War Effort Quotes
“Edsel Ford was unhappy with his father’s decision but at the time could not stand up to him. His entire life he struggled to live down the fact that he did not do his part in WWI. He broke with his father when Henry supported Adolf Hitler, and arranged to have the Ford Motor Company totally devoted to war production in WWII against his father’s wishes. Edsel’s sons both served in the military in WWII. As for Roosevelt, all four of his sons fought in WWI and one was killed in action.
His wife also had a Doctorate in Chemistry—the 2nd woman to achieve that in Germany—and she was distraught that he had been the leading scientist developing not only the poison gas which the Germans introduced in WWI, but he also developed the tactics of use and personally went to the battlefield and supervised the first major gas attacks. This was much against the ethical value of most scientists and Jewish ethics in particular. Haber had been a close colleague of Albert Einstein and the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, and while Einstein was trying to get scientists to sign a petition against the war, Haber was developing the first weapon of mass destruction. After Haber gave this response to his wife, we left to go to the front to supervise another major gas attack. His wife committed suicide. Haber, while a German national hero to militaristic Germany, never again had the kind of pre-war relationship that existed with Einstein and many other fellow scientists.
This is an interesting historical quotation because it shows how easily the United States commandeered private property during World War II. All it took was a letter from the Secretary of War. This particular quotation and letter had further historical significance. The school was acquired as the first facility for the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos. This was where the atomic bomb was built.
Corporate Executives had urged that the laws requiring overtime pay for more than a 40 hour week be put in abeyance for the remainder of the war. Increased production was necessary for the war effort and manpower was getting short. When the Automobile Workers Union proposed that the wealthy executives also accept “patriotic” limits, the executives wanted little part in that plan. The manpower pressure was relieved when women entered the manufacturing plants but most executives and male union members and officers did not think that women could possibly be even as productive. They were wrong as women learned critical skills as they had the opportunity and out-produced the pre-war men.
Adams is quoting from Cato, a play by Joseph Addison.
The Shakers were an American religion and pacifists Lincoln learned. He was so impressed with their sincerity and way of life that he exempted Shaker men from the draft—the first conscientious objectors formally recognized in America. However, Lincoln made the statement to the Shakers which greatly impressed them and caused much reflection. Quakers had been pacifists also, but until the Civil War Draft there was no mechanism to test.
