1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:09,560 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:13,240 Speaker 1: show that cruises the highways of history every day of 4 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: the week. I'm Gabeluesier, and in this episode, we're looking 5 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: at the first rollout of gas rationing in the United States, 6 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:31,640 Speaker 1: including why it was more about conserving Robert rather than fuel. 7 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:38,880 Speaker 1: The day was May fifteenth, nineteen forty two, seventeen US 8 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: states instituted mandatory gasoline rationing. The measure was put into 9 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: effect as a way to help the American war effort 10 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: during World War II. Around eight million motorists on the 11 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: East Coast registered for gas cards on the very first day, 12 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: and by the end of the year, the rationing system 13 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 1: had been expanded to all four y eight states. For 14 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 1: more than two years, the United States had debated whether 15 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:08,040 Speaker 1: to stay out of World War II or to join 16 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 1: the Allied forces fighting Nazi Germany and its allies. However, 17 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: the debate was swiftly settled by the Japanese attack on 18 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 1: Pearl Harbor on December seventh, nineteen forty one. The very 19 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: next day, Congress approved President Roosevelt's request for a declaration 20 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 1: of war against Japan and Three days after that, Germany 21 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 1: and Italy declared war on the United States. Life in 22 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: America changed drastically almost overnight. Enlisted men were deployed overseas, 23 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:44,199 Speaker 1: women joined the workforce in droves, and the nation's factories 24 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:49,480 Speaker 1: and auto plants were repurposed for wartime production. The sudden 25 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: build up of the U. S. Army and Navy placed 26 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: a heavy burden on America's supply chain, so to help 27 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: meet the demand, the federal government began restricting civilian conscerssumption 28 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: of crucial materials. This was done through a rationing system, 29 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 1: in which each citizen was allowed to purchase a set 30 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,920 Speaker 1: limit of certain high demand items within a given period. 31 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 1: As the war went on, households would be required to 32 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:19,360 Speaker 1: cut back on everything from sugar, coffee, meats, and cheese 33 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: to metal, paper and even shoes. But the very first 34 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:27,960 Speaker 1: commodity to be rationed in America was rubber car tires. 35 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: In particular, the rationing took effect just a few weeks 36 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and was meant to 37 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,919 Speaker 1: ensure that enough rubber remained available for military use despite 38 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: disruptions to the supply line. Ordinary Americans were prohibited from 39 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: buying new tires and could only have their existing ones 40 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:51,959 Speaker 1: patched or retreaded. And while exemptions were given for vital 41 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 1: civilian services such as hospital workers and police personnel, they 42 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 1: still had to seek approval for those purchases from their 43 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: local ration board. Beginning in February of nineteen forty two, 44 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: the sale of new cars was similarly restricted, as the 45 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:11,680 Speaker 1: nation's auto plants began to focus on producing tanks and 46 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: other military vehicles. Around the same time, the government began 47 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:20,640 Speaker 1: promoting voluntary gasoline rationing as a way to help conserve 48 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: rubber by reducing the number of miles that Americans drove. 49 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 1: But once enemy U boats began targeting tanker ships in 50 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: the Gulf of Mexico, fuel shortages became a concern as well. 51 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:36,880 Speaker 1: This prompted seventeen eastern states as well as the District 52 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:41,119 Speaker 1: of Columbia to introduce mandatory gas rationing in mid May. 53 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 1: The system worked much like it did for other rationed products, 54 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 1: with each citizen's need determining how much they were allowed 55 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:53,520 Speaker 1: to purchase. In the case of gasoline, local ration boards 56 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: issued a sticker to be placed on each driver's windshield, 57 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: along with a corresponding book of ration stamps or DAD coupons. 58 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: The letter on the sticker and the stamps determined the 59 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: gasoline allotment for that particular vehicle. Most motorists were placed 60 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: in the A group, which entitled them to three gallons 61 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: of gas each week, although that would later be reduced 62 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:19,320 Speaker 1: to two gallons. Workers involved in the war effort, on 63 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 1: the other hand, were given B stickers, which let them 64 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:25,320 Speaker 1: purchase up to eight gallons per week, provided that they 65 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: carpooled with at least three other passengers. Freight trucks, emergency vehicles, 66 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 1: mail carriers, and farm tractors were deemed essential and given 67 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,599 Speaker 1: stickers that allowed them to fuel up as needed. The 68 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:43,599 Speaker 1: controversial X sticker also bore no restrictions and was distributed 69 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:48,720 Speaker 1: mostly to politicians and VIPs. When someone went to refuel, 70 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 1: the gas station attendant would check their windshield sticker and 71 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: collect the required number of ration stamps for the fuel 72 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:58,600 Speaker 1: they were allotted. Of course, the driver also had to 73 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,360 Speaker 1: pay for the gas, which at the time was about 74 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:05,920 Speaker 1: nineteen cents a gallon. As you might expect, not everyone 75 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 1: complied with the effort to conserve gas, and it quickly 76 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:13,440 Speaker 1: became a hot commodity on the black market. Some enterprising 77 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: crooks forged phony ration books to claim more than their 78 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: fair share, while others simply siphoned the precious fuel out 79 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:25,160 Speaker 1: of their neighbour's gas tanks. However, these were risky endeavors, 80 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 1: not only because they were illegal, but because it was 81 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:32,040 Speaker 1: possible to lose your access to ration gas. People who 82 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 1: were caught abusing the system, or even just speeding, were 83 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 1: liable to have their ration privileges revoked altogether. By the 84 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 1: fall of nineteen forty two, the thread of enemy submarines 85 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:48,880 Speaker 1: had decreased, but rubber shortages remained a crucial concern. This 86 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 1: led the government to institute nationwide gas rationing on December first, 87 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:56,680 Speaker 1: a program which remained in effect until the end of 88 00:05:56,720 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: the war three years later. Along the way day, several 89 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,279 Speaker 1: other attempts were made to reduce gas consumption and conserve 90 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:08,360 Speaker 1: the nation's rubber. Bicycle sales were restricted in the same 91 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 1: way as automobiles, and a nationwide victory speed limit of 92 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:16,239 Speaker 1: thirty five miles per hour was introduced, since higher speeds 93 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:20,360 Speaker 1: are known to wear down tire tread more quickly. Although 94 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: inconvenient for American families, all of these rationing efforts did 95 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:29,239 Speaker 1: net positive results. The total number of vehicle miles traveled 96 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:32,839 Speaker 1: dropped twenty one percent between nineteen forty one and nineteen 97 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 1: forty two, and then another twenty six percent in nineteen 98 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:40,679 Speaker 1: forty three. That equated to a savings of roughly eight 99 00:06:40,839 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: billion gallons of gas and more than enough rubber tires 100 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:48,839 Speaker 1: to keep the military rolling along until Japan's eventual surrender. 101 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: I'm Gay Blues Gay, and hopefully you now know a 102 00:06:55,800 --> 00:07:00,120 Speaker 1: little more about history today than you did yesterday. If 103 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:01,840 Speaker 1: you'd like to keep up with the show, you can 104 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:06,919 Speaker 1: follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show, 105 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:10,240 Speaker 1: and if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free 106 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: to send them my way by writing to This Day 107 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Casby Bias for producing 108 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 1: the show, and thanks to you for listening. I'll see 109 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:38,640 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another day in History class.