Built for War

Between 1940 and 1942, the U.S. government embarked on the largest industrial building program in history, constructing 2,500 new factories, shipyards, and raw materials plants that became the backbone of America's "Arsenal of Democracy." This meticulously researched book reveals the hidden truth behind World War II production: the federal government, not private industry, built and owned virtually every major wartime facility, from aircraft factories to shipyards to synthetic rubber plants. Rigby explodes enduring myths about industrial heroes like Henry Ford and Henry Kaiser, showing how these figures operated government-owned facilities while taking credit for federally-funded achievements. Drawing on extensive archival sources, the book demonstrates that without massive government investment totaling over $15 billion, private industry would never have built the infrastructure needed for Allied victory. In challenging our understanding of American capitalism's greatest triumph, Rigby reveals it as government enterprise disguised as private achievement.