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America’s Changing
Workforce During
Peace and War
(1914 – 1945)
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWI
President Woodrow Wilson and
Congress agreed that the
government should not control
the Wartime Economy
Instead, they wanted to establish
a cooperative relationship
between businesses and the
government
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWI The War Industries Board was
formed in 1917 to coordinate
production of War Materials
Wall Street Businessman
Bernard Baruch was selected
to be the Chairman
The War Industries Board:
Regulated what manufacturers produced for the war
Controlled the flow of raw materials for war production
Ordered construction of new factories as needed
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWI The National War
Labor Board was
formed in 1918 to
reduce and prevent
labor disputes
William Howard Taft
supervised the board
The National War Labor Board:
Coordinated wage increases and an 8 hour workday
Recognized the rights of unions & collective bargaining
Obtained promises to avoid disruption of war production
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWI The enlistment of 2.8
billion men into the Army
and Navy left a shortage
in America’s workforce
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWI The labor shortage would provide great opportunities for
both Women and Minorities to gain employment in the
war’s various industries
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWI Approximately 8 Million Women filled a variety of wartime
jobs in both industry & support jobs during World War One
YWCA
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWI
Recruiting Red Cross
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWI About 200 Thousand Mexican laborers crossed the border to
work on farms, ranches, and industrial jobs in the Southwest
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWI The slow but steady movement of African-Americans from the
Agricultural South to the Industrial North became known as:
The “Great Migration”
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWI
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWI
What were the key influences on the “Great Migration”?
Hopes for a new start on life
Get away from the South’s Jim Crow Laws
Greater opportunities for a better education
Increased need for laborers to support the war effort
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWI Why did the “Great Migration” occur?
Hopes for a new start on life
• Many African-Americans
in the south were poor
sharecroppers or tenant
farmers
• Most struggled just to
provide their families with
the basic necessities of
life
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWI Why did the “Great Migration” occur?
Get away from Jim Crow Laws
• Economic Oppression through
Debt Peonage
• Social Oppression through Racial
Segregation
• Political Oppression through Voting
Restrictions (Disenfrachised)
• Personal Oppression by Southern
Whites (KKK, Lynchings, Violence)
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWI Why did the “Great Migration” occur?
Greater Opportunities for Education
• Historical Black Colleges in the
South had limited finances and
facilities
• Integrated Colleges in the North
offered better educational
opportunities for some Blacks
• Southern segregation laws
forbid Blacks from attending
White schools
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWI Why did the “Great Migration” occur?
Increased need for Industrial Labor
• Economic prosperity increased in
the north starting in the early 1900’s
• Decline in immigrant labor occurred
due to the rise of Nativism
• Northern companies could not find
enough men to fill open positions
because of the war
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWI
Advertisement in the Chicago Defender (1917)
America’s Changing
Workforce during the
Post-War Depression
How did the Post-War period change employment for Women and Minorities?
Women returned to domestic duties at home
African-Americans experienced prejudice
Mexicans were subjected to repatriation
America’s Changing
Workforce Economic stress and Racial Prejudice
caused problems in the North
• Soldier returning home from the war
resented African-American workers
who took over their civilian jobs
• Many White families opposed Black
families living in the same community
• Rising tensions in many cities often
resulted in violence
St. Louis Race Riot (1917) Dispute over White Pay vs African-American Scabs
St. Louis Race Riot (1917) Dispute over Pay Differences and Inter-Racial Communities
“Red Summer” of 1919 Approximately 25 Race Riots broke out across the U.S.
Chicago
Omaha
Tulsa
Knoxville
America’s Changing
Workforce Economic Depression resulted in the Repatriation of about 1 Million Mexicans
What key influences motivated the Mexican Repatriation?
High unemployment of White Americans
Cost of relief & welfare for Mexicans
Racial prejudice over the “Mexican Problem”
Support from the Mexican Government
America’s Changing
Workforce Economic Depression resulted in the Repatriation of about 1 Million Mexicans
Cheap Mexican laborers exacerbated America’s unemployment
Too many Mexicans on welfare strained the already weak economy
Repatriation was more cost effective
America’s Changing
Workforce Economic Depression resulted in the Repatriation of about 1 Million Mexicans
Deportation of Mexicans provided a cost-savings
• Cost of welfare relief during the
Depression cost $347,468
• One Trainload from Los Angeles
cost the U.S. only $77,249
• Estimate savings = $270,000
America’s Changing
Workforce Economic Depression resulted in the Repatriation of about 1 Million Mexicans
Deportation of Mexicans was supported by rising prejudice in America
• Fueled by suspicion of
Mexicans prior to WWI
• Increased by suspicion
of Mexicans during WWI
• Blamed by Pres. Hoover
for failing U.S. Economy
America’s Changing
Workforce Economic Depression resulted in the Repatriation of about 1 Million Mexicans
Deportation of Mexicans from the U.S. was
supported by Mexico
• Guaranteed transportation
from border to home state
• Offered land and other
benefits to Repatriates
• Arranged settlement colonies
in Southern Mexico
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWII Executive Order #9347 created
the Office of War Mobilization
Created to coordinate the
various agencies responsible
for wartime production
Smith-Connally Act (1943)
Passed to prevent Strikes in
major industries that could
hinder Wartime Production
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWII
Creating A Production Miracle!
Americans converted their
various pre-war industries
into a war industry
The nation’s factories
began to produce tanks,
planes, boats, trucks,
weapons, and bombs
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWII
Creating A Production Miracle!
• 1942: All Civilian Car and aircraft production stopped
due to nation’s military needs of World War Two
• During the next 3 years every automobile and aircraft
company converted its factories to build war machines
• The introduction of mass production by Henry Ford
and his former competitors increased the production
of planes and tanks from 1 per day to 1 per hour
American tank production, 1937–1944
1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944
150 99 18 365 4,021 26,608 37,198 20,357
Many other industries also converted to war-related
supplies
“M4 Sherman”
Chrysler Plant
“M3 Grant/Lee” Chrysler Plant
“M26 Pershing”
GMC Plant
Many other industries also converted to war-related
supplies
SBD “Dauntless” Dive Bomber Built for the Navy & Marine
at the Douglas Plant in California
B-24 “Liberator” Built for Army Air Corps
by Ford Corporation
Type of
airplane Total
Army Air
Corps
Navy &
Marines Other U.S.
Great
Britain
Soviet
Union
Other
nations
Grand
total 295,959 158,880 73,711 3,714 38,811 14,717 6,126
Combat
aircraft 200,443 99,487 56,695 8 27,152 13,929 3,172
Very
heavy
bombers
3,740 3,740 - - - - -
Heavy
bombers 31,685 27,867 1,683 - 2,135 - -
Medium
bombers 21,461 11,835 4,693 8 3,247 1,010 638
Light
bombers 39,986 7,779 20,703 - 8,003 3,021 480
Fighters 99,465 47,050 27,163 - 13,417 9,868 1,967
Reconnais
sance 4,106 1,216 2,453 - 350 30 57
Support
aircraft 95,516 59,939 17,016 3,706 11,659 788 2,954
Transports 23,900 15,769 2,702 267 3,789 703 670
Trainers 58,085 34,469 13,859 3 7,640 85 2,029
Communic
ations 13,531 9,155 455 3,436 230 - 255
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWII FDR’s “Arsenal for Defense”
“The Nation expects our defense
industries to continue operation without
interruption by strikes or lock-outs.
It expects and insists that management
and workers will reconcile their
differences by voluntary or legal means,
to continue to produce the supplies that
are so sorely needed.
We must be the great arsenal of
democracy. For us this is an emergency
as serious as war itself.”
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWII Once again the labor shortage would provide great
opportunities for both Women and Minorities to gain
employment in the war’s
various industries
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWII By 1940, Only 15.5% of all married women were working, so
the Office of War Information launched a recruiting campaign
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWII The number of working women rose to 35% of the civilian
workforce with over 19.4 Million women by 1944
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWII “An American homemaker
with strength and ability to
run a house and raise a
family . . . . . has the strength
and ability to take her place
in a vital War Industry.”
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWII
"Do the Job He Left Behind"
was a campaign slogan that
emphasized women’s patriotism
for the war effort.
Norman Rockwell portrayed Rosie as a
monumental figure clad in overalls and
a work-shirt with the sleeves rolled up
to reveal her powerful, muscular arms
Rosie the Riveter
All the day long, Whether rain or shine,
She's a part of the assembly line.
She's making history, Working for victory, Rosie the Riveter.
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWII
• Although many employers were pleased to have female
workers, most women earned far less than the male workers
• Many women were eager to prove their usefulness to the War
• Many found the work interesting, challenging, and profitable
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWII Wartime production didn’t only impact the nation’s industries
What was the focus of the Bracero Program?
A program designed to address the wartime labor
shortages in U.S. agricultural production
It promoted the recruitment of skilled Mexican
Nationals to work farms and ranches in America
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWII Initially the Bracero Program
provided for employment on
farms and ranches in Texas
Contracts ranged from a few
weeks to 18 months
Makeshift camps ranged
in size from just a few
braceros to a thousand
Over time, braceros were
sent to CA, OR, WA, & AR
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWII Braceros were required to be
processed through inspection
stations along the border
Braceros who
were accepted
were issued
special ID cards
The Bracero Program provided
both economic opportunities
for workers and unexpected
hardships for Mexican families
Mobilizing America’s
Workforce for WWII More than 200,000 braceros
came into the U.S. to help
the war effort during WWII
Many suffered terrible work
conditions and low wages
However, for many,
life as a bracero was
better than life back
home in Mexico
The U.S. extended the
program until 1964
"When the U.S. needed it most, we came to serve the United States. When
the U.S. needed it most, I was here…” - José Ramírez Delgado, ex-bracero
"Well, the term bracero . . . it is a word of distinction, for me it is a word
of great pride. I would like that word to go down in history."
- Juan Loza, ex-bracero
"Over here your life changed because you earned more money,
you could buy more things that you wanted, buy clothes, eat
better. For me it was a positive experience. Maybe some would
say not.“ - Audómaro G. Zepeda, ex-bracero
"There was a lot of poverty in Mexico...I was money-poor, food-
poor, but rich in health.“ - Ignacio Gomez, ex-bracero
"Well, on the one hand it was beneficial, and on the other hand, the
family suffered just as much as you did.“
- Pedro del Real Pérez, ex-bracero
"I thought we were going to see a different world. Well, sometimes
it was even worse than my farm.“
- Santurnino González Díaz, ex-bracero
"Yeah, in the fields they would sing. . . . Thirty, forty, or fifty . . .
. No, life was hard, very hard, and beautiful."
-Ismael Díaz de León, ex-bracero