I. Mobilizing for War US = Arsenal of Democracy A. Converting the Economy 1. Industrial power: US = 2X production of Germany/5X of Japan a. US expanded war production May/June 1940 after the Fall of France b. Although still neutral, Americans willing to build up defenses
3. Govt incentives for quick production a. cost-plus contracts: fast production = higher profits b. Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC): funneled $ to key industries - to cover cost of converting to war production c. by summer 1942- all major industries & 200,000 + companies converted to war production 4. GNP rose dramatically - 1939 = $88.6 B; 1944 = $198.7B 5. Depression over! 17m jobs added! - even underemployment!
Depression Over!
B. American Industry Gets the Job Done 1. Role of Auto Industry a. auto industry best for mass production & produced about 1/3 of all military equipment manufactured during the war b. US mobility outclassed the enemy - auto industry produced jeeps +2 ½ ton truck - moved troops & supplies quickly. (Germans relied on animal transport)
c. Willow Run - Ford Motor Co. Instead of mass producing cars, produced B-24 (Heavy Bomber) - new airplane every 63 minutes
Willow Run was the embodiment of American ingenuity, perseverance and productivity. Here are some of the statistics: 488,193 parts 30,000 components 24 Major subassemblies Peak production = 25 units/day 25,000 initial engineering drawings Ten model changes in six years Thousands of running changes 34,533 employees at peak 100% Productivity provement
2. Liberty Ships a. basic cargo ship of WWII b. welded instead of riveted - hard to sink - could get back to port for repairs & back to svc Photograph of a Liberty ship in the water immediately after launching from the J.A. Jones Construction Company shipyard, Brunswick, Georgia, 1943-1945?]
3. War Production Board (WPB): organized the shift of the economy to wartime production - ex. factories that made nylon hose, now made nylon parachutes a. set priorities & production goals b. allocated natural resources
C. The military 1. Selective Service & Training Act 1940 a. 1 st peacetime draft in US history b. many volunteered, but 9.9m drafted The fall of France in such a short time convinced the US gov t that we should begin preparing for war: reinstated draft + began producing war material
2. GI Joe a. "GI" govt issue - became nickname for any US Soldier (Remember WWI Doughboy) b. basic training provided sense of unity, "sense of kinship this proved invaluable during combat One of Time Magazine s most important people of the century: The American GI
3. Segregation in the Military a. black Americans faced many forms of discrimination opportunities grow throughout the war though. At first: 1) whites did not train w/ blacks 2) blacks used separate facilities 3) blacks in same unit under white officers 4) blacks often out of combat, into construction & supply units
4. Pushing for Double Victory a. despite racism in US, probably worse under Hitler so blacks support war effort b. National Urban League Goals 1. promote black participation in all aspects of war effort 2. plan for post-war US with more freedom/equality for blacks c. Double V campaign - victory over Hitler abroad/ victory over racism in US d. FDR orders military to recruit blacks & to allow blacks in combat
d. Tuskegee Airmen combat fighter pilots in Army Air Corps - fought in Italy e.1943 - military bases integrated (military not completely integrated until 1948) Tuskegee Airmen Black and white soldiers at a US base in Italy during World War II.
6. Women join the Armed Forces a. Army enlists women - not for combat, but to free up men for combat! b. 200,000 in military c. WAC - Women's Army Corps d. 68,000+ nurses in Army & Navy
7. Americans Go to War a. not well trained at 1 st, most had no prior military svc b. Sloppy image - yet performed well in battle - fewest combat casualties
II. Life on the Homefront A. Women & Minorities Gain Ground 1. Women in Defense Plants a. wartime labor shortage - married women recruited for industrial jobs b. Rosie the Riveter - posters used to recruit women - for the war effort c. 2.5 m women in war production industries
2. African Americans Demand War Work a. Philip Randolph's threats lead to FDR's Executive Order 8802 June 1941 - no discrimination for defense industry jobs from race, creed, color or nat'l origin b. Fair Employment Practices Committee established - investigate unfair hiring practices (1 st civil rights agency created since Reconstruction)
3. The Bracero Program a. launched due to a farm labor shortage in SW b. gov t contract labor program that brought in migrant farm workers from Mexico
B. Migration during WWII 1. Many Americans move from the industrial northeast to the southwest. a. New industrial region emerges in the region: The Sunbelt b. Overtime, former industrial northeast becomes a Rustbelt
2. The 2 nd Great Migration a. The Great Migration that began in WWI resumes b. many black Americans move from the rural South to cities in search of higher-paying wartime industrial jobs
C. Racial Issues during WWII 1. 2 nd Great Migration: led to rising racial tensions in industrial cities a. race riots breakout b. worst riots occur in Detroit, June 1943
2. Zoot Suit Riots a. In Southern California, there were racial tensions + rising juvenile delinquency in the Mexican-American community b. Tensions erupted into riots when Zoot Suits became popular with Mexican youth 1) The problem with Zoot Suits? Took lots of fabric. 2) while others were wearing victory suits (suits tailored using less fabric), those who wore Zoot Suits were seen as unpatriotic and unsupportive of the war effort c. tensions eased after Los Angeles bans the Zoot Suit
Zoot Suit vs Victory Suit
3. The Enemy Aliens a. b/c of fear that immigrants (not yet US citizens) of German, Italian, and Japanese descent would help the enemy, they were required to register with gov t and submit to fingerprinting b. some German and Italian enemy aliens were held in camps, others faced curfews or travel restrictions
4. Executive Order 9066 a. applied to people of Japanese ancestry (Nisei + Issei) living in West Coast states Nisei: US born people of Japanese descent + Issei: Japanese immigrants went to relocation camps b. arguing that relocation was necessary for nat l security, 100,000 + moved to internment camps where most stayed for the duration of the war c. families forced to sell their homes, businesses, and their belongings below market value
d. Constitutional Issues regarding Executive Order 9066 1) Korematsu v. US (1944): Supreme court ruled that Executive Order 9066 did not violate people s rights b/c the restrictions were based on military necessity and not on race 2) Hirabayashi v. US (1943): Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a Jap.-Am for breaking curfew said curfew was within congressional and presidential authority 3) 1988: Congress passed a law, paying $20,000 in reparations to living relocation camp internees
D. New Gov t Agencies in WWII 1. Office of Price Administration - set ceilings on rent, prices, wages & operated a rationing program (lots of black market activity though) - to control inflation 1) rationing - limited availability of products to make sure enough for military use (meat, sugar, gas, rubber etc)
2. War Labor Board - tried to keep workers happy - seized uncooperative companies, promoted better wages, conditions, (avg weekly wage = $43.39!)
3. Office of War Information- responsible for spreading propaganda to gain support for the war effort a. Largely done through poster campaigns b. Encouraged men to join military/women to work in war industry; warned citizens about improper actions during wartime
E. Patriotism leads to volunteerism 1. victory gardens Victory Gardens 2. scrap drives - collected spare rubber, tin, aluminum Scrap Drives 3. oil drives - collected bacon grease, meat drippings in exchange for extra ration coupons - oils used in explosives
4. Paying for the War Bond Drives a. WWII cost ~ $250 m /day b. Spent $321B - 2X what we had spent in first 150 yrs as a nation Disney propaganda c. 41% from taxes d. 59% from borrowing - E bonds
5. The Flying Tigers (active before US entry into WWII) a. Officially, the 1 st American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force b. Began training in Burma before US entry into the war to defend China against Japanese aggression
6. The Civilian Air Patrol (CAP) a. conducted anti-submarine patrols and warfare, border patrols, and courier services b. During WWII, flew 24 m miles, found 173 enemy U-boats, attacked 57, hit 10 and sunk two c. By the end of the war, 64 CAP members had lost their lives in the line of duty