History Made Every Day™

OPA Poster

 

Citation:
Color Poster No. 44-PA-962; "Help Your OPA Fight Inflation," 1941-1945, Records of the Office of Government Reports, Record Group 44; National Archives at College Park, MD.

Question

What is the economic system in the United States?

Answers

A capitalist or market economy.

This image of a poster illustrates the public information campaign established by the U.S. government to educate Americans about the meaning and risks of economic inflation, otherwise known as a major rise in prices. After the Stock Market crash of 1929, the United States was thrust into an economic slump known as the Great Depression. High levels of poverty, unemployment, and homelessness quickly followed from the crash, causing many people to question the stability of the market economy, also known as the capitalist economic system. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected in November of 1932; many Americans saw FDR as a beacon of hope capable of restoring economic prosperity. FDR's "New Deal" legislation created many federal programs designed to help boost the economy and protect American workers, yet the growing problem of "inflation," skyrocketed at the onset of World War II in the early 1940s. In response, FDR established the "Office of Price Administration" (OPA) in August of 1941 to place limits on the rise of prices for rent and consumer goods.

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