Office of Price Administration
The Office of Price Administration (OPA) was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in August 1941, shortly before the United States entered World War II. It emerged from previous stabilization efforts during World War I and was formalized as an independent agency in January 1942 under the Emergency Price Control Act. The OPA was tasked primarily with setting ceiling prices for various goods, excluding agricultural products, and managing the rationing of scarce commodities during the war.
Under the leadership of its first administrator, Leon Henderson, the OPA faced significant controversy and opposition, particularly regarding its policies and their impact on the political landscape. After Henderson's departure, subsequent administrators included Prentiss Marsh Brown and Chester A. Bowles. The OPA's functions were eventually transferred to the Office of Temporary Controls in late 1946, and the agency was officially abolished in May 1947, with its remaining responsibilities reassigned to the Department of Labor and other agencies.
Throughout its existence, the OPA's regulation of the economy sparked debates about government intervention in the free market, garnering criticism from conservative factions while also being recognized for its role in combating inflation and reallocating resources for the war effort.
Office of Price Administration
Identification Domestic affairs agency within the executive branch of the U.S. government.
Also Known As OPA
Date Established on August 28, 1941
The OPA determined prices and rationing of goods and services during World War II. Its power to regulate the market produced much political controversy and affected the outcome of congressional elections.
In late August, 1941, four months before the United States entered World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established, by Executive Order 8875, the Office of Price Administration (OPA). It was seen as an outgrowth of World War I stabilization committees. It became an independent agency in January, 1942, under the Emergency Price Control Act, having the authority to determine ceiling prices of goods (excepting agricultural produce) and to ration scarce commodities. The controversial policies and practices of the first administrator, Leon Henderson, provoked much opposition, and he was blamed for Democratic losses in the congressional elections of 1942. Roosevelt replaced him in December, 1942, with Prentiss Marsh Brown, who served only briefly before returning to private law practice, and then Chester A. Bowles, Connecticut’s state director of price administration. Most of the OPA’s functions were transferred to the newly created Office of Temporary Controls by President Harry S. Truman’s Executive Order 9809 of December 12, 1946. On May 29, 1947, the OPA was abolished, with its remaining functions transferred to the Department of Labor and other government agencies.
Impact
The regulation of the free market was a major controversial policy in American politics, although similar methods had been applied in World War I. Conservative critics of Roosevelt and Truman objected strongly, and Republicans used the OPA as a propaganda tool in the congressional elections of 1942 and 1946. The OPA proved largely effective in fighting inflation and making sure that scarce materials were reallocated from civilian to military uses.
Bibliography
Koistinen, Paul A. C. Arsenal of World War II: The Political Economy of American Warfare, 1940-1945. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2004.
Manning, Thomas G. The Office of Price Administration: A World War II Agency of Control. New York: Holt, 1960.