[Slansitartop]

Didn't a lot of that military production capacity come from repurposing civilian infrastructure, like auto plants and the like?

Also, it would probably be harder to bootstrap 2020s-era manufacturing infrastructure than it would be to bootstrap 1940s-era infrastructure.

[sushid]

It was also the first time we had idle housewives become a prominent place in the workforce. We don't really have that luxury in this day and age.

[rubidium]

"Idle"?

They weren't idle (look into what clothes washing alone used to take), but the war effort certainly shifted priorities and also increased the number of women without domestic responsibilities.