Technological Developments, the Beginning of The Atomic Age &

Economic Impact of World War II in the USA

By: Erika LaCasse, Vinay Revanker, Palak Joshi, Khadijah M, Adi Chandrasekaran &

Seraj Desai

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Military Technology & Mobilization of Social Resources RADAR:

The Second World War changed military capability in a positive way. Rapid development of

technology took place and new weaponry was created. While boosting the economy, immense

supplies of goods were produced since the United States took advantage of their already existing

mass-production technology.

The war significantly helped boost the development

of radar. It was discovered in the 1930s but it became

popular during World War II. With it, nations were able to

detect positions and the speeds of objects such as ships and

airplanes. This mechanism enabled military to receive key

information during wartime thus helping them create plans

and develop strategies. Radar could be used in broad

daylight or at night and was resistant to any type of weather. The only disadvantage was that anti-

radars such as the chaff and jammers were created. (Wright,

185)

Due to the radar's ability to detect early warning signs, it is

considered to be a major factor behind the victory of the Allies.

The U.S.A. was the quickest to improve developments and

innovations in comparison to Germany and Japan who were

slower in doing so. (Wright, 186-187)

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Military Technology & Mobilization of Social Resources AIRCRAFT CARRIERS :

Aircraft Carriers enabled the United States vast amounts

of military power over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, where

their adversaries were present. The invention of Aircraft carriers

also ended the age of the battleship. Even though battleships

have more firepower and plating, they are very vulnerable to

aerial attacks and cannot escape as easily due to their bulk.

An American expert on Japan: “the Japanese will never

surrender if they have to give up their emperor whom that regard

as a god. Do we know if the Japanese military, who are

directing the war, will agree to any negotiations for

peace? How long are we going to wait for the Japanese

to negotiate” (Wright, 151)?

In conclusion, Germany was unaware of the American

spirit, and because of this they were startled at the

sheer esprit de corps of the American economy, and

were not prepared for the magnitude of our

technological development and manufacturing.

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Medicine and The War Penicillin and Blood Plasma:

Alexander Fleming developed penicillin in 1928, yet it wasn’t

mass-produced until the war and collaboration of Howard Florey

and Ernest Chain. In 1945, 600 billion units of Penicillin were

manufactured by the USA thanks to the War Production Board. Due

to its availability during the day of the invasion of Normandy, it

successfully fought against gangrene. (Wright 198)

Blood Plasma was given to soldiers suffering from severe blood loss. Fortunately, it was

compatible with all blood types. Blood Plasma also

propelled treatments for measles and jaundice. Since

blood plasma could be dried and stored in bottles while

instantly available for use, it was extremely portable.

(Wright 198)

DDT was another important medicine. It’s an

insecticide used to control horrible diseases soldiers

suffered from on the battlefield such as yellow fever and

malaria. (Wright, 199)

Morphine syrette was a way for medics to attended the wounded soldiers with morphine, a

strong painkiller. Due to being administered efficiently and quickly, soldiers were provided with the

medicine they needed. (Wright, 199)

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Medicine and The War Mental Problems and Doctors

Surgical removal of dead tissue reduced the danger of infection and delayed closing of

wounds. Limbs that would have to be amputated, were saved by orthopedics. Healthcare and

research got funded by agencies while simultaneously, federal support for medical research

increased.

Being in war had many risks to the soldiers' health, not only physically but also mentally.

Many soldiers suffered from mental problems and trauma from the horrors they saw on the

battlefield. 85-90% of the soldiers could be treated on the battleground and become normal again

(Baughman). The others, however, were serious cases and had to be treated in military hospitals.

For this reason, psychiatry became more popular during world war 2. Before, psychological

problems were ignored but with soldiers coming home unstable, it came to a spotlight. So,

naturally, there were many social concerns with the method of treatments as it was a new practice.

During this time medics were a necessity. Doctors were hastily trained for war and sent out.

This created more doctors, but not as efficient

which is why after the war, fear grew for low quality

doctors. Yet since there were more doctors, many

new medical discoveries were being made during

the war. Medical research increased rapidly.

Federal support grew, and healthcare along with

research was being funded by big agencies.

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Changes In US Industry, Science and Technology, and Mobilization of Economic Resources

The US established the War Production Board in 1942 to divert the economic priorities to

help the needs of the military. During the war, America started to get a shortage of many key

materials such as steel, rubber, and aluminum. Since the

Lend-Lease act was signed, America had to make sure that

they were able to give and receive these key materials. (De

Pennington, 154) On January 16, 1942, President Roosevelt

created the WPB to ensure that there was a control of

production and that the needs of the wartime country were

met. Many new industries such as rubber were opened

resulting in improvement of military weapons such as the radar and the atomic bomb. (Wright, 195)

Changes in Industry:

To further keep the economy profitable, the

government guaranteed profit resulting in a

codependence of military needs, government contracts,

and business production. WWII also put out the “family

run” aspect of agriculture, resulting in a more

mechanized production. One of the most important and effective was the increasing membership in

labor unions. By 1945, The USA had produced more than twice the amount of war supplies then

Germany, Italy, and Japan Combined. (Wright, 197)

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Changes In US Industry, Science and Technology, and Mobilization of Economic Resources FURTHER WARTIME CHANGES

WPB ensured that many peacetime

industries were converted into wartime production.

Production would have to be at its maximum and

products made and delivered at the shortest time

possible. The most astonishing was the change in

the automobile industry. WPB stopped all the

manufacturing of private cars and diverted its

attention to making war efficient materials such as cars and tanks. For example, Chrysler made

fuselages for airplanes and GM made guns and tanks. One of the most iconic war era time cars

can still be seen today: the off road Jeep.

Technology:

Improvements were not just for on hand combat, they

were also used in improving enemy position. The radar, first

introduced in the 1930s, became a crucial aspect and weapon

in the Second Great War.

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The Economic Effects of the War on the USA Economics:

During the Second World War, the

United States embraced the economic boom, or

a great upward trend in the economy. Usually,

the economy undergoes a boom as demand

(the want) for a certain product increases.

Because the public’s desire for the product

increased, companies would want to produce

more to gain a greater profit and resultantly,

companies would hire people for labor to actually produce more. The fact that more people were

hired caused the unemployment rate (amount of

people without a job) to decrease, thus meaning

more people had money to spend on other things

and the chain continued.

More specifically, the United States

oversaw an economic boom in war production

especially weapons and tanks. Because the United States was preparing for war, the military

demanded many tanks and weapons to increase chances of winning the war. Therefore, the public

sector responsible for the making or war goods underwent a massive economic boom.

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The Economic Effects of the War on the USA Economics:

Labor unions also had a major part in this economic boom. Labor unions are groups of

workers that usually advocate for more pay and better working conditions through strikes. Strikes

are when workers refuse to work and resultantly, the company conforms to the worker’s desires in

an attempt to keep on producing because without workers, the company would collapse. During

this time, many unions implemented a “no-strike” plan that didn’t allow any workers to go on strikes

in an attempt to keep production rates at a maximum (De Pennington, 154). They decided on this

plan, although contrary to their beliefs, because unions saw the danger of not producing enough

(losing the war).

In addition, because the majority of

men were overseas fighting in the war,

women took on their jobs in factories and

began mass production. Soon, women gained

a reputation for producing products very

efficiently and quickly.

With all of the money that was being

made in profits from weapons producers, much of it went towards investment for creating more

efficient ways to make products that later would maximize profits even more. This prosperity chain

continued throughout the war.

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Bibliography / Works Cited

Herman, Jan Kenneth. "Medicine, World War II." Americans at War. Ed. John P. Resch. Vol. 3: 1901-1945. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 108-110. U.S. History in Context. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.

"Medicine and World War II." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman,

et al. Vol. 5: 1940-1949. Detroit: Gale, 2001. U.S. History in Context. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.

Wright, John. Access to History for the IB Diploma: The Second World War

and the Americas 1933-45. London: Hodder Education, 2013. Print.

De Pennington, Joanne. Modern America: The USA, 1865 to the Present. London: Hodder Education, 2005. Print.

Picture Works Cited :

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