Mobilization

AP US History· difficulty 3/5

U.S. Real GDP, 1939-1945 ($B, 1940 dollars) 1939 1942 1945 $220 $95

Which factor most directly produced the economic surge shown?

  • A

    Massive federal deficit spending on war production, financed largely by war bonds and taxation.

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  • B

    Expansion of consumer spending after rationing was lifted in 1942.

  • C

    Mass immigration providing labor for new factories.

  • D

    A return to balanced budgets by Congress.

Explanation

Federal spending soared from about 9billion(1939)toover9 billion (1939) to over90 billion (1945), funded by the Revenue Act of 1942 (broad income tax) and bond drives. The War Production Board redirected industry, doubling real GDP and ending Depression-era unemployment.

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