A common argument among historians is that FDR’s New Deal policies did not end the Great Depression; it follows that the immense government spending induced by the outbreak of war would lift America out of an economic downturn and set the nation on a path of prosperity and world power. This argument is in line with Keynesian economic theory, which advocates government spending during economic recessions and depressions (exacerbated recessions) in order to restore national economic well-being. I’ve always been incredibly interested in World War II as a time period, as many young historians are; as such, let’s explore whether or not the Great Depression truly was ended by the advent of World War II.
World War II forced the American economy to recalibrate for its first and most prominent total war. In a total war, an entire society is dedicated to the engaging in war: men old and young set off to fight the enemy; the government initiates mass spending to finance the conflict; women and children work long hours in factories to produce war materials, be it ammunition, weaponry, tanks, or planes. These industries were critical to allowing the government to move from relief and reform spending at home to funding new production with the intent of waging war. The war allowed America’s government to literally create new markets where none had previously existed; the industrial revolution preceded this development by actually creating war behemoths like tanks, planes, and more sophisticated artillery, which had not existed in the same manner a century ago.
In this sense, its important to distinguish the historical development between the importance of the military and that of the government and America. Although it is true that the military required an excess of material to wage war (more so than in any war the world had ever seen before) this need for production was not the primary factor in reinvigorating the American economy; it was rather the government’s actions that transformed what America made. Financing the numerous departments and industries required to successfully conduct a war gave birth to a new sector of the American economy, which in turn reversed an economic downturn caused by the Great Depression.
This initial jump catalyzed private spending on military capital, leading to corporations specializing in that business. The proliferation of this economic sector is exactly what President Eisenhower referred to as the military-industrial complex, and it began towards the Great Depression’s end and the advent of World War II. If that complex was allowed to involve itself too thoroughly with the government, Eisenhower argued, it would degrade American cultural values, impede foreign relations, and develop a monopoly in the American economy not seen since the probusiness era of the 1920s and, going further back, the industrial conglomerates such as Carnegie Steel and Standard Oil. By considering current government spending on the military and interactions with corporations producing war materials, we can observe the impact of the military-industrial complex today, and whether Eisenhower’s warning was heeded or not.
An American Inquiry 
