Faced with the dilemma of financing WWII President Franklin D. Roosevelt received adamant advice to raise taxes and introduce a forced savings program. Instead, FDR wisely followed the advice of Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgentthau, JR., who working with Peter Odegard, a political scientist specialized in motivating masses (read propaganda) created the War Advertising Council.
The result was a whopping $187.5 Billion ($2.5%2B Trillion dollars adjusted for inflation into 2009 dollars) to fund the war effort. Just as important as the money, the War Bonds became a rallying cry for the public to express its patriotism, follow its iconic leaders’ calls for action, and allowed for 85 million Americans to actively participate in the War effort.
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