World War II Unit 7: The Great Depression and World War II Part 7: The Home Front
Objec>ves: 1. Describe the ways in which Americans mobilized for the war effort. (7.4.4.21.3) 2. Explain how women and minori>es contributed to the war effort. (7.4.4.21.3) 3. Iden>fy and explain why some Americans were treaty unfairly during the war. (7.4.4.21.3 and 7.4.4.21.4) 4. Describe how and why scarce resources were allocated to ci>zens during World War II. (7.2.3.3.1)
I. Mobilizing for Victory A. The first task was to train forces for combat. 1. Army, navy, and air bases were built all over the country. 2. Recruits were trained to fight in jungles, deserts, towns, and farmlands. 3. Women joined all the armed services although they were not allowed in combat.
I. Mobilizing for Victory (con t) B. The government controlled the economy during the war. Government agencies set prices, nego>ated with labor unions, and decided what to produce. 1. The War Produc>on Board helped factories shiz from producing consumer goods to producing war materials. 2. As consumer goods became scarcer, the government imposed ra>oning or limita>ons on the amounts of certain goods that people could buy.
I. Mobilizing for Victory (con t) 3. To combat food shortages, many Americans planted victory gardens. 4. To pay for the war, the government raised taxes and borrowed money from ci>zens by selling war bonds. 5. The war ended the Great Depression.
II. Jobs for Women A. Almost five million women entered the work force. 1. They replaced the men who joined the armed services. 2. Rosie the Riveter, a fic>onal factory worker, became a symbol of American women s contribu>on to the war effort.
II. Jobs for Women (con t) 3. War work gave women be]er pay and working condi>ons than before. 4. The war changed women s fashions. Many women began to dress for work in trousers and overalls. 5. Women gained a new sense of confidence.
III. African Americans in the War A. A. African Americans decided to pursue a Double V campaign victory over the enemy abroad and victory over discrimina>on at home. 1. As industry geared for war, some factories put up Help Wanted, White signs.
III. African Americans in the War (con t) 2. To gain equality for African Americans, A. Philip Randolph, head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, called for a protest march on Washington. 3. AZer mee>ng with Randolph, FDR ordered employers that did business with the government to end discrimina>on in hiring. 4. Racial tension increased. Compe>>on for scarce housing led to race riots.
III. African Americans in the War (con t) B. FDR refused to end segrega>on, or separa>on, of the races in the military. 1. Nearly a million African Americans enlisted or were drazed. 2. They had to serve in all- black units with white officers.
III. African Americans in the War (con t) 3. The Tuskegee Airmen were African American fighter pilots who trained at Tuskegee, Alabama. By the end of the war, the Tuskegee airmen had destroyed or damaged about 400 enemy aircraz.
IV. Japanese Americans During WWII A. AZer the a]ack on Pearl Harbor, some people ques>oned the loyalty of Japanese Americans, although there was no evidence of disloyalty. Yet, President Roosevelt signed an order allowing the army to move Japanese Americans from their homes to reloca>on camps.
IV. Japanese Americans During WWII (con t) 1. Even people who were American ci>zens by birth were relocated. 2. Japanese Americans were forced to sell property and businesses at a loss. 3. Japanese Americans lived in crowded barracks behind barbed wire. 4. Despite unfair treatment, thousands of Japanese American men served in the armed forces.
IV. Japanese Americans During WWII (con t) B. The 442nd Nisei Regimental Combat Team became the most highly decorated military unit in United States history. C. In 1988, Congress apologized to Japanese Americans who had been driven from their homes. Congress approved compensa>on, or repayment for losses, in the amount of $20,000 to every survivor of the camps.
V. Other Groups A. Mexican Americans also faced problems. 1. The United States signed a treaty with Mexico in 1942 establishing the bracero program, in which recruiters found Mexican laborers to work in the United States. Many Mexicans moved north to work on farms and railroads. 2. In 1943, a group of sailors a]acked some Mexican Americans in Los Angeles. The incident led to several days of rio>ng. Newspapers blamed the Mexican Americans. In her newspaper column, Eleanor Roosevelt argued that the riots were caused by discrimina>on against Mexicans. 3. S>ll, many Mexican Americans served in the military.
V. Other Groups (con t) B. Na>ve Americans also made war>me contribu>ons. 1. Na>ve Americans supplied the highest propor>on of servicemen from any group at 33%. 2. Navajo code- talkers used their own language as a code to send vital messages. The Japanese were able to intercept these messages but they could not decode and understand them.