Any Bonds Today?

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Wars cost money. World wars cost lots of money. Having seen Germany overrun Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Luxembourg in a matter of months, President Franklin Roosevelt knew the United States would eventually be drawn into the conflict. As a result, he and other government officials began preparations for financing. Many sources indicate that Roosevelt’s advisors favored British economist John Maynard Keynes’s philosophy of tax increases and enforced savings programs which theoretically allows increased spending while lowering the risk of inflation.

US Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr. disagreed, preferring a voluntary loan system which he began planning a national defense bond program in the fall of 1940. The concept was to combine the attractiveness of baby bonds that had been implemented after the Great War with the patriotic element of WWI’s Liberty Bonds.

On the advice of political scientist Peter Odegard, the Treasury promoted the baby bonds as “defense

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bonds.” Three new series of notes: Series E, F, and G with Series E targeted at individuals. Like the baby bones, they were sold for as little as $18.75 for a $25 bond that matured in ten years. Large denominations between $50 and $1000 were also available. For those who couldn’t afford to buy an entire bond at once, savings stamps could be purchased, then collected in a Treasury-approved stamp album until the individual had accumulated enough for a bond purchase.

Even wonder why Series E? They followed the long-forgotten Series A, B, C, and D during the Great Depression and marketed as a safe investment to encourage saving.

Unsurprisingly, there were committees to handle the savings bonds. The War Finance Committee was responsible for supervising sales, and the War Advertising Council handled promotion through a variety of means. Partially replacing the “drive” technique of WWI, a continual campaign was implemented that utilized a payroll deduction plan.

Hollywood got onboard and supported the bond program in many ways. Film stars and musicians attended bond rallies that were held across the nation. Celebrities conducted auctions such as Jack Benny’s violin and a kiss from Hedy Lamarr. The music industry also did its part. Sheet music often included patriotic messages on the front such as “Buy US Bonds and Stamps.” Kate Smith raised $39 million through a radio broadcast (similar to Jerry Lewis’s Muscular Dystrophy telethons from the 1950s through the 2010s). Irving Berlin wrote “Any Bonds Today” and contributed all his royalties to the program.Norman Rockwell’s painting series, Four Freedoms, toured the country and raised $132 million. Movie theaters and stadiums sometimes offered free admission with the purchase of a war bond that were sold in the lobby.

The government seems to have thought of everything. In addition to their defense bonds, they sold “civilian bonds,” mostly to member of historic peace churches such as Mennonites, Amish, Church of the Brethren, and Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). In total, 33,006 were sold totaling $6.74 million.

Over the course of the war, eight drives would be held raising approximately $185 billion toward the war effort.

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War’s Unexpected Gift

Love and war don’t mix. Or do they?

Eager to do even more for the war effort, nurse Gwen Milford puts in for a transfer from a convalescent hospital outside of London to an evac hospital headed across Europe. Leap-frogging from one location to the next, nothing goes as expected from stolen supplies to overwhelming numbers of casualties. Then, there’s the handsome doctor who seems to be assigned to her every shift. As another Christmas approaches without the war’s end, can she find room in her heart for love?

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Linda Shenton Matchett writes happily-ever-after historical Christian fiction about second chances and women who overcome life’s challenges to be better versions of themselves.

Whether you choose her books set in the Old West or across the globe during WWII, you will be immersed in the past through rich detail. Follow the journeys of relatable characters whose faith is sorely tested, yet in the end, emerge triumphant. Be encouraged in your own faith-walk through stories of history and hope. Visit her at http://www.LindaShentonMatchett.com