Jam Handy’s Contribution to the Arsenal of Democracy

On December 29, 1940, FDR coined the phrase “The Arsenal of Democracy” in a speech declaring that the United States would provide military aid to countries fighting the global threats of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. While he was referring to America as a whole, Detroit has rightfully claimed the title as its own. Indeed, the Detroit Arsenal Plant continues to operate to this day.

While World War II was won by the soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines who braved enemy fire and paid the ultimate price, they were supported by factory workers here in Detroit and across America. During the war, Americans built roughly 50,000 Sherman tanks and 18,400 Liberator bombers, half of them by Ford Motor Company. Thus, when the Nazis destroyed a Sherman tank or shot down a B-24 Liberator, another tank or the plane would appear, relatively quickly. When the Allies knocked out a Nazi tank…