The Economic Stabilization Agency (ESA) was an

agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that ...

of the

United States Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

that existed from 1950 to 1953. The creation of the ESA was authorized by the

Defense Production Act The Defense Production Act of 1950 () is a United States federal law enacted on September 8, 1950 in response to the start of the Korean War.Congressional Research ServiceThe Defense Production Act of 1950: History, Authorities, and Considerati ...

(, 64 Stat. 798), which was signed into law by

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

on September 8, 1950.General Records of the Economic Stabilization Agency at the National Archives
/ref> The Defense Production Act was passed in response to the start of the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

and authorized the President to control the civilian economy so that scarce and/or critical materials necessary to the national defense effort are available for defense needs."The Defense Production Act: Choice as to Allocations," ''Columbia Law Review,'' March 1951; Lockwood, ''Defense Production Act: Purpose and Scope,'' June 22, 2001. On September 9, 1950, President Truman signed the

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of ...

10161, thus creating the ESA. The ESA was responsible for imposing price ceilings and wage controls on the

United States economy The United States is a highly developed mixed-market economy and has the world's largest nominal GDP and net wealth. It has the second-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP) behind China. It has the world's seventh-highest per capita ...

. In this capacity, the ESA was responsible for supervising the Office of Price Stabilization, the

Wage Stabilization Board The Wage Stabilization Board (WSB) was an independent agency of the United States government whose function was to make wage control policy recommendations and to implement such wage controls as were approved."Executive Order 10161, September 9, ...

, the

Salary Stabilization Board A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. F ...

, the

Office of Rent Stabilization An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific ...

, the

Railroad and Airline Wage Board Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

, and the National Enforcement Commission. The price control provisions of the Defense Production Act expired in 1953, so, on February 6, 1953, President Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10434 abolishing the ESA effective April 30, 1953. Executive Order 10480, signed August 14, 1953, ordered the liquidation of the ESA, and this was complete by October 31, 1953.

Directors of the ESA

Michael DiSalle Michael Vincent DiSalle (January 6, 1908September 16, 1981) was an American attorney and politician from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as mayor of Toledo from 1948 to 1950, and as the 60th governor of Ohio from 1959 to 1963. ...

, 1950 *

Alan Valentine Alan Chester Valentine (February 23, 1901 – July 14, 1980) was an American academic who competed on the gold-medal winning American rugby union team in the 1924 Summer Olympics, was president of the University of Rochester, and served in ...

, 1950–51 *

Eric Johnston Eric Allen Johnston (December 21, 1896 – August 22, 1963) was a business owner, president of the United States Chamber of Commerce, a Republican Party activist, president of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and a U.S. governm ...

, 1951 *

Roger Putnam Roger Lowell Putnam (December 19, 1893 – November 24, 1972) was an American politician and businessman. A member of the prominent Lowell family of Boston, he served as Mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts, from 1937 until 1943, and as direct ...

, 1951–52

References

{{Authority control Defunct agencies of the United States government