■Essential QuestionEssential Question:

–How did the U.S. mobilize civilians at home to help win World War 2 & what impact did this have on American society?

■Warm-Up QuestionWarm-Up Question:

–What other major American war is most similar in its resemblance to the U.S. entrance into WW2?

Mobilizing an “Arsenal of Democracy”

The Home Front■WW2 impacted all aspects of

American life:–FDR hoped the U.S. would be

the great “arsenal of democracy” –The boost of wartime industry

ended the Great Depression–The war altered the lives of

women, African-Americans, Japanese-Americans, & Mexican-Americans

Mobilization■To win wars in Asia & Europe &

meet civilian demands, the U.S. gov’t grew to its largest size ever:

–The War Powers ActWar Powers Act gave the president unprecedented power

–New bureaucracies were formed to direct the economy, create propaganda, sell war bonds, & prevent enemy subversion

The power to create new gov’t agencies

to censor the press

to limit civil liberties & seize personal property

The Office of War Mobilization coordinated

the draft, consumer prices, & the labor force

The Office of War Information

directed press, print, radio, & film

propaganda

The Office of Strategic Services gathered enemy intelligence & conducted espionage

This is 2x as much as all previous gov’t spending combined

The U.S. gov’t spent $250 million per day from 1941 to 1945

MobilizationMobilization: The Demand for War Equipment & Soldiers

War bonds helped raise $187 billion to support

the war effort

Buy, Buy, Buy, Buy a Bond:Buy, Buy, Buy, Buy a Bond:It Will Lead to VICTORY!It Will Lead to VICTORY!

Buy, Buy, Buy, Buy a Bond:Buy, Buy, Buy, Buy a Bond:It Will Lead to VICTORY!It Will Lead to VICTORY!

War Rations

Victory GardensVictory Gardens: Grow Your Own

PropagandaPropaganda: Fighting the Enemy on the Battlefield & on the Home Front

Fear Propaganda

Hollywood Pitches In

Jimmy Stewart goes off to war

The Wartime Economy■The most decisive factor for Allied

victory was America’s ability to outproduce both Germany & Japan

–Heavy industry was converted to war & was directed by the War Production Board (WPB)War Production Board (WPB)

–15 million U.S. soldiers fought but 60 million workers & farmers supplied them with supplies

U.S. made 2x more goods than Germany & 5x more than Japan

Ford’s Willow Run Factory Ford made one B-24 bomber every hour

Henry Kaiser’s West Coast ShipyardsThe Allies won the Battle of the Atlantic, in part, because the USA produced ships

faster than German u-boats could sink them

Kaiser standardized battleship building & reduced the time it took to make a battleship

from 355 days to 14 days

■Essential QuestionEssential Question:

–How did the U.S. mobilize civilians at home to help win World War 2 & what impact did this have on American society?

■Reading Quiz Ch 25 B (904-922)Reading Quiz Ch 25 B (904-922)

WW2 Changed American Society

FDR Video #2

Regional Changes■The war effort transformed the

Western & Southern U.S.:–California became the major

center for industry to support the war effort in the Pacific

–60 of the 100 new military based were built in the South

–Southern textile factories & industrial jobs helped end sharecropping & tenant farming

9 million defense workers moved to new factories & shipyards in South & West

Women■The war presented new economic

opportunities for women:

–Dramatic rise in employment (14 million to 19 million by 1945)

–Most new female workers were married, many middle-aged

–Entered “exclusively male” fields

–Temporarily redefined “woman’s sphere” from “just at home”

“To hell with the life I have had. This war is too [serious], and it

is too [important] to win it.”

““Rosie, the RiveterRosie, the Riveter””““Rosie, the RiveterRosie, the Riveter””

S..t..r..e..t..c..h That Food!S..t..r..e..t..c..h That Food!S..t..r..e..t..c..h That Food!S..t..r..e..t..c..h That Food!

WomenWomen’’s Army Air s Army Air Corps PilotsCorps Pilots

WomenWomen’’s Army Air s Army Air Corps PilotsCorps Pilots

Join the WomenJoin the Women’’s s Army Corps Army Corps

(WACs)(WACs)

Join the WomenJoin the Women’’s s Army Corps Army Corps

(WACs)(WACs)

Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES)

Families■The uncertainties of war &

economic affluence of the 1940s led to a dramatic rise in marriage

■The influx of women into the workforce led to a new demand for daycare centers & to an increase in child delinquency

■Public health improved as more families had access to doctors, dentists, & prescription drugs

…and high divorce rates

African-Americans■1 million blacks served in U.S.

military but few saw combat

■Discrimination in the workforce led A. Philip Randolph to pressure FDR to create a Fair Employment Fair Employment Practices CommitteePractices Committee

■Continued black migration into the North & West made race relations a national issue

Banned discrimination in defense industries & gov’t

Segregated units…againSegregated units…againSegregated units…againSegregated units…again

Tuskegee Airmen

Double V: Victory at Home & Abroad

A. Philip Randolph threatened a “March on Washington” to

protest war time discrimination

Other groups, like the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), staged sit-ins in restaurants

in major cities to protest discrimination

Mexican-Americans ■Mexican-Americans:Mexican-Americans:

–Served in quasi-segregated military units, often in the most hazardous branches

–Mexican-American workers found jobs in SW agriculture & west coast industry

–Faced discrimination, especially during the Zoot Suit Riots

“Zoot Suit” Riot in Los Angeles

Japanese-Americans■Due to Pearl Harbor, many in the

U.S. feared Japanese-Americans were helping prepare for a Japanese invasion in the West

■Civil liberties were restricted:–Issei had their assets frozen–Used racial stereotypes (“Japs”)–In 1942, FDR ordered 112,000

Japanese-Americans moved to internment camps

Japanese who were not American citizens living in the U.S.

Japanese- American Internment

Camps

Families were given one week to close their businesses & homes

The all Japanese-American 442nd Division fought in Europe & received over 1,000

citations for bravery

Win-the-War Politics■In 1944, FDR used the war to

strengthen his leadership:–“Mr. New Deal” had shifted to

“Mr. Win the War”–Opponent Thomas Dewey made

communism & FDR’s health the focus of the election

–FDR switched VPs from liberal Henry Wallace to moderate Harry Truman to gain appeal