Jared Friedman(@snowmaker):One of the great chapters in America's history is how we converted our economy to wartime production in the 1940s and used our industrial power to win WWII. I'd learned in high school that we converted car factories into tank factories. But I never knew the full story until last month, when I read Freedom's Forge, the definitive book on this. It turns out the true story is even crazier and more impressive. In honor of July 4th, here's the story of how America won WWII, one factory at a time.

2026.07.04 19:07

One of the great chapters in America's history is how we converted our economy to wartime production in the 1940s and used our industrial power to win WWII. I'd learned in high school that we converted car factories into tank factories. But I never knew the full story until last month, when I read Freedom's Forge, the definitive book on this. It turns out the true story is even crazier and more impressive. In honor of July 4th, here's the story of how America won WWII, one factory at a time.