[LS]

I think the main component of the WW II success involving American industry is that FDR knew he needed business, and he needed it FREE. He unshackled most of the industries he had attacked and harassed during the New Deal, particularly Henry Kaiser. In my book, Halsey's Bluff, I describe a fictional conversation between FDR and Kaiser, but one that I think most likely took place in some form or another. Basically, FDR said to the businessmen: "we'll not regulate you and we'll pay whatever you want. Your end of the deal is you make great ships and good weapons and excellent planes in unbelievable numbers."

[abb]

Just the other day finished “The Colonel: The Life and Legend of Robert R. McCormick” by Richard Norton Smith.

Fascinating account of the battles between FDR and McCormick.