Question

What special powers did new government agencies have over industry and labor during the war?

Answer 1

During World War I, government agencies like the WIB and NWLB had special powers over industry and labor, such as seizing factories to prevent disruptions in production. These wartime measures fostered improved labor standards and unionization. Similarly, during the Great Depression, New Deal programs indicated a shift towards government involvement in the economy.

Step-by-step explanation:

During wartime, the U.S. government established various agencies such as the War Industries Board (WIB) and the National War Labor Board (NWLB), which were endowed with special powers over industry and labor to ensure peak efficiency and production for the war effort. Agencies like the WIB, under Bernard Baruch, were empowered to seize control of factories, mines, and private enterprises to prevent inefficiencies and labor disputes from impeding the production of necessary military materials. Furthermore, the NWLB worked to negotiate between factory owners and employees over wages and work hours to avoid strikes. These boards also worked in conjunction with labor unions, resulting in improved labor conditions such as the promotion of the eight-hour workday, a living wage, and the right to unionize, which significantly increased union membership.

These measures were critical in maintaining steady industrial output during wartime, but they introduced a shift in paradigm regarding government intervention in private industry. This was particularly true for New Deal programs during the Great Depression, which lay the groundwork for federal government involvement in peacetime. Both instances of government intervention during World War I and the Great Depression provided templates for large-scale economic control and influenced labor policies that persisted thereafter.

Answer 2

The prevailing interpretation of the wartime experience gave unprecedented ideological support to those who desired a big federal government actively engaged in a wide range of domestic and international tasks. To many, it seemed that a federal government capable of leading the nation to victory in a global war had a similar capacity to remedy peacetime economic and social ills. Accordingly, in 1946 Congress passed the Employment Act, pledging the federal government to act as America’s permanent macroeconomic warden.