The Arsenal of DemocracyBacking the Attack

By: Kyle ScheelEDU 2908:00-9:15

Scan from Yankee Air Museum

What is the Arsenal of Democracy?

• “The Arsenal of Democracy” is an important part of Michigan and United States history.

• It was not a single entity but, a network of industries, thousands of corporations, companies, and job-shops, and thousands of dedicated workers.

• Together they worked to produce the goods needed to fight and win a world war.

Why did Democracy Need an Arsenal?

• World War II began in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland.

• Great Britain and France declared war on Germany in retaliation and, to defend European sovereignty.

– France was invaded and conquered by Germany in 1940.

– Great Britain was left to defend Europe alone.

• By 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, known as FDR, knew war would find the United States soon.

Why did Democracy Need an Arsenal? Cont’d

• FDR knew Great Britain could not hold out for long against the Germans in 1940 without help.

• The Germans had been besieging the British by air and by sea for nearly two years.

• Great Britain was a resource-poor island nation and it was being starved of all material necessary for survival.

• FDR knew aiding Britain was essential. They were the only opposition between the Germans and the USA.

Why did Democracy Need an Arsenal? Cont’d

• December 29, 1940: FDR called on America to be “the Arsenal of Democracy”, to keep England afloat, and to produce essential goods for the national security of the United States (Davis 2007).

• Lend-Lease was setup in 1940 to provide Great Britain (and other allies) with war goods.

• The United States would sell and loan those goods to Britain.

• Much of what was needed for both countries had to be produced in great quantities and, quickly.

From the office of the White House…

www.bilerico.com

Complete Speech and Audio Download

The Swing into Action• “The Arsenal of Democracy” soon became synonymous

with Michigan (Wrynn 1993).

• It was a well developed and experienced manufacturing center.

• It had access to many resources (e.g.: steel, wood).

• Michigan’s waterways allowed for easy transport of resources/products around the state/between states.

– Also provided access to the Atlantic Ocean.

• As a result it produced much of the materials for Lend-Lease and for the USA’s defense needs.

• Man power was to become scarce at the time of greatest need.

Production in Peril?

• The Selective Service Act of 1940 was the first peace time draft (Wrynn 1993).– Men between the ages of 21 and 30 had to register

for the draft.

• Men began to be called away for military service.

• A man power shortage of even greater proportions would be experienced in the aftermath of the December 7th, 1941 Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

• Voluntary enlistments in the military soared.

• The draft ages were adjusted to men between 18 and 45 years old.

Production in Peril? Cont’d• “The Arsenal of Democracy” was under pressure,

but would overcome.

• Lack of “man” power was dealt with by the introduction of women to the workforce and with a migrating population.

• By wars end nearly 40% of all women worked outside the home (Wrynn 1993).

• In some production plants women made up 90% of the work force (Wrynn 1993).

• African Americans eased worker shortages too.– From the South they migrated North by their

thousands to take on vital war jobs.

The call was put out… Women were needed!

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/126_rosi.html

Scans from Michigan Military Technical & Historical Society Collection

Rosie the Riveter

Picture by Norman Rockwell

•“Rosie the Riveter” was not a real person.•She was the image that represented all women in the war effort.•They worked grueling and demanding jobs, many that were thought only a man could do.•They proved their ability and their deserved equality in the work place, even if they rarely got it.

Rosie the Riveter Song & Video

Who says the woman’s place is in the home?

The Arsenal of Democracy helped to spur on the feminist movement.

www.shorpy.com

www.shorpy.com

Production in Peril? Cont’d

• Material shortages plagued production as well (Davis 2007).

• Scrap drives helped to reclaim resources.

• Rationing was widespread to conserve all goods deemed essential to the war effort.

• Alternatives were found through synthetics.

• The citizens of the USA sacrificed to keep the Arsenal operating to capacity.

Typical wartime “Get in the Scrap” type posters.

images.wisconsinhistory.org www.ohiohistorycentral.org

It was a Success!

• Through adversity triumph was achieved for “the Arsenal of Democracy”.

• The many companies that made up this monster of production performed beautifully.

• The majority of government contracts had been met by the end of the war in 1945.

• The USA was able to out produce its enemies on every front.

The General

• General Motors was the biggest producer of war goods (Wrynn 1993).

• It produced appr. 880,000 vehicles, tens of thousands of aircraft engines, and appr. 12,000 fighter planes (Wrynn 1993).

• GM also turned out 3 million rifles, 2 million machine guns, 120 million artillery shells, and 39 million rifle and pistol cartridge cases (Davis 2007).

General Motors built 854,000 trucks like this during WWII

Scan from Michigan Military Technical & Historical Society Collection

The contributions of Ford Motor Co.

Products shown: B-24 bomber, CG-4 glider, M-8 & M-20 Greyhounds, M4 Sherman Tank, M10 Tank Destroyer, Jeep, Seep, G8T truck, Bomb Truck, Aircraft Tug, Aircraft Engine & Tank Engine, Anti-Aircraft Director Unit

Scan from Yankee Air Museum

In WWII Ford Motor Company produced

• 8,685 B-24 Bombers

• 57,851 Aircraft Engines

• 26,979 Tank Engines

• 283,354 Jeeps

• 12,778 Amphibious Jeeps

• 77,604 G8T Trucks

• 17,008 Aircraft Drop Tanks

• 1,202 Anti-aircraft director units

• 1000 M-4 Sherman Tanks

• 1,038 M-10 Tank Destroyers

• 7,053 Bomb Trucks• 8,219 Cargo Trucks• 9,498 Tents• 3,025 Aircraft Tugs

(Cowdery 2001)

Ford Motor CompanyWillow Run Bomber Plant

• With War looming on the horizon, the Army Air Corps asked Ford to become a manufacturer of the B-24 bomber.

• In March of 1941, construction began on the Willow Run Bomber plant. Designed by the same man who designed the Warren tank plant, Albert Kahn.

• The building would dedicate 7,069,000 square feet of floor space to the construction of the heavy bomber (Kidder 1995).

• Once everything was in place, the plant was producing close to one airplane each hour or 23 per day!

• By wars end, Willow Run had 6,792 aircraft fly out of the factory airfield, and another 1,894 shipped to be finish assembled at other facilities (Kidder 1995).

Scan from Yankee Air Museum

Ford’s Willow Run Bomber Plant

Chrysler on Tracks and Tread• Chrysler also played a huge roll in the American

war effort as a part of “the Arsenal of Democracy”.

• Among other facilities, Chrysler operated the Warren Arsenal tank plant.

• Through the course of the war they were able to turn out 25,000 tanks (Davis 2007). – More than the entirety of total German tank

production for the war.

• Chrysler also made 3.5 billion rifle and pistol cartridge cases, 225,000 trucks, and more than 18,000 aircraft engines (Davis 2007).

Laying of the wood block floor at the Warren Tank Plant (1941).

www.life.com

The Warren Tank plant in full production (1942).

www.life.com

A Few other Michigan Companies Involved in War Production…

Aeronautical Products IncAllied Chemical & Dye CorpAmerican Metal Products CoAmerican Radiator and Standard Sanitary Corp, American

Blower CorpApex Broach Co IncArrow Tool and Reamer CoAsam Mfg CoBower Roller Bearing CoBriggs Mfg CoBudd Wheel CoBundy Tubing CoBurroughs Adding Machine CoCabot Carbon CoCastoloy CorpChampion Spark Plug CoChicago Pneumatic Tool CoChrysler Kercheval PlantChrysler Desoto PlantChrysler Jefferson PlantChrysler Plymouth PlantColman Frederick and Sons IncColonial Broach CoContinental Die Casting CoContinental Motors CorpCross Gear and Machine CoDalzen Tool and Mfg CoDetroit Broach Co IncDetroit Brass & Malleable WorksDetroit Cutboard Products CorpDetroit Diesel Engine DivDetroit Gear - Aircraft Parts DivDetroit Gear - Machine DivDetroit Gear - Machine DivDetroit Harvester CoDetroit Lubricator Co Detroit Reamer and Tool CoDetroit Transmission Div

Differential Wheel CorpEaton Mfg Co - Spring DivEclipse Counterbore CoEureka Vacuum Cleaner CoEx-cell-o CorpFederal Mogul CorpFederal Screw WorksFisher Body DivFord Motor Co Lincoln PlantGemmer Mfg CoGeneral Electric CoCadillac Motor Car DivGraf V L CoGraham Paige Motors CorpGreenfield Tab and Die CorpHolley Carburetor CoHuck Mfg CoHudson Motor Car CoHupp Motor Car CoJacobs Aircraft Engine CoKelsey-Hayes Wheel CoLong Mfg DivLyon IncMcCord CorpMcLaren Screw Products CoMichigan Die Casting CoMichigan Steel Casting CoMichigan Steel Tube Products CoMichigan Tool CoMicromatic Hone CorpMidwest Tool and Mfg CoMotor Products CorpMotor Tool Mfg CoMurchey Machine and Tool CoMurray Corp of AmericaNational BroachNash Kelvinator CorpNational Tool Salvage Co

Packard Motor Car CoParker Wolverine CoPlymouth Steel CoPutnam Tool CoRafco Tool and Mfg CoRedford Tool and Die CoRepublic Aircraft Products DivRevere Copper & Brass IncRotary Electric Steel CoS and S Tool and Mfg CoSal Way Steel Treating CoShatterproof Glass CoSherwood Brass WorksSperry Corp, Vickers IncSteel Materials CorpTernstedt Mfg DivTimbeam IncTimken Detroit Axle CoTompkins Printing Equipment CoTungsten Carbide Tool CoU S Broach CoUnited Drill and Tool Corp – Whitman & Barnes?Vinco CorpWelch Industries IncWolverine Tube CoWoodall Industries IncYoung L A Spring & Wire CorpPalmer-Bee CoStandard Tube CoChrysler Dodge Bros Main PlantDetroit Tap and Tool CoGear Grinding Machine CoEx-cell-o CorpFord Motor CoChrysler Highland Park PlantFargo Motor CorpNational Twist Drill and Tool CoDetroit Universal Duplicator Corp

http://www.heritageresearch.com/ourlibrary/databases/wwii/authorized/michigan.htm

A Notable Product…the Steel Pot• The United States made 22 Million M1 Helmets in WWII.

– 20 Million were made in Detroit by McCord Radiator Co. An average of 16,000 helmets each day! (Arnold 1997).

• The liners were made in Michigan too.

– 600,000 by Capac Plastics located in Capac.

– 450,000 by St. Clair Rubber Company located in Marysville (Arnold 1997).

M1helmet.com

A Notable Product… Buckley Class Destroyer Escorts and Landing Craft

• During WWII Defoe Shipbuilders of Saginaw built several types of ships for the effort, but their largest contribution were 28 Buckley Class Destroyer Escorts and 47 Landing Craft Infantry, Large (LCI(L)) (Cowdery 2001).

Scans from Michigan Military Technical & Historical Society Collection

A Recap• The state of Michigan was known as “the Arsenal of

Democracy” during WWII because of its massive production efforts.

• The Arsenal of Democracy was made up of many thousands of companies and businesses throughout the state.– Without them turning out the bits and pieces that

would end up as a finished product, success would have been impossible.

• It kept the free world afloat with an unending supply of the vital materials it needed to wage war against the German and Japanese aggressors.

• It introduced women to the workforce in large numbers and spurred on the feminist movement.

• Without Michigan’s industries and people the outcome of WWII may have been very different.

References• Arnold, C. (1997). Steel Pots. San Hose, R. James Bender Publishing.• Cowdery, R. (2001). All-American Wonder. Minneapolis, MN: Victory

WW2 Publishing Ltd.• Davis, M. (2007). Detroit’s Wartime Industry, Arsenal of Democracy.

Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing.• Kidder, W. (1995). Willow Run, Colossus of American Industry. USA:

Harpers Collins Publishers, Inc. • Wrynn, D. (1993). Detroit Goes to War. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks

International Publishers & Wholesalers.• Heritage Research Center. WWII Industrial Facilities: Authorized

Federally Funded Facilities. 10/8/10 http://www.heritageresearch.com/ourlibrary/databases/wwii/authorized/michigan.htm

• Rosie the Riveter by the Four Vagabonds. Youtube. 10/7/10. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CQ0M0wx00s

• Roosevelt, F. (1940). Fireside Chat 16. Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. 10/7/10.http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3319

Grade Level Content Expectation

7.2.3 Impact of WWII on American Life – Analyze the changes in American life brought about by U.S. participation in World War II including.

• mobilization of economic, military, and social resources

• role of women and minorities in the war effort

• role of the home front in supporting the war effort (e.g., rationing, work hours, taxes)

HIGH SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES CONTENT EXPECTATIONS, V. 10/07, MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION