THE UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR II

After World War II, Americans adjust to new economic opportunities and harsh social tensions.

Learning Objectives:Section 4 - The Home Front

• 1. Describe the economic and social changes that reshaped American life during World War II.

• 2. Summarize both the opportunities and the discrimination African Americans and other minorities experienced during the war.

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Opportunity and Adjustment

Economic Gains• Defense industries boom, unemployment falls to

1.2% in 1944- average pay rises 10% during war

• Farmers prosper from rising crop prices, increase in production- many pay off mortgages

• Percentage of women in work force rises to 35%

The Home Front4SECTION

Continued . . .

SECTION 4: THE HOME FRONT

• The war provided a lift to the U.S. economy

• Jobs were abundant and despite rationing and shortages, people had money to spend

• By the end of the war, America was the world’s dominant economic and military power

ECONOMIC GAINS

• Unemployment fell to only 1.2% by 1944 and wages rose 35%

• Farmers too benefited as production doubled and income tripled

• A – How did World War II cause the U.S. population to shift?– In towns and cities with defense plants,

population increased. – African American left the South for factory

jobs in the North and West.

GR:The Impact of the War

How did the war and its immediate aftermath affect the following?

1. Labor: Unemployment fell; average weekly paychecks

rose; women entered the workforce in record numbers and were then forced out of it after the war; women and minorities were offered better pay and more challenging jobs.

• B – How did the war affect families and personal lives?– During the war, mothers became single

parents and women took jobs outside the home.

– The war helped create new families.

The Impact of the War

How did the war and its immediate aftermath affect the following?

2. Agriculture: Farm machinery and fertilizers

improved; crop prices, crop production, and farm income increased; many farmers were able to pay off their mortgages.

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4SECTION

Population Shifts• War triggers mass migrations to towns with

defense industries

continued Opportunity and Adjustment

Social Adjustments• Families adjust to fathers in military; mothers rear

children alone• Families must get to know each other again after

fathers return• Many couples rush to marry before husband

goes overseas• 1944 GI Bill of Rights or Servicemen’s

Readjustment Act:- pays education; loan guarantees for homes, new businesses

POPULATION SHIFTS

• The war triggered the greatest mass migration in American history

• More than a million newcomers poured into California between 1941-1944

• African Americans again shifted from south to north

The Impact of the War

How did the war and its immediate aftermath affect the following?

3. Population centers: The population of states, cities, and towns with military bases and defense industries increased dramatically.

WOMEN MAKE GAINS

• Women enjoyed economic gains during the war, although many lost their jobs after the war

• Over 6 million women entered the work force for the first time

• Over 1/3 were in the defense industry

The Impact of the War

How did the war and its immediate aftermath affect the following?

4. Family life: The number of women juggling work and family (and raising children alone) increased dramatically; the marriage rate increased dramatically.

GI BILL HELPS RETURNING VETS

• To help returning servicemen ease back into civilian life, Congress passed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (GI Bill of Rights)

• The act provided education for 7.8 million vets

The Impact of the WarHow did the war and its immediate aftermath affect the following?

5. Returning GI’s; GI Bill of Rights dramatically increased

the standard of living of many GI’s by providing free education and job training, as well as federal loan guarantees for buying homes and farms or starting businesses.

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4SECTION

Civil Rights Protests• Racial tensions rise in overcrowded Northern cities

James Farmer founds Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)- works on racial segregation in North

• 1943 racial violence sweeps across country; Detroit riots worst case

Discrimination and Reaction

Tension in Los Angeles• Anti-Mexican zoot suit riots involve thousands

servicemen, civilians

The Impact of the War

How did these groups react to discrimination and racism during and

after the war?

6. African Americans: Defended their nation by joining the military and working in defense industries; founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE); staged sit-ins; founded committees to improve race relations

ZOOT SUIT• A zoot suit (occasionally

spelled zuit suit) is a men's suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. This style of clothing became popular within the African American, Chicano and Italian American communities during the 1940s.[1][2] In Britain the bright-coloured suits with velvet lapels worn by Teddy Boys bore a slight resemblance to zoot suits in the length of the jacket.

• The Zoot Suit Riots were a series of riots in 1943 during World War II that broke out in Los Angeles, California, between Anglo American sailors and Marines stationed in the city and Latino youths, who were recognizable by the zoot suits they favored. Mexican Americans and military servicemen were the main parties in the riots, and some African American and Filipino/Filipino American youths were involved as well.[1] The Zoot Suit Riots were in part the effect of the infamous Sleepy Lagoon murder trial which followed the death of a young Latino man in a barrio near Los Angeles. The incident triggered similar attacks against Latinos in Beaumont, Texas; Chicago; San Diego; Oakland, California; Detroit; Evansville, Indiana; Philadelphia; and New York.[2]

• Amelia Venegas Pachuca– arrested for

carrying brass knuckles during the Zoot Suit riot summer of 1943 in Los Angeles

– 22 year old Venegas, a wife of a sailor (fighting overseas),

– was going to the store with a baby in her arms to get some milk

• C – What caused the race riots in the 1940’s?– Discrimination, racism, concentration of

minorities in cities.

The Impact of the War

How did these groups react to discrimination and racism during and

after the war?

7. Mexican Americans: Defended their nation by joining the military; the zoot suit rebellion against tradition

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Japanese Americans Placed in Internment Camps• Hawaii governor forced to order internment

(confinement) of Japanese • 1942 FDR signs removal of Japanese Americans in

four states• U.S. Army forces 110,000 Japanese Americans into

prison camps• 1944 Korematsu v. United States—Court rules in

favor of internment• After war, Japanese American Citizens League

pushes for compensation• 1988, Congress grants $20,000 to everyone sent to

relocation camp

Internment of Japanese Americans

INTERNMENT OF JAPANESE AMERICANS

• When the war began, 120,000 Japanese Americans lived in the U.S. – mostly on the West Coast

• After Pearl Harbor, many people were suspicious of possible spy activity by Japanese Americans

• In 1942, FDR ordered Japanese Americans into 10 relocation centers

Japanese Americans felt the sting of discrimination during

WWII

Location of the 10 Internment camps

Jerome camp in Arkansas

U.S. PAYS REPARATIONS TO JAPANESE

• In the late 1980s, President Reagan signed into law a bill that provided $20,000 to every Japanese American sent to a relocation camp

• The checks were sent out in 1990 along with a note from President Bush saying, “We can never fully right the wrongs of the past . . . we now recognize that serious wrongs were done to Japanese Americans during WWII.”

Today the U.S. is home to more than 1,000,000 Japanese-

Americans

Nearly 59 years after the end of World War II, the National World War II Memorial was

dedicated in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, May 29, 2004 to honor the 408,680 Americans

who died in the conflict

• D – Why did President Roosevelt order the internment of Japanese-Americans?– Because some people perceived them as

a threat to national security.

The Impact of the WarHow did these groups react to

discrimination and racism during and after the war?

8. Japanese Americans: Defended their nation by joining the

military; fought against forced relocation·; founded the Japanese Americans Citizens League (JACL); sought compensation for those forced into internment camps