Transcript The US in World War II

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The U.S. in World War II
Section 1: Mobilizing for Defense
Section 2: The War for Europe and North Africa
Section 3: The War in the Pacific
Section 4: The Home Front
America Mobilizing for Defense
Facts About Service
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15 million entered the service after Pearl Harbor
5 million volunteered
10 million drafted
2/3 of the 15 million served in the Army
The average length of active-duty was 33
months. On average 16 months of these was
served overseas.
292,000 U.S. servicemen were killed in battle.
114,000 were killed due to other causes.
671,000 were wounded.
The 2000 census counted 5.7 million World War
II veterans, of these 210,000 were women.
http://stamps.about.com/od/historyofphilately/ig/Veteran-s-Day-Gallery/HonorFDC.htm
Women in the Military
• WAAC - Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps
– Organized by General George Marshall, Army Chief
of Staff
– Oveta Culp Hobby, first director of WACC
– Allowed women to hold noncombat positions
– Gave women a salary, but few benefits at first
– Later became WAC – Women Army Corps
• Received full benefits
– Worked as nurses, ambulance drivers, radio
operators, electricians and pilots
– More than 13,000 women applied the first day
– A total of 350,000 served in WAAC and other
branches
Women Enter All Branches
• WAVES - Women Appointed for Voluntary
Emergency Service (Navy)
• WAFS - Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying
Squadron
• WASP – Women’s Air Force Service Pilots
• SPAR (Coast Guard)
Women in the Workplace
• 6 million women joined the
workforce
• Some thought women
couldn’t handle the work
• Women proved they could
operate welding torches
and rivet guns as well as
men
• Women earned about 60%
as much as men doing the
same jobs
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Recruiting and Discrimination
• Minority groups were in segregated units and
usually were not allowed into much combat
• Groups
– Mexican Americans – 300,000
– African Americans – 1,000,000
– Asian Americans
• Chinese Americans – 13,000
– Allowed for a repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943
• Japanese Americans 33,000
– Native Americans – 25,000 (800 women)
Office of Scientific Research and
Development
• Most important of all offices created
• Made a great number of scientific and technological
contributions
– War Weapons
• Catch up in development of high speed missiles and rockets
• Bazooka rocket laucher
• Atomic Bomb
– War Technology
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Improvement to Radar and Sonar
DDT pesticide to prevent body lice
Penicillin antibiotic that saved lives
Semi conductors
Computers
Freeze Dried Food
Synthetic materials
– See Pages 588-589
War Production Board
• Introduced to maximize production of war material
– Curtailed or banned production of more than 300 nonessential
items
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Refrigeraters
Bicycles
Beer Cans
Automobiles – Feb. 1942 the last car rolled off the assembly line
• Find other materials for nonessentials
• Convert Production
– Many industries converted to make war materials
– Auto industry retooled to make tanks, planes, boats, and
command vehicles
• New Production
– Synthetic Rubber
– Nylon and other synthetic materials
• Organized drives to collect needed recyclable products
like tin, scrap iron, paper, etc.
Office of Price Administration
• Organized to fight inflation by freezing wages,
prices, and rent
• Rationed foods, such as meat, butter, cheese,
vegetables, sugar and coffee
• Rationing – establishing fixed allotments of
goods deemed essential for the military
• Citizens were allotted rationing coupons
• Black Market – illegal market in which rationed
items are sold are very high prices
Paying for the War
• Revenue Act of 1942
– Raised the top personal-income tax to 88%
– Added lower- and middle-income Americans
to the income-tax rolls
• Selling War Bonds – government
encouraged Americans to purchase
bonds.
– It helped fund the war
– It helped with inflation