DRAFT (PDF) During World War II, the United States federal government instituted an explicit policy of wage controls through the National War Labor Board. These wage controls, which differed by industry, occupation, and geographic region, specified maximum allowable raises for those earning less than a certain level (the so-called "bracket") and froze wages greater than that level. We find that higher brackets were associated with relative decreases in inequality as measured by the change in the log(Q10/Q90) and log(Q25/Q75) ratios between 1939 and 1959 as well as 1969. There are no effects detectable from 1979 onward.