WWII: The War at Home

WWII: The War at Home

World War II affected every aspect of American life.

Organizing for War The first challenge for the US was building up its armed forces. Even before Pearl Harbor, Congress passed a draft law. Days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Congress revised the law to require people to serve for the entire war. Captain America tries to enlist Captain America Boot Camp Grenade scene

Building the Military More than 15 million volunteers and draftees joined the military. From every ethnic and religious group trained in new military bases around the country. Donald Duck gets Drafted (9 min.) Hundreds of thousands of American women also joined. They served as nurses or in noncombat roles in special branches such as the Women s Army Corps (WAC) Women s Army Corps (WAC) video Women pilots transported bombers and taught men to fly. Women in the Cockpit

A Wartime Economy Industry quickly converted its output from consumer to military goods. Unemployment fell as millions of jobs opened up in factories. Minority workers found jobs where they had been rejected in the past. The Great Depression ended.

Supporting the War Effort All Americans were expected to play a role in supplying Allied forces with food, clothing, and war equipment. Americans planted victory gardens bought war bonds To conserve needed resources, the government imposed rationing. Americans were issued ration coupons to purchase coffee, sugar, meat shoes, gasoline, tires, and many other goods War Bonds and Rationing (7 min.)

Supporting the War Effort Americans were asked to make sacrifices in support of the war effort and the idea for which they fought. Families were allowed 4 pounds of sugar a month. They bought it with ration stamps.

Supporting the War Effort Americans at home supported the war by conserving and rationing products.

Rationing Propaganda

Women on the Homefront With millions of men in uniform, the government began a large-scale effort to recruit women for industry. Millions of women took over jobs in factories and shipyards. They Welded Tended blast furnaces Ran huge cranes Became bus drivers, police officers, or gas station attendants. Rosie the Riveter: Real Women Workers in WWII

Women in Industry A fictional character, Rosie the Riveter, became a popular symbol of all women who worked for the war effort.

Rosie the Riveter

Women in Industry Because women were needed in industry, they were able to gain better pay and working conditions. The government agreed that women and men should get the same pay for the same job, but some employers found ways to avoid equal pay. War work gave many women a new sense of confidence and independence.

Women in Industry

African Americans on the Homefront As in past wars, many African Americans served in segregated units during WWII. Those that remained on the homefront faced much discrimination in industries doing business with the government. Union leader, A. Philip Randolph, threatened a mass protest unless Roosevelt ended discrimination in the military. In response, FDR ordered employers doing business with the government to support racial equality in hiring. To enforce this, Roosevelt developed the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC). Due to the FEPC and the increased need for workers, by the end of 1944, approximately two million African Americans were working in war plants.

African Americans in Industry

Japanese Americans on the Homefront At the start of the war, about 300,000 people of Japanese origin lived in the US. More than half of them in Hawaii. The rest lived mostly on the West Coast, especially in California.

After Pearl Harbor Many Americans feared that Japanese Americans would act as spies to help enemy submarines shell military bases or coastal cities. There was not a single documented case of disloyalty by a Japanese American.

Japanese Internment Intense anti-japanese fears led President Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 9066 in February, 1942. The order was used to intern, or temporarily imprison, nearly 110,000 Japanese Americans for the duration of the war.

Japanese Internment Internees were allowed to bring with them only what they could carry. They had to sell the rest of their possessions quickly. They were transported to small, remote internment camps enclosed by barbed wire. Internment Camp Sites

What is an Internment Camp?

A prison-like camp where people were held during WWII Japanese American Relocation & Internment

Japanese Internment As the war ended, the US government released the internees. In 1948, the US government made a small payment to former internees for the property they lost. A formal apology finally came in 1990, and surviving internees were paid $20,000 each.

Japanese Americans in Uniform About 17,000 Japanese Americans showed their loyalty by joining the armed services. 442 nd Regiment All-Japanese units fought in North Africa, Italy, and France, winning thousands of military awards and medals. One group, the 442 nd Nisei Regimental Combat Team, became the most highly decorated military unit in US history.

World War II affected every aspect of American life.