Transcript Texas Home Front & WWII Ends

The Home Front and End of
World War II
• Essential Questions:
– Analyze the political,
economic, and social
impact of World War 2
upon Texas
– Describe the impact of civil
rights movements such as
American GI Forum
• Main Idea:
– Texans experienced a lot
of economic and social
changes in the workplace,
civil rights, education, and
population before and after
the war.
Industrial Production in Texas
• World War II depended
heavily on tanks, ships,
airplanes, gasoline,
explosives, and other
supplies.
• Texas had large supplies
of natural gas, water,
timber, and sulfur; and
supplies 80% of oil
needed.
• From 1942-1944, Texas
industries boomed,
resulting in a large
population growth.
New Methods of Production
• Scientists invented
synthetic rubber from
petroleum, and chemical
plants were built
in Texas.
• Largest tin smelter in the
world built in Texas City
• Engineers planned and
constructed underground
pipelines to carry gases and
liquids safely instead of
transporting them by
tankers.
Home Front Workers
• Between 1940-1943
450,000 rural Texans
moved to cities to work in
wartime factories
• There were new
opportunities for women,
African-Americans and
Mexican-Americans
• Fair Employment
Practices Committee
(FEPC) was formed to
reduce discrimination in
war industries.
Sacrifices at Home and at War
• Food items and
other important
goods were
rationed so they
could be used in
the war effort
• Texans
contributed to the
Red Cross and
other
organizations that
helped soldiers
An Allied Victory
• V-E Day: May 9, 1945
“Victory in Europe”
• V-J Day: Aug. 15, 1945
“Victory over Japan”
• Allied forces entering
Germany discovered the
horrors of concentration
camps where millions of
innocent people (mostly
Jews) had been killed—
this mass murder will
become known as the
Holocaust.
Demobilization
• Airplane and ship plants
either closed or began
producing consumer
goods.
• Women who worked in
factories generally were
fired so that returning
servicemen could have
their jobs.
• Since farming had
become mechanized and
required fewer workers,
most tenant farmers
never returned to work on
farms.
New Attitudes of Minorities
• Many African Americans
and Mexican Americans
realized the unfairness of
fighting and dying for
democracy and freedom
when many of their civil
rights were denied at
home.
• Many Mexican American
veterans joined LULAC,
while others formed the
American GI Forum of
Texas—founded by
Hector P. Garcia in
1948.
•
New Attitudes of Minorities
(Continued)
The National
Association for the
Advancement of
Colored People
(NAACP) became active
during and after the war
in the discrimination
cases of Smith v.
Allwright (1944) and
Sweatt v. Painter (1950).
• Early civil rights activist
Lulu Belle Madison
White helped choose the
plaintiff, Heman B.
Sweatt, for the case.
Texans Return to Civilian Life
• After the war, servicemen
returned to old jobs or
went to college.
• 1944 - Congress passed
the GI Bill of Rights
which helped veterans in
various ways (including
tuition for college). As a
result, the United States
economy grew and
prospered.
• An increase in marriages
resulted in the “baby
boom” era.
Foreign Affairs
• Some U.S. troops stayed to serve in Germany
and Japan as armies of occupation.
• New threats emerged when the Soviet Union set
up Communist dictatorships in several Eastern
European nations.
• The United States was committed to stopping
the spread of Communism and became involved
in the Cold War.
• 1950 – Korean War
– Communist N. Korea
invaded S. Korea, a
key U.S. ally
VS.