The U.S. Government has conducted five War Loan drives during this conflict. All of them have been aimed primarily at the increased incomes and savings of individuals and have had three objectives: to finance the war and arm the forces of the United Nations; to combat inflation; to sharpen the sense of the magnitude of the war effort to the people by making them all active participants.

The program was conceived in the spring of 1941. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, the program was swiftly accelerated and January, 1942, was recorded as the first billion-dollar month in the sale of bonds.

Each campaign is carefully planned by the U.S. Treasury's War Finance Committee, staffed by 1,000 employees including those in branch offices in the 48 states, Alaska and Hawaii. In addition, the Treasury has on call a large number of volunteer advertising writers to assist in the preparation of war bond advertisements.
 

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Yeoman Second Class Mildred L. Sorenson, of the U.S. WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), calls attention to the importance of the Fifth War Loan Drive. This WAVE is stationed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. (Collection Shelby Stanton)

The impetus for each loan originates in the Treasury Department but spreads swiftly throughout the nation. People are the backbone of each bond campaign. It is a program for and by the people and it is they who benefit by their loans to the government. Bonds issued in small denominations, on a discount basis, sell at 75 percent of the value at maturity ten years from the date of issuance. The investor receives 2.9 percent interest on an annual basis when the loan is repaid at maturity.

A volunteer army of 5,000,000 has been raised for the house-to-house canvassing which forms a vital part of each drive. These men and women go from door to door, visit factories and farms soliciting bond pledges. The Treasury Department has found this one of the most satisfactory methods of bond-selling. Those who sign the pledge-cards, promising to buy in designated amounts, fulfill their pledges in virtually all cases.
 
 

For each drive, local organizations lend all their resources. Stores and retailers put bonds on the sales counters. Banks, labor and industry, the armed forces, schools and fraternal organizations all marshal their forces.

During the latest drive, stores in a mid-western state sold nothing but bonds for 15 minutes each day. In another drive three armored units from the Army ran a cross-country race from the Atlantic to the Pacific, stopping in each county on route until the local quota for that day was met.

Campaigns are planned scientifically and each is based on a study of the previous drive. The office of the director of advertising, press and radio of the Treasury's War Finance Committee is flooded with ideas for posters and advertisements. Various promotional ideas are carefully sifted and the most valuable are given to the press, radio and motion pictures.

Once the campaign is underway, every means possible is used to promote participation in the war through bond buying. Motion picture-stars, musical and radio talent rally to the effort.  Arturo Toscanini, world famous conductor, lent his services for a series of war-loan radio concerts.  Irving Berlin,  one of America's favorite song writers, composed the rousing song "Any Bonds Today'' which is used as the theme for every War Bond broadcast.

The attitude of the American people has changed since the early days of bond campaigning.  At first some wage-earners were reluctant to join the pay-roll deduction plan through which employers subtract bond-money from salaries in percentages voluntarily selected by the workers. The reasons given for not buying bonds had to be analyzed. The most popular excuse was economic. Combating this, War Loan promotion centered on erasing the "I cannot afford it" attitude. Posters and advertisements compared the sacrifice made by civilians with that of the fighting man.
 
 

Americans no longer have to be so strongly urged to buy bonds. The enthusiasm of the campaigns is contagious. Workers get together to purchase bonds that will buy a specific article of material for the armed forces. Many such groups are working for a bomber, a hospital plane, a tank, or an ambulance as their company’s gift to the fighting man.
 

The Babcock family, Alfred, Marie and daughter Jean, all employed at the Marinship Yards on the U.S. Pacific Coast, buy one war bond a week each. Workers at Marinship in California pledged themselves to buy $1,400,000 in war bonds during the Fifth War Loan Drive. (Collection Shelby Stanton)

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The sums raised during bond drives are eloquent testimonials of the people's determination that no effort and no expense is to be spared in winning the war quickly, and war financing has become the concern of every man, woman and child in the nation.

Since the program was inaugurated, 60,000,000 Americans have bought $32,612,496,000 worth of War Bonds, and insurance companies, savings banks and corporations have purchased bonds equaling $59,387,504,000. Despite high taxes, 27,000,000 workers subscribe weekly from ten to 20 percent of their salaries amounting to $470,000,000 a month.
 

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During the U.S. Fifth War Loan Drive a giant cash register in busy Times Square in the heart of New York City recorded New York bond sales. (Collection Shelby Stanton)