WW II: Life on the Home Front by Erica Rothert

8/12/2019 WW II: Life on the Home Front by Erica Rothert

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World War II:


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When the Japanese

launched a surprise

attack on Pearl

Harbor, on December

7th

, 1941, the UnitedStates was forced into

the second world

war.

a date which will live in infamy.


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On December 8th, theUnited States declaredwar on Japan. OnDecember 11th,

Germany and Italy bothdeclared war onAmerica. Life in theU.S was about to

change dramatically


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Just a few days afterthe attack on PearlHarbor, the U.S. wasfully thrown into the

world war and thecountrys full

resources (both

human and financial)had to be ready for thefight.


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Munitions plants, airfields, ship-building factories, and otherindustries were under great pressure to keep up with the wartimedemandsLabor was the resource in shortest supply. Employers

could not fill openings fast enough.


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While demand for laborwas increasingrapidlythe military

draft was draining the

labor force on the homefront. Millions of youngmen were being sentoff to combat.


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Employers had no choice but to open theirdoors to many of those who had long been

excluded from the higher-paying and skilledlabor positions. This was especially true forAfrican-Americans and women.


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President Franklin D.Roosevelt signed ExecutiveOrder 8802, which banneddiscrimination in defenseindustries. The new policyallowed a new, wider rangeof employment opportunitiesfor minorities who hadpreviously been excludedfrom industry.


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All industries were competing with eachother over employees. Supply and demandof labor compelled employers to offerincentives in the form of higher wages,

reasonable hours, on-the-job training,medical care, and evenfor some womenpaid maternity leave and daycare facilities.This set a new precedent unheard of before

this time.


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Women filledpositions previouslyreserved for menonly. Some examples

of these newpositions held bywomen are: mailcarriers, technicians,bus drivers, railroadoperators, plumbers,and constructionsworkers.


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By 1945, the unemployment that had become sorampant during the Great Depression, hadvirtually disappeared. Wartime manufacturing and

economic prosperity, or Dr. Win the War as FDRhad called it, had caused a boost in confidence tothe American public.


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The United States spent more than $300 billion during WorldWar II

That is equivalent to more than $4 trillion today! Yikes!The government was forced to turn to the American public tohelp with the overwhelming cost of war. The Treasuryintroduced war bonds as one way to fund the war effort. A

war bond was a way to be patriotic and support the countryin its time of need, but also an investment in ones own

future. The war bond would cost less than its value, and thegovernment would use the money from the sale to fundmilitary needs and production. Ten years after the war youcould then redeem it for the increased value from price ofsale. (For example: the bond would have cost $18.75, andyou could redeem it for $25.)


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The government used

propaganda toencourage the purchaseof war bonds as apatriotic duty.


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Another impact on thedaily life of Americansduring the war was thefood shortage. Almost

every citizen felt theeffects of foodshortages .


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The war caused all sorts of shortages in goods that were typically a given inAmericans daily livesrubber, metal, clothing, fuel, and of course food.

Food was more scarce because most of the processed and canned food wasbeing sent overseas to the military and our Allies. Limited fuel meant limitedtransportation of food supplies as well. The transportation of military supplies andlabor forces were the bigger priority now.


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The U.S. Office of PriceAdministration established asystem of rationing thatwould limit and regulate thedistribution of foods tocitizens. Each citizen wasgiven a series of rationbooks which contained

stamps that were good forspecific items (sugar, meat,oil, canned goods, etc.). Anitem could not be purchasedwithout the correct rationstamp. Meals had to be

carefully planned andAmericans had to becomequite creative with what littlefood they had. Wasting foodwas no longer an option.


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One way people wereable to lessen theburden of food

shortages and rationingwas through Victory

Gardens.Victory Gardens (orWar Gardens) were

planted on private

residential properties,or sometimes publicparks. Vegetable, fruitand herbs were plantedand used to help withthe public food supply.

During the war, aboutone third of thevegetables were grownin these VictoryGardens.


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During the war years,radio was the primarysource of news andentertainment forcivilians.


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President Franklin D. Roosevelt had a radio series called Fireside Chats

which were used by the president to communicate with American citizens intheir homes. It was the first real intimate connection between an AmericanPresident and his citizens. During the war, it became especially important forthe administration and public to have that connection. It also helped to boostthe overall morale of citizens.


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War managed to impact all aspects of American lives. Thisincluded music, comic books, movies, live entertainment,sports, clothing, etc.


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The Second World War had many far reaching consequences.What made it such a significant historical event, however, was theimpact it had on the home front. More importantly, the impact thatthe home front had on the war. WW II was a total warmeaning

that ALL the resources of the nation were put to use. Civilians of allkinds had an equal part in the war effort. The complete mobilizationof the resources and population at home was crucial to the successof the Allied forces. The scale in which the United Statesparticipated in this unprecedented total war was unmatched in

previous times. WW II touched every aspect of the lives of

Americans, and at the same time was dependent on their efforts.As FDR said:


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WW II: Life on the Home Front

Created by: Erica Rothert

Audio 1: FDR Declares War [1941]

(Historic Voices 30s and 40s)

Audio 2: Goodbye Dear Ill Be Back In A

Year (Jazz Hits of the Early 40s, Vol. 1)


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Work Cited

Coffin, Judith G. Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. New York: W. W. Norton, 2011. Print.

"Powers of Persuasion." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records

Administration, n.d. Web. 022 May 2014.

.

"World War II Propaganda, Cartoons, Film, Music, & Art." WWII Propaganda, Images, Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 05

June 2014. .

"PROPAGANDA POSTERS AT A GLANCE:." The National WWII Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2014/08 June

2014. .

"The U.S. Home Front During World War II." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 04 June 2014..

"America on the Homefront." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records

Administration, n.d. Web. 22 May 2014. .

"The American Homefront." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 05 June 2014.

.

"The World War II Home Front." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May

2014. .

PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 04 June 2014.

.

"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 18 May 2014.

.

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WW II: Life on the Home Front by Erica Rothert