3. American Home Front WWII

7/30/2019 3. American Home Front WWII

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Section 6-3

The American Home Front

December 7, 1941 - 1945


2/49

A Day That Will Live in Infamy

Day after Pearl Harbor,

FDR gave his famousspeech

U.S. declared war on

JapanDec. 8, 1941

Germany and Italy todeclare war on the

U.S. on Dec 11

Neutrality Over


3/49


4/49

Enlistment and Patriotism

American military NOTprepared for war.

Only 400,000 men on

active duty (others merely

registered)

The U.S. calls on American

men to enlist.

Women join too! (400,000) Nurses

WAC and WAVES


5/49

Govt Film Recruiting Women

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGp93ijzok4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGp93ijzok4&feature=youtube_gdata_playerhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGp93ijzok4&feature=youtube_gdata_player


6/49

Enlistment and Patriotism

Response OVERWHELMS

recruitment centers

Medical rejection

(Classification IV-F) causes

some to commit suicide

By end of waralmost 16

million men enlist or are

drafted (6 million voluntary)0

2,000,000

4,000,000

6,000,000

8,000,000

10,000,000

12,000,000

14,000,000

16,000,000

Pre-Attack After

U.S. Military


7/49

Diversity in the Military

Discrimination in US societystill prevalent, but:

1,000,000 African Americans

300,000 Mexican-Americans 33,000 Japanese Americans

25,000 Native Americans

13,000 Chinese AmericansServe in military during WWII

BUT SEGREGATED

The Golden 13First African-American Naval Officers


8/49

Financing the WarFederal Spending:

1939: $ 9.4 billion

1945: $95.0 billion

TOTAL COST: $321 billion

Where to get the money? Taxes 41% of cost

Rest borrowed

WAR BONDS Like Liberty Bonds

$156 billion raised


9/49

Propaganda


10/49

Public Sacrifice During War

OPA

Office of Price Administration

Created to stop inflation and

price gouging

Rationing implemented.

Limit how much of a good each

person can buy


11/49

Rationed Goods

20 EssentialCommodities Rationed

Rationed items include:

sugar, coffee, meats,grains, rubber and fuel.

People given rationstamps (had to havestamp to buy)


12/49

Importance of Food Farms were producing as

much food as possible(double pre-war output)

Revives struggling farming

sector

Victory Gardens back!

Much of the food went toBritish and Russiansoldiers and citizens


13/49

Shift in

Production

American Industry converts towar time production:

GM, Ford, and Chrysler

now make tanks,transports, bullets, etc.

Boeing makes bombers

and fighter.

Gun makers like Colt, make

machine guns,

flamethrowers, war rifles.


14/49

Economic Gains

Unemploymentfell to only 1.2%

by 1944 andwages rose 35%

Farmersbenefited as

productiondoubled and theirincome tripled


15/49

Pittsburgh Production

More Steel than all Axis Nations COMBINED


16/49

LSTs


17/49

The GP Vehicle

Developed in Butler, PA (North of Pittsburgh)


18/49

H.J. Heinz Co.


19/49

Balsa Wood Gliders


20/49

Pittsburgh Production


21/49

War Production

In full war mode, the U.S.was producing weaponsfaster than anybody

around thought that itwould or could.

In one month, the U.S.was able to produce up

to 4,000 tanks and 4,500planes.

Ship production alsoincreased dramatically.

Per month

0

5

10

15

20

25

Before After

Ship and Submarine Production

Ships and

Subs


22/49

Aircraft Production

1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945

UnitedStates 2,141 6,068 19,433 47,836 85,898 96,318 46,001

Germany

8,295 10,862 12,401 15,409 24,807 40,593 7,540

Japan 4,467 4,768 5,088 8,861 16,693 28,180 8,263


23/49

Arms/Armor Production

Chrysler(car company) makes 12,500,000 bullets A DAY


24/49

Naval Production

CountryAircraftcarriers

Battleships Cruisers DestroyersConvoyescorts

SubmarinesMerchanttonnage

UnitedStates

22 8 48 349 420 203 33,993,230

Japan 16 2 9 63 183 167 4,152,361

Germany 0 2 17 23 1,141

Italy 0 3 6 6 28 1,469,606


25/49

Unintended Benefits for Women

Before the war, 12

million women worked

in the U.S.

Desperate for workers toproduce weapons,

women replaced the

men that went to war.

18 million women in

workforce during war


26/49

Women Produced Wartime Goods


27/49

Womens Gains Toward Equality

Over 6 million women

entered the work force

for the first time

Over 1/3 were in the

defense industry.

Women enjoyed

economic gains duringthe war, although many

lost their jobs after

the war


28/49


29/49

Success on the Home Front

The war provided a liftto the U.S. economy

Jobs were abundant

but rationing meanscannot spend money!

America emerges from

war as the worlds

dominant economic

and military power.


30/49

Population Shifts

The war triggered the

greatest mass migration

in American history.

More than a million

newcomers to California

between 1941-1944.

Millions of African-Americans from south to

north. (Manufacturing jobs)


31/49

The Ugly Side of the Home Front:Discrimination


32/49

African-Americans Segregation in military

and at home Mistreatment by

Northern workers

Double V Campaign:Pittsburgh Courier

Victory for Allies

Victory for equality

After serving war effort,deserve respect!!

BUTlose jobs to whiteveterans after war


33/49

Mexican-Americans Latino population ofLos

Angeles segregated inbarrio

Popular clothing style =

zoot suit Strong anti-Mexican

sentiment stemmingfrom 1942 Sleepy

Lagoon Case: Murder blamed on gang

of Mexican-Americanyouth

9 convicted (wrongly)


34/49

Zoot Suit Riots 2 incidents of violence b/t

Mexican-American youth

and servicemen in 4 days(August 1942)

200 naval personnel convoyto East LA in taxis:

Using clubs, beat groupsof Mexican youth and

burn zoot suits

Thousands of servicemenjoin over next few days

Police there, butinstructed not to arrest

sailors


35/49

Zoot Suit Riots Aftermath of riots:

150 injured 500 Mexican-Americans

arrested

ZERO servicemen

arrested Military forced to ban

servicemen from LA

LA media praises

servicemen for cleansingLA of gangs

LA makes wearing zootsuits a crime


36/49

Suspicion Cast Upon Japenese-

Americans Japanese-Americans long discriminated against in US

Viewed as threat to American labor/jobs

Anti-miscegenation laws passed

Tight immigration restrictions

Pearl Harbormakes worse

Fear ofcollaboration with enemy


37/49

Suspicion Cast Upon Japenese-

Americans Japanese-Americans long discriminated against in US

Viewed as threat to American labor/jobs

Anti-miscegenation laws passed

Tight immigration restrictions

Pearl Harbormakes worse

Fear ofcollaboration with enemy

Many take extreme steps to demonstrate loyalty


38/49

Executive Order 9066

Executive Order 9066 (Feb 1942): Pacific Coast (to 100 miles inland) labeled as Military

Exclusion Zone

Military may remove any persons who pose a risk to nationalsecurity

Persons ofJapanese ancestry are primary targets

112,000 living on Pacific Coast (90% of Japanese-Americans) 80,000 are second generation (born here)

60% are US Citizens

Excluded persons rounded up and sent to camps


39/49


40/49


41/49

I t t


42/49

Internment Persons of Japanese ancestry gathered with little notice

Little chance to pack Little chance to organize affairs

Businesses abandoned

No fact-finding or due process Upheld as Constitutional inKorematsu v. United States SCOTUS finds that need to protect against espionage outweighs

Korematsus individual rights.

Imprisoned for up to 4 years

Surrounded by barbed wire

Armed guards

Children are placed in camps with adults


43/49


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48/49

Reparations for Internment

President Carter (1980): Creates Commission on Wartime Relocation and

Internment of Civilians (CWRIC)

CWRIC finds internment was result of racialprejudice and evidence of Japanese-Americandisloyalty did not justify it.

Determines that payment of $20,000 and letter ofapology will be given to all survivors


49/49

Enemy Alien Control Program

Japanese-Americans not only people affected:

11,527 German aliens (non-citizens) and German-Americans interned for duration of war

600,000 Italian-Americans given curfews, travelrestrictions and excluded from living near coasts.

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3. American Home Front WWII