In its efforts to streamline national communication and transportation, the US Congress passed the Standard Time Act. This act not only created five distinct time zones for the country—Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, and Alaska— but also authorized Daylight Saving Time (DST), a practice intended to shift daylight from the morning to the evening. This change was initially proposed as a wartime measure to save energy for the war effort. By utilizing longer daylight hours in the evening, the government aimed to reduce reliance on fuel and, subsequently, the stress on resources during World War I.

The implementation of the new time zones and DST was met with varying levels of public acceptance. While many appreciated the longer evenings, some resisted the change, indicating that the disruption of daily routines could lead to confusion and inconvenience. Despite concerns, several areas, particularly urban centers, began to adopt these timekeeping measures, fundamentally altering how Americans organized their days.

As the war progressed, more regions observed DST, leading to a patchwork of locally enforced times across the country. Following the war, the practice of Daylight Saving Time was adopted sporadically, sparking debates about its effectiveness for energy conservation. Eventually, the Uniform Time Act of 1966 would formally standardize the observance of Daylight Saving Time across the United States, solidifying its role in American life.