| Prior to December 7, 1941 there
was no "war effort". Although factories had been churning out
goods for the Lend Lease program, gearing up for and producing the
necessary materials for a 2 front war was a whole different matter!
There were multiple problems never before imagined or dealt with. And if
the allies were to achieve victory, America had to strong on the war
front and the home front. The factories had to run smooth as silk.
Labor and management were not on the best of terms in the late 1930's and early 1940's. Some of the most heated and violent labor/management conflicts had ended in management capitulation and the creation of the American labor unions, but not before heated strikes and violence against union members. And this surely was no time for labor strife. Every able bodied man and woman was going to be needed to "do their part". Whether on the front lines or the production lines. One of our myriad strengths and magical attributes of the USA, as a country, is our ability to band together in times of national disaster. And these posters aided that effort. Getting everyone to work in harmony and without prolonged strikes (there still were a few during the war) was given high priority. In every factory, every office, near every water cooler or break room, and even in the bathrooms there were posters. And they seemingly worked! They beckoned for safety, hard work, racial unity, and played on the heart strings to the lazy and late worker. DO YOUR PART OR SOMEONE DIES!. Not only did America produce the implements of war, she brought herself out of a miserable depression, and set the stage for the baby boomers. And forever changed the perception of the woman in the work force. As the cliché goes, greatness comes from the darkest of times. |
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