Rationing on the Homefront in WWII

Ration Book Application

In A Season for the Heart, readers are introduced to the rationing prevalent during WWII at the beginning of Chapter 1. Of course, the primary reason vital resources were rationed was because they were needed for the war effort. But maintaining public awareness of—and support for—the war and the men and women serving in the military was another important concern. I remember my mom talking about that issue, and not very positively! Rationing and price controls were effective tools, however, and quickly became part of everyday life. People learned to conserve and recycle goods and deal with shortages. 

Rationing was overseen by the federal Office of Price Administration (OPA) in conjunction with other war offices, including the Wartime Production Board (WPB). It was managed at the local level by volunteer rationing boards. People registered for and received their ration books at their local rationing board offices and could also apply for ration certificates or additional coupons.

The ration program had four systems.

1. certificate rationing (for items like tires, cars, and stoves that required applying for a certificate to buy)

2. differential coupon rationing (for things like gasoline and heating oil that some people needed more than others)

3. uniform coupon rationing (for things like shoes, sugar, and coffee rationed at fairly stable amounts per person)

4. point rationing (for items like meats and canned goods where supply and demand varied greatly).

WWII Ration Stamps

Rationed non-food items included tires, cars, bicycles, gasoline, fuel oil and kerosene, solid fuels like coal, stoves, footwear, and typewriters. Consumers had to present both the appropriate paperwork and the money to pay for these items.

Rubber was essential to the war effort. The military needed millions of tires for jeeps, trucks, and other vehicles. Tires required rubber. Rubber was also used to produce tanks and planes. But when Japan invaded Southeast Asia, the United States was cut off from one of its chief sources of this critical raw product. Consequently tires were the first product to be rationed in the U.S., beginning in January 1942, just weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Replacement tires could only be obtained through application to the local rationing boards, which issued certificates to those whose vehicles met the regulations. That included medical, fire, and police personnel, as well as the owners of buses for public transportation, trucks needed for delivering food and fuel, garbage trucks, and farm tractors.

Everyone else was allowed keep 5 tires–4 on their passenger vehicle, and one spare. Any extras had to be surrendered. Existing tires could only be patched or have the treads replaced, when needed, and speed limits were reduced to minimize wear on tires and brakes. Good, usable tires became so valuable that the boards warned car owners to keep track of the serial numbers on the tires they owned in case they were stolen.

Here's a short video about rationing on the homefront from YouTube. It's amazing what you can find there!

Of course, no system is perfect, and this one wasn’t either. Whenever the OPA announced that yet something else was going to be rationed, people flocked to the stores to buy up as much of it as possible, which led to shortages. Store clerks did what they could to prevent hoarding by limiting what they sold to individuals or by requiring people to return an empty container of the product before they were allowed to purchase a full one.

Black market trading, also mentioned in Chapter 1, involved virtually everything that was rationed. The OPA encouraged citizens to sign pledges promising not to buy any restricted goods without using ration points, and State legislatures passed laws calling for harsh punishment for those involved in black market operations. Nevertheless, there was soon a steady stream of hearings and arrests for both merchants and customers who skirted the law. 

In my next blog post, we’ll take a look at the practical aspects of rationing and other war efforts on the home front. Be sure to check back often for updates and news, drawings for freebies, recipes, and more!