On May 15, 1942, seventeen U.S. states began rationing gasoline as part of the wartime effort to conserve fuel during World War II. This measure reflected the broad impact of the war on daily life in the United States and was part of a larger system of rationing that included food and other commodities. Gasoline rationing not only highlighted the strategic importance of resources in wartime but also demonstrated the ways in which civilian populations were called upon to contribute to the war effort through conservation and adaptation.
