Home Front and Post War America Home Front

Home Front and Post War America

Home Front �Selective Service Act (Aug 1940) – the U. S. Congress issued the first peacetime draft �G. I. – “Government Issue” became widely popular as a term to refer to an American soldier

Women �Women’s Army Corp (WAC) – for the first time, Congress allowed an army unit made up of women

Rosie �Rosie the Riveter – a cultural and feminist icon that represented American women working in factories

War Production �War Production Board – agency responsible for converting companies from peacetime to wartime manufacturing �rationing – government limitations on certain goods for the war effort

Holocaust �Holocaust (Final Solution) – name given to the mass slaughter of the Jews and other groups by the Nazis during WWII

Nuremberg Trials �Nuremberg Trials – international trials held to convict Nazi leaders of war crimes �Emphasized individual responsibility for actions during a war

Korematsu �Korematsu v. United States (1944) – court case that determined whether the interment of Japanese Americans was constitutional �Allowed during wartime

G. I. Bill �G. I. Bill (1944) – provided federal aid and a college education to veterans

Baby Boomers �baby boomers – a period of time from 1945 -1961 in which the birthrate in American increased dramatically

Levittown �Levittown, Penn - the largest planned community constructed in the United States �First suburb – no it was not.

Acts and Deals �Taft-Hartley Labor Act, (1947) - established control of labor unions by outlawing closed shops and limiting the power of labor unions held �Fair Deal (1949) – Harry Truman’s domestic policy -minimum wage increase, raised Social Security benefits, etc