Mobilizing for War: Life in America During World War II

1. The Home Front Life in America during World War 2

2. Mobilizing for War • America “Trembling in her shoes” • 5 million men volunteer for service • Selective Service drafts another 10 million men • 8 weeks of basic training • GIs: “Government Issue” used to describe soldiers

3. Women and minorities in Service • Women served in duty, auxiliary positions • African-Americans lived and worked in segregated units • Japanese-American and Mexican-Americans fought in war as well

4. Industry and Labor • Factories converted to produce supplies and weapons for the military. • Unemployment down to 1.2% in 1944 • Women and minorities found job opportunities • Government calls for equal opportunity hiring

5. Industry and Labor • 300,000 airplanes built • 88,140 tanks, 3,000 merchant ships • At the end of the war, the economy was turning out 50% of all the world’s goods

6. Federal Government takes control • Government needed money and materials • Created agencies to handle the war effort and economy. • War Productions Board (WPB): rationed fuel and materials vital to the war effort • Office of Price Administration (OPA): fought inflation by freezing prices

7. Federal Government takes control • Rationing: establishing fixed allotments of goods essential for the military • People rode bikes and car-pooled to work • Received coupons to buy scarce goods and foods • Created a “black market”

8. Federal Government takes control • Executive Order 9066 issued to evacuate Japanese • Internment: confinement of Japanese-Americans • 110,000 Japanese-Americans sent to camps on West Coast. • Many were Nisei: American-born Japanese people • Civil rights stayed in place

9. Propaganda • Office of War Information (OWI) in charge to inform the public on the war through the media and posters. • Build morale, contribute to war effort, and how to be a good citizen • 200,000 different designs produced • Used radio, movies, books, leaflets, magazines, and newspaper

10. Propaganda r

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12. More money needed… • Revenue Act of 1942: raised taxes on corporations and individuals, including middle and lower classes • 8 million to 55 million taxpayers • Total war cost: $330 billion, 1/3 from taxes • The rest? War bonds sold to the public • Debt rises from $50 billion to $250 billion

13. The impact of the war • America emerges as the world’s dominant economic and military power • Paychecks rose by 70% • Farming grows by 50%, income triples • 6 million women entered the work force, creates new opportunities • Increase of government intervention?

14. Population shifts • War triggers one of the greatest mass migrations in American history • Move mostly to the West and areas with bases and industries • L.A., Washington, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Dallas all grow by at least a third • Creates a housing shortage

15. Social Adjustments • Creates a huge marriage boom • Soldiers rushed to get married before sent off to fight • Doubles the divorce rate • Wives whose husbands were fighting would find someone else • GI Bill of Rights: an act passed to help ease the transition of returning soldiers to civilian life • Provided education and training • Federal loans for homes and farms or businesses

16. Discrimination and Reaction • Segregated units and camps, subjected to menial tasks • Some unites distinguished themselves in combat • Tuskegee Airmen: all-black pilot squadron • At home, found good jobs • Racial tension increases

17. Discrimination and Reaction • Mexican-Americans also served in segregated units • Defend against racism at home • Zoot-Suit Riots: anti-Mexican riots in Los Angeles in 1943