Transcript War at Home
War at Home • The Push for Production – With the war in full swing US industry shifted from making consumer goods, into war related materials – Also the sudden need for war stuffs lead to an instant revitalization of the once dormant American factory – Statistics of production (1942-1945) • • • • • 300,000 planes (plane every 10 min) 86,000 tanks 76,000 ships (4 days – 2 weeks per boat) 2.6 million Machine Guns and 40 billion bullets In 1942, the Navy had estimated that they would need 17 battleships, 12 aircraft carriers, 54 cruisers, 201 destroyers, and 150 other ships By 1945. Most were built by 1943. – The Office of Price Admn. stabilized prices and wages, laws were passed to prevent strikes in essential industry, War at Home • Rationing – Because of the size and scope of WWII the American public made sacrifices as well. Civilians had to deal with limits and controls on gas, certain foods, clothes and other items in the name of the “War Effort” – To make sure rationed items were being distributed fairly the Government issued ration books to families. And gas cars for vehicles – As a result a thriving black-market was created. Those caught could face a $10,000 fine and 10 years in jail (seldom enforced) War at Home • Women and minorities in the Workforce – With the sudden industrial boom, and a good percentage of the young men fighting, factory owners, shipping yards, other industries resorted to hiring women, blacks, and Hispanics to fill up the labor shortage. – Approximately 1/3 of war time workers were women. – They worked as welders, fabricators and other “male” type jobs. Blacks in the deep south worked alongside whites in the same shipyards and allowances were made for Hispanics to come and fill the agricultural and industrial demands out west through a guest worker program. War at Home • Propaganda – Like our opponents we went after our enemies with little regard to political correctness. – Our aim at Germany was mainly anti Hitler and anti Nazi, but not so much against Germany or the German ethnicity – Japan on the other hand was much more hateful and degraded them simply as animals or monsters – Posters used the PH attack, pre existing prejudices, and physical differences between us and them as a way to inspire hatred to Japan and the Japanese ethnicity. – “ a Jap is a Jap and the only good one is a dead one” 10 year Stephen Ambrose