Transcript The Home Front

Chapter 20, Section 2

Women began working outside of the home
again during WWII. However, there were two
main differences from when they worked
during WWI.
 They were involved in heavy industrial jobs–
manufacturing of munitions and other war items;
 Women no longer quit their job once they were
married– started a trend of women working
longer.

African Americans were also given new
opportunities and began a “Double V”
campaign– victory to end the war, victory to
end discrimination.
 Urged by A. Philip Randolph, Roosevelt passed
Executive Order 8802, which instituted fair hiring
practices in government-funded jobs.
 Also, the NAACP grew in its membership to
almost 500,000 members.
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A ‘zoot suit’ refers to a form of rebellious
clothing worn in the 1940s– baggy pants and
long coats.
 In Los Angeles, Mexican-Americans who had were
targeted. In other instances, African Americans
and whites clashed over a lack of housing.
 Both instances demonstrate how increased
industrialization led to population booms and
conflict.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, many
Americans began to distrust JapaneseAmericans. This led to internment– temporary
imprisonment– of these individuals.
 In the most famous internment case (Korematsu v.
United States (1944)), Fred Korematsu refused to
leave his business to go to the camp. He argued he
was denied protection granted by the 14th
amendment. The Supreme Court disagreed, allowing
it for ‘security reasons.’
Americans did their part to finance the
war. It cost $330 billion, so Congress
implemented a 5% income tax on all
Americans.
 Americans also purchased war bonds, as
they had in WWI.

 The debt increased to almost $300 billion
during WWII.

In order to stop inflation, Roosevelt created the
Office of Price Administration to control wages
and set maximum prices.
 The government also encouraged rationing– the
issuing of coupon books that limited the amount an
individual could buy of certain goods that were
needed for the war.

The media’s main job was to keep American
morale high. The Office of War Information
continually presented the war as a fight for
democracy.
Chapter 20, Section 4

As soon as Hitler was appointed leader in
Germany, he began his campaign against the
Jews. In 1935, he took to legal prosecution
with the passage of the Nuremberg Laws.
 These laws denied citizenship to Jews, banned
marriage between Jews and non-Jews, and
segregated them in all areas of society.

Violence against the Jews were common. The
most aggressive form of violence was the
Kristallnacht– “night of broken glass.”
 A Jewish refugee killed a German diplomat in
Paris. The Nazis responded by attacking all Jews.
The Gestapo destroyed both synagogues and
Jewish businesses , along with arresting and
killing many Jews on November 9th, 1938.
Ultimately, Hitler wanted to destroy the Jewish
population through genocide– the mass
extinction of a certain group.
 While in power, Hitler sent Jews to both
concentration camps and death camps. In
concentration camps such as Dachau,
Ravensbruck and Buchenweld were meant to
convert Jews into ‘useful’ members of society.

 Death camps like Auschwitz and Belzec were solely
for killing purposes.
Chapter 20, Section 5

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In February 1945, Roosevelt, Churchill and
Stalin met at Yalta to discuss the fate of the
conquered German territories. They decided
to let Bulgaria, Poland and Romania have free
elections.
In July, 1945, Stalin, Truman and Clement
Atlee met at Potsdam. They decided to divide
Germany into 4 zones of occupation and that
the Soviet Union could seek reparations from
Germany.
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After WWII, there was a push to end
imperialistic control. Many African nations
gained independence, as well as many
nations in the Pacific.
The Soviet Union and the U.S. emerged as
superpowers, countries that dominated the
world.
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Unlike after WWI, following WWII Americans
looked to establish themselves in postwar
diplomacy. They worked to promote global
economic stability by reducing tariffs.
They also pushed for the establishment of the
United Nations, an organization made up of
countries from around the world that would
discuss problems before going to war.
The U.S. also helped establish a Universal
Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
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While the U.S. was a part of a changing world,
many changes were also going on internally
within the U.S.
 The U.S. assumed a greater world leadership role.
 There was an increased push for civil rights following
WWII, stemming from the impact African Americans
made.
 With the Great Depression over, a new domestic
economy where wealth was distributed more evenly.
This was largely accomplished through government
regulation.
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How did the United States’ preparation for
war differ in WWII from that of WWI? How
were the post-war goals different?