Transcript A. Philip Randolph

World War II:
The Homefront
US History
Mrs. Longton and Ms. Schneider
WWII at Home
After the United States entered
World War II, the government
called on Americans to support the
war
► Many Americans flew flags outside
their homes, but patriotism was
not enough
► The war required everyone to
make sacrifices
► Civilians were asked to limit their
use of canned foods, gasoline, and
tires
► These and other items were
rationed, or restricted because
they were needed to supply the
troops.
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Citizens Called to Duty
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The U.S. government had to recruit
millions of soldiers for World War II
In 1940 Congress passed the
Selective Training and Service Act,
which started the first peacetime
draft in U.S. history
This was before Pearl Harbor
At first, only men between the ages
of 21 and 35 had to register
Later, men aged 18 to 45 were
included
People with jobs that were an
important part of the war effort were
excused from the draft
Local draft boards also granted
deferments, or postponements of
service, for medical or religious
reasons
African-Americans at War
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Some 15 million Americans served in the
military
One million African Americans and some
300,000 Mexican Americans formed part of this
group
African American troops faced discrimination in
the armed forces and generally served in
segregated units
As war went on they were given more
opportunities to serve in infantry, tank, and air
force units
Pressure from civil rights groups resulted in the
formation of an all African-American pursuit
squadron based in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1941
They became known as the Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen overcame segregation
and prejudice to become one of the most
highly respected fighter groups of World War II
WWII Helps the Economy
The U.S. was still suffering from the Great
Depression when WWII began
► However, the economy began to recover
as the country mobilized for war
► Production boomed as American factories
turned out large numbers of guns, jeeps,
tanks, and ammunition for the Allies
► Incomes rose, and unemployment nearly
vanished.
► Many Americans, including some rural
residents, moved to the North and
Midwest to take high-paying factory jobs
► Others took shipyard jobs along the West
Coast
► Even so, agricultural production remained
high
► U.S. farmers managed to feed European
allies as well as Americans
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Rationing
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To prepare the nation for war, the government
began to increase its control over the economy
The War Production Board (WPB) supervised the
conversion of factories to wartime production
For example, the WPB banned production of cars
in 1942 so that automotive plants could focus on
making military vehicles and equipment
The Office of War Mobilization (OWM) later
replaced the WPB.
To collect necessary supplies such as rubber and
metal, the government organized scrap drives
The government also began rationing, or
controlling the amounts of goods available for use
People needed special ration coupons to buy
goods such as coffee, gasoline, meat, and shoes
Rationing was unpopular but did help save key
supplies for the war
Office of War Information
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Officials knew that Americans had
to endure hardships, shortages, and
worse—the loss of loved ones
As a result, the government worked
hard to keep morale high
The Office of War Information
(OWI) kept the public and the press
aware of government policies
However, the government limited
military reports, such as information
about troop movements and
casualties
The government also warned
Americans about possible German
and Japanese spies in the United
States
Slogans like "A slip of the lip may
sink a ship" became common.
Raising Money for the War
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To pay for the war effort, the
government drastically increased
taxes
For the first time, middle- and
lower-income Americans had to
pay income taxes
These tax increases only paid 40
percent of the war expenses,
however
The government borrowed the
difference, mostly by selling war
bonds to the public
Movie stars, such as Betty Grable
and Loretta Young, encouraged
people to buy bonds
Americans bought billions of
dollars' worth of bonds to support
the war effort.
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Women & the War Effort
When the United States entered the war, there were
many new jobs and not enough workers
The government urged women to fill these new
positions
As men left for war, women replaced them in factories
and business offices
Spurred on by higher wages and a propaganda poster
featuring a muscle-bound "Rosie the Riveter"
exclaiming "We Can Do It!,"
Millions of American women helped assemble bombs,
build tanks, weld hulls and grease locomotives
Although they did the same work as men, women
often faced discrimination and received less pay.
Some 300,000 women worked in the armed forces
Military jobs ranged from helping run communications
systems to flying planes from factories to military units
Army and navy nurses served in combat areas.
African-Americans & the Homefront
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The mobilization for war brought new
opportunities to minorities
However, as they entered new jobs these
groups still sometimes faced unfair treatment
Many African Americans migrated from the
South to cities in the North to join the
industrial labor force
Once there, they often received less pay than
white workers in similar jobs
To protest this kind of treatment, African
American labor leader A. Philip Randolph
planned a march on Washington, D.C.
When President Roosevelt issued an executive
order forbidding racial discrimination in
defense industries
The order created the Fair Employment
Practices Committee (FEPC) to prevent
discrimination in war industries and
government jobs
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Mexican-Americans & Homefront
Many Mexican Americans moved to the West Coast
and the Midwest to take advantage of wartime job
opportunities
To meet a labor shortage in the Southwest, the
federal government allowed Mexican workers called
braceros to enter the United States beginning in 1942
200,000 braceros became key part of agricultural
economy
Although they supported the war effort, Mexican
Americans still faced discrimination
For example, many young Mexican American men of
the time wore zoot suits—outfits with oversized
jackets, wide-brimmed hats, and baggy pants that fit
tightly at the ankles
In June 1943, groups of sailors in Los Angeles
attacked Mexican Americans wearing zoot suits
For days, mobs roamed city assaulting Mexican
Americans
In the so-called zoot-suit riots. Riots against Mexican
Americans broke out in seven other cities as well.
Japanese-Americans
Americans' anger over the Pearl Harbor
attack led to widespread discrimination
against Japanese Americans
► In 1941, more than 125,000 people of
Japanese descent lived in the United
States, mostly on the West Coast
► Some of these immigrants were Issei,
or born in Japan
► More of them were Nisei, or full citizens
who had been born in the United States
► After Pearl Harbor, many Americans
questioned the loyalty of Issei and
Nisei.
► Fearing the possibility of spying or
sabotage, the U.S. government began a
process of internment in 1942
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Internment Camps
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Under the internment system, the
government forcibly relocated and
imprisoned Japanese Americans
Most Japanese Americans were
moved to remote internment camps
and kept under guard
Most of the camps were located in
the western United States.
Despite the internment policy, many
Japanese Americans volunteered for
military service
Many Nisei served in the 442nd
Regimental Combat Team
This unit fought in Europe and won
many medals for bravery
Other Japanese Americans served
as interpreters and translators with
military intelligence units in the
Pacific campaign