On December 29th, 1940, a year before the United States entered the Second World War,

President Franklin Roosevelt declared the United States to be an arsenal of democracy.

When the U.S. finally did enter the war war they faced a serious problem.

The population of men who would normally be called upon to work in the factories

were now being sent off to war.

The solution of the problem proved to be incredibly simple.

Learn more about Rosie the Riveter and women on the home front during the Second World War

on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. If you look at the big picture, the primary thing that the United States brought to the

table in World War II wasn't soldiers, it was equipment.

At some point in the late 19th century, the United States surpassed the United Kingdom

as the world's largest economy.

As the country industrialized in the first several decades of the 20th century, it managed to avoid much of the

devastation which afflicted Europe during the First World War. When the Second World War

started, many of the industrialized nations of Europe either completely went offline or were severely restricted

due to U-boat attacks on supply ships.

The United States began supplying the Allies in 1939 and 1940, which is why FDR called America the Arsenal of Democracy.

The U.S. had a massive advantage over every other belligerent country in the war.

For starters, the U.S. was protected by two giant oceans from all of the fighting and destruction taking place in Europe and Asia.

This meant that they were protected from raids or strategic bombing attacks which could target industrial centers.

And secondly, the US was a really big country with a large amount of

land. Perhaps most importantly, the United States in the 1940s was self-sufficient in all the raw materials

necessary for heavy industry.

...