Transcript Section 4- The Home Fro - Waverly

10th American History
Unit IV- A Champion of
Democracy
Chapter 14 – Section 4
The Homefront
The Home Front
The Main Idea
While millions of military men and women were serving in World
War II, Americans on the home front were making contributions
of their own.
Reading Focus
• What sacrifices and struggles did Americans at home
experience?
• How did the U.S. government seek to win American support for
the war?
• What was Japanese internment?
• How did World War II help expand the role of the government in
the lives of the American people?
Sacrifice and Struggle for
Americans at Home

Conserving
Food
and other
Goods

Investing
in
Victory

Paying the
Personal
Price





Americans planted victory gardens.
The United States began rationing food items such as
coffee, butter, sugar, and meat.
Metal, glass, rubber, and gasoline were scarce goods.
Americans held scrap drives to collect waste materials
that might be used in the war effort.
Americans bought billions of dollars worth of war
bonds.
Over half of the population did their civic duty and
bought war bonds.
Families dealt with the absence of loved ones by
displaying a flag with a blue star.
Americans read news accounts of the war with great
interest (Ernie Pyle – newspaper journalist).
War Bonds



War Bonds provided a crucial source of
revenue for the war effort. By sponsoring
public stunts such as celebrity auctions,
the federal government used War Bonds
to sell the war to the American public
instead of relying on American
involvement in the war to sell bonds.
U.S. government to market Series E bonds
as "war bonds", "war loans", "victory
bonds", and by other names meant to
appeal to a sense of patriotism.
By the time war-bond sales ended in
1946, 85 million Americans had purchased
more than $185 billion worth of the
securities, often through automatic
deductions from their paychecks
Victory
Gardens


Victory gardens, also called
war gardens or food gardens
for defense, were vegetable,
fruit and herb gardens planted
at private residences in the
United States, Canada, and
United Kingdom during World
War I and World War II to
reduce the pressure on the
public food supply brought on
by the war effort.
In addition to indirectly aiding
the war effort these gardens
were also considered a civil
"morale booster" — in that
gardeners could feel
empowered by their
contribution of labor and
rewarded by the produce
grown.
Scrap Drives








Recent historical studies indicate that the scrap
drives were more important as morale boosters
than in providing essential products for the war
effort.
But, the general public did get caught up in the
patriotic enthusiasm -- some saved tin foil from
gum wrappers, making a tin foil ball until it
reached a size large enough to be accepted by the
collection site.
Scrap paper was more easily collected and was
used to package armaments.
Grease was saved and recycled to make
ammunition.
Salvaged kitchen fat was used to produce
glycerin, an ingredient in drugs and explosives.
Although the rubber recycling industry did
produce a fair amount of material throughout the
war, the rubber scrap drive didn't significantly
boost its output. The real solution to the rubber
shortage was development of synthetic rubber
and conservation.
Gas rationing was primarily meant to save tires,
not gas.
Recycling of steel and iron unquestionably
helped. One campaign netted five million tons of
steel in just three weeks, and scrap-metal drives
continued for most of the war. But could go too
far.
Rationing






Civilian consumption increased 22% during the war.
Production stopped on many civilian items, such as automobiles, new
houses, and new appliances.
Many commodities, such as meat, sugar, butter, coffee, gasoline, tires,
shoes and clothing were rationed.
Local schools set up stations where people could get their ration coupons
(with teachers handling the paperwork.)
Each person (regardless of age) received the same food and clothing
coupons.
To purchase an item three things were needed:



Most automobile drivers received coupons for 3 gallons a week




the storekeeper had to have the item in the first place
the purchaser had to have the cash, and had to have the coupons
There was plenty of gasoline; the rationing was an efficient way to ration
automobile tires
Bread, milk and beer were not rationed.
People eating in restaurants had to pay with cash and ration coupons.
Rationing was generally supported by the civilian population, although
there was some black market activity, that is, purchase of an item without
the coupons.


The government hunted down and prosecuted black marketeers.
There was much "gray market" activity--that is family and neighbors selling or
trading ration coupons; that was technically illegal but rarely prosecuted.
Gas Rationing
By the end of 1942, half of U.S automobiles were issued an 'A'
sticker which allowed 4 gallons of fuel per week. That sticker was
issued to owners whose use of their cars was nonessential. Hand
the pump jockey your Mileage Ration Book coupons and cash, and
she (yes, female service station attendants because the guys
were over there) could sell you three or four gallons a week, no
more. For nearly a year, A-stickered cars were not to be driven for
pleasure at all.
The green 'B' sticker was for driving deemed essential to the war
effort; industrial war workers, for example, could purchase eight
gallons a week. Red 'C' stickers indicated physicians, ministers,
mail carriers and railroad workers. 'T' was for truckers, and the
rare 'X' sticker went to members of Congress and other
VIPs. Truckers supplying the population with supplies had a T
sticker for unlimited amounts of fuel.
The national maximum Victory Speed was 35 miles an hour,
and driving clubs or carpools were encouraged. The main
idea was to conserve rubber, not gasoline. The interior side of
the sticker issued for the car's windshield instructed the driver
on this point. Every citizen, military or civilian, was to do their
part. Even in the popular Warner Brothers cartoons, Daffy
Duck exhorts the audience to Keep it under 40! Bugs Bunny's
plunging airplane halts just before impact, out of gas as a
consequence of the `A' sticker on its windshield.
Cinema Stars Aid America's War Bond Drive (01:22)
Service Star Banner


Display of the Service Star
Banner first came about during
World War I. During WWI and
WWII most flags were hand
made by mothers across the
nation. One of the most
famous flags was that of the
five Sullivan brothers who all
perished on the U.S.S. Juneau.
Each blue star on the flag
represents a service member
in active duty. A gold star is
displayed if a service member
is killed in action or dies in
service. If several stars are
displayed in one family the
gold star takes the honor of
being placed at the top.
Sacrifice and Struggle at Home




What sacrifices and struggles did
Americans at home experience?
Identify- What kinds of materials were
collected in scrap drives?
Summarize – How did rationing work?
Predict – If Americans had not purchased
war bonds, how might the U.S. have
financed the war effort?
American Support for the War
Roosevelt called on the nation to protect the “four freedoms” –
freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want,
and freedom from fear.
The Office of War Information spread propaganda, or
information and ideas designed to promote a cause. Examples
included posters encouraging people to join the armed forces or
to save gasoline. The OWI also warned the public about the
dangers they faced.
Hollywood made a series of patriotic films that featured soldiers
and workers on the home front.
Sometimes the drive to influence public attitudes led to conflict.
For example, the Barnette ruling argued that Americans could
not be forced to salute the flag.
Office of War Information


The Office of War Information
(OWI) was created in 1942
and served as an important
U.S. government propaganda
agency during World War II.
The OWI was established by
Executive Order 9182 on June
13, 1942.





sought to review and approve the
design and content of government
posters. To inspire fear and show
harmful outcomes of improper
actions and attitudes.
directly produced radio series.
produced a series of 267
newsreels in 16 mm film.
established the Voice of America
in 1942.
contained two photographic units
whose photographers
documented the country's
mobilization during the early
years of the war, concentrating on
such topics as aircraft factories
and women in the workforce.
WWII Propaganda Films

Safeguarding Military Information
(1941) 10:42


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU
8hXowpS7s
Private SNAFU


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F
mhPY-YEAA – Spies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2dW5JM
8qpY&feature=related – Homefront
West Virginia State Board of
Education v. Barnette,


(1943) was a decision by the Supreme Court of the
United States that held that the Free Speech Clause of
the First Amendment to the United States Constitution
protected students from being forced to salute the
American flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance in school.
It was a significant court victory won by Jehovah's
Witnesses, whose religion forbade them from saluting or
pledging to political institutions or symbols. However, the
Court did not address the effect the compelled salutation
and recital ruling had upon their particular religious
beliefs, but instead ruled that the state did not have the
power to compel speech in that manner for anyone.
FDR Four Freedoms


Freedoms are goals famously articulated by United
States President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the State of the
Union Address he delivered to the 77th United States
Congress on January 6, 1941.
In an address also known as the Four Freedoms
speech, Roosevelt enumerated four points as
fundamental freedoms humans "everywhere in the
world" ought to enjoy:




Freedom of speech and expression
Freedom of every person to worship God in his own way
Freedom from want
Freedom from fear
Winning American Support for the
War



How did the U.S. government seek to win
American support for the war?
Identify- What were Roosevelt’s “Four
Freedoms”?
Evaluate – Do you think that the
government needed to create an agency
to build support for the war effort?
Explain your answer.
Winning American Support for the
War


Summarize- What part did the
Hollywood film industry play in the war
effort?
Evaluate – Why did the Jehovah’s
Witnesses challenge a law requiring
students to salute the American flag?
Japanese American Internment
Executive Order 9066





After Pearl Harbor, military officials
began to investigate the Japanese
American community for signs of
spying or other illegal activity.
It was recommended that all people
of Japanese background be removed
from the West Coast.
Order 9066 established military zones
and could force people to leave these
zones.
Japanese Americans in California,
Washington, Oregon, and Arizona
were forced into internment camps.
Many lost their homes and businesses.
Japanese American Loyalty



While interned, Japanese Americans
were forced to answer questions about
their loyalty to the United States.
German and Italian Americans also
faced restrictions.
Many young people from the camps
joined the armed forces to prove their
loyalty.

Not all Japanese Americans accepted
their internment peacefully.

Some mounted legal challenges such
as Korematsu v. United States.
Nisei: Japanese-Americans During Wartime (01:05)
Executive Order 9066: Japanese Internment Camps (03:46)
Korematsu v. United States (1944)

The Supreme Court tried to find the right balance between
the rights of Japanese Americans and wartime needs.

Fred Korematsu refused the executive order that relocated
110,000 Japanese Americans to internment camps.


Korematsu was born in Oakland, California, and was an
American citizen.

He was arrested and then appealed his case to the Supreme
Court.
The Supreme Court ruled against Korematsu stating that
the relocation order was justified as a temporary wartime
measure.

He continued to work for civil rights and had his conviction
overturned in 1983.
Japanese Internment




What was Japanese internment?
Explain- What did Executive Order 9066
do?
Make Inferences – Why do you think
some Japanese Americans were interned
in barren areas, far from their homes?
Elaborate – Why do you think only
Japanese Americans and not German
Americans, were singled out for
internment?
New Roles for Federal
Government

The Office of Price Administration placed limits on the
prices businesses could charge for products and materials.

The War Production Board made sure the military got the
products and resources it needed.

The WPB placed limits on clothing manufacturers.

The WPB placed restrictions on clothing. For examples,
jackets were only allowed to be a certain length.

Government spending during the war rose sharply. Most
of the money went to the armed forces.

The government increased income tax rates to help pay for
the war. Millions paid income taxes for the very first time.
Office of Price Administration

The functions of the OPA(established to prevent
wartime inflation)




stabilize prices (price
controls) and rents after the
outbreak of World War II.
place ceilings on all prices
except agricultural
commodities
ration scarce supplies of other
items, including tires,
automobiles, shoes, nylon,
sugar, gasoline, fuel oil,
coffee, meats and processed
foods. At the peak, almost
90% of retail food prices
were frozen.
It could also authorize
subsidies for production of
some of those commodities.
War Production Board



To ensure that the
armed forces and war
industries received the
resources for their evergrowing needs.
Decided which
companies would
convert from peacetime
to wartime production
and allocated raw
materials to key
industries.
Organized nationwide
drives to collect scrap
iron, tin cans, paper,
rags, and cooking fat for
recycling into war
goods.
Taxes


Beginning in 1940, the government extended
the income tax to virtually all Americans and
began collecting the tax via the now-familiar
method of continuous withholdings from
paychecks (rather than lump-sum payments
after the fact). The number of Americans
required to pay federal taxes rose from 4 million
in 1939 to 43 million in 1945.
All told, taxes provided about $136.8 billion of
the war's total cost of $304 billion
A New Role for the Federal
Government



How did World War II help expand the
role of the government in the lives of the
American people?
Explain – How did the federal
government raise money to help pay for
the war effort?
Make Inferences – What was the
connection between the War Production
Board and the fashion industry?