Transcript The Home Front

The Home Front
How did the people react at home?
Americans Make Sacrifices
• Forced to conserve food and other goods
– Rationing – limiting the amount of a certain product that an individual can get
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Food Items rationed: Coffee, Butter, Sugar, and Meat
Every member of a family received a ration book – entitled each to a certain amount
– Other goods were in shortage: Metal, Glass, Rubber, and Gasoline
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Gasoline was rationed like food
Americans held scrap drives to collect all waste materials that might be used in the war effort
• Americans buy war bonds – billions of dollars worth
– Ads sent out to public proclaimed that this is their public duty
– Led to 85 million Americans purchasing bonds
• Americans gave up their family members for the war effort
– Many volunteered for the war effort
– People were given flags to show their sacrifice – flag had a blue star
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If family member was killed, then the blue star was replaced with a gold star
– People followed war with stories written by Ernie Pyle – field reporter in war
– Bill Mauldin created cartoons which gave people a view of soldiers life in the war
Getting Support for the War
• Roosevelt made speech in 1941 where he talked about the supporting of allies
overseas as being equivalent to protecting the “four freedoms”
– Four freedoms = freedom of speech, freedom of worship, from want
• Support during the War Effort:
– Office of War Information – created in 1942 and was responsible for spreading propaganda or
information and ideas designed to promote a cause
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Created a positive feeling about what sacrifices had to be made to win the war
Also created warnings about threats they faced from the enemy
Also showed harmful actions of improper attitudes or talking negatively about war effort
Role of Hollywood:
– Created a multitude of wartime propaganda
– Created patriotic films
– Actors and actresses helped sell war bonds
• 1943 - Barnette Ruling (West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette) – this court
case ruled that no one could make it required for any civilian to salute the
American flag
Internment of Japanese
• This came out of fear that people of German, Italian, and Japanese decent would
help the enemy – greatest fear was against the Japanese
• Executive Order 9066 – gave the armed forces the right to establish military
zones which they could force people or groups to leave
– This meant forcing the Japanese to be moved from their homes
– Rounded up all Japanese in California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona
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Most of these were American citizens
There was no trial for any of these people to see if they were a threat
Those rounded up would be placed in camps in the West
– Internment – was this forced relocation and confinement to these camps
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Japanese Americans could only bring what they could carry – all other properties were sold or left behind
Camps were surrounded by armed guards and barbed wire and usually located in horrible climates
Families were forced to live in cramped quarters with poor facilities for education and health care
Not accepted peacefully – led to riots and violence in the camps
Japanese Internment
• Forced Loyalty – Japanese were forced to answer questions of loyalty
while in camps
– Some joined military units to prove their will to fight against the Axis powers
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442nd Regimental Combat Team – most decorated team of its size in the war – fought in Europe
• Results:
– Led to landmark court case – Korematsu v. United States (1944) – this court case was
brought against the segregation and discrimination of Japanese Americans, which the
Supreme Court ruled was legal in this time of war
– Decades after the war the U.S. Government said it had acted unjustly and sent out
letters of apology and payments to those who survived the internment
Role of the Government Changes
• Set up new offices:
– Office of Price Administration – set price limits that businesses could charge on goods
– War Production Board – created to make sure the military got what it needed to fight the war
• Spending
– Government spending increased dramatically during the war – led to increase in federal budget
– Government increased federal income tax to pay for this budget increase
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The Government required all to pay not just the wealthy
Revenue increased $36 billion in just 4 years