During the Second World War, you couldn't just walk into a shop and buy as much sugar or butter or meat as you wanted, nor could you fill up your car with gasoline whenever you liked. All these things were rationed, which meant you were only allowed to buy a small amount (even if you could afford more). The government introduced rationing because certain things were in short supply during the war, and rationing was the only way to make sure everyone got their fair share.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor dramatically ended the debate over America's entrance into the war that raged around the world.  As eager volunteers flooded local draft board offices ordinary citizens soon felt the impact of the war. Almost overnight the economy shifted to war production. Consumer goods now took a back seat to military production as nationwide rationing began almost immediately.  In May of 1942, the U.S. Office of Price Administration (OPA) froze prices on practically all everyday goods, starting with sugar and coffee.

War ration books and tokens were issued to each American family, dictating how much gasoline, tires, sugar, meat, silk, shoes, nylon and other items any one person could buy.  View a listing of all rationed items.  Across the country 8000 rationing boards were created to administer these restrictions.  The 1943 Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog contains a list of all rationed farm equipment and tells the reasons and benefits of rationing as well as who is eligible.  Even chicken wire fencing was rationed.  A wartime edition of the American Woman's Cook Book contained revised recipes and gave advice on dealing with food shortages.   Types of rationing included: Uniform coupon rationing (sugar is an example) provided equal shares of a single commodity to all consumers;  Point rationing provided equivalent shares of commodities by coupons issued for points which could be spent for any combination of items in the group (processed foods, meats, fats, cheese); Differential coupon rationing provided shares of a single product according to varying needs (gasoline, fuel oil); and Certificate rationing allowed individuals products only after an application demonstrated need (tires, cars, stoves, typewriters).	Ration coins (introduced in 1944) allowed  retailers to give change back for food  bought with ration stamps.  Read Coin World's description of  ration tokens.

There were heart-tugging reminders urging participation in the war effort for those still on the home front.  To the right is a 1946 announcement concerning the availability of nylon stockings following the war.

The OPA established the Idle Tire Purchase Plan, and could deny mileage rations to anyone owning passenger tires not in use.   Voluntary gas rationing proved ineffective and by the spring of 1942 mandatory rationing was needed.  To get your classification and ration stamps, you had to certify to a local board that you needed gas and owned no more than five tires.

		By the end of 1942, half of U.S automobiles were issued an 'A' sticker which allowed 4 gallons of fuel per week.  That sticker was issued to owners whose use of their cars was nonessential.  Hand the pump jockey your Mileage Ration Book coupons and cash, and she (yes, female service station attendants because the guys were over there) could sell you three or four gallons a week, no more.  For nearly a year, A-stickered cars were not to be driven for pleasure at all.
		The green 'B' sticker was for driving deemed essential to the war effort; industrial war workers, for example, could purchase eight gallons a week.  Red 'C' stickers indicated physicians, ministers, mail carriers and railroad workers.  'T' was for truckers, and the rare 'X' sticker went to members of Congress and other VIPs.  Truckers supplying the population with supplies had a T sticker for unlimited amounts of fuel.  View a T Ration Card.

Ration Booklet for 'C' stamps

The national maximum Victory Speed was 35 miles an hour, and Driving clubs or carpools were encouraged.  The main idea was to conserve rubber, not gasoline.  The interior side of the sticker issued for the car's windshield instructed the driver on this point.  Every citizen, military or civilian, was to do their part.  Even in the popular Warner Brothers cartoons, Daffy Duck exhorts the audience to Keep it under 40!  Bugs Bunny's plunging airplane halts just before impact, out of gas as a consequence of the `A' sticker on its windshield.

Some statements included from V for Victory, America's Home Front During World War II, 1991 by Stan Cohen; and  America at War, 1941-1945 The Home Front, 1990 by Clark Reynolds.