The economic and military potential of the United States industrial mobilization planning, 1919-1945

This dissertation examines the activities of Army economic mobilization planners in the United States between 1919 and 1945. It describes and analyzes their contribution to the creation of a political economy in America, and more specifically to the development of the World War II war economy. It traces the metamorphosis of economic mobilization from the make-shift World War I experience to an institutionalized national security concept to a politically charged series of actions creating the World War II war economy. By following the concept of economic mobilization over the two decades prior to World War II, it becomes evident that the United States was intellectually prepared for the materiel procurement requirements of a modern war in 1941. While force levels were low and equipment shortages staggering, there were both plans and sound concepts for obtaining the necessary materiel quickly enough not to threaten the nation's security. This study also clarifies the role played by military planners in the development of the modern political economy in America. They contributed to the discussions in the United States regarding economic planning and government involvement in the economy, while working within the parameters of the liberal American economic tradition of a free marketplace and private ownership of property.