WWII the US Home Front War at Home

WWII & the US Home Front

War at Home: The Economy �Government took an active role in the economy to meet the needs of the Allied powers �War Productions Board – Dictated what could be produced and how �Jacket length �War strengthened organized labor �Wartime no-strike pledge muted but did not destroy labor militancy �War Labor Board

�As men went away to war, women and minorities found jobs in new industries �War brought long hours and high wages �Fair Employment Practices Commission (1941) �To protect minorities in workplace �Farmers enjoyed prosperity for first time in decades

�Business and Finance �Massive war-fueled increase in government spending New Deal job creation programs and other initiatives abolished in 1943

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Wartime propaganda �Media (Music, TV, Movie, Print) designed to influence opinions �Office of War Information (1942) �Focused on protecting the “American way of life” �Frank Capra’s Why We Fight series �Advertisers sold benefits of American freedom

Rationing �Essential goods (sugar, meat, gas, tires, clothes) were in limited supply and were “rationed” �Office of Price Administration �If you did not have a stamp you could not purchase rationed items �Victory Gardens – Grow vegetables at home �Scrap/Junk Drives – People were encouraged to recycle needed items

Red Stamp; Blue Stamp � "Red Stamp" rationing covered all meats, butter, fat, and oils, and with some exceptions, cheese. �Each person received points with expiration dates to follow. �"Blue Stamp" rationing covered canned, bottled, and frozen fruits and vegetables, plus juices and dry beans; and such processed foods as soups, baby food and catsup. �Each family was given a “War Ration Book. ” �Each stamp allowed the purchase of goods in the amount and time chosen. Each family was guaranteed a fair share.

Victory Gardens; Women �Some people planted "Victory Gardens" to conserve food. �Families could enjoy fresh vegetables for months. �By 1945, an estimated 20 million victory gardens produced approximately 40 percent of America's vegetables. �Training sessions were held to teach women to: �Shop wisely �Conserve food �Plan healthy meals �Can foods

Pros & Cons Pros Cons �The Black Market – people �Increase in could buy goods secretly at employment higher prices �People ate �It dealt in: healthier because �Britain meats and fats �Clothing /Liquor were scarce �United States �Meat / Sugar / Gasoline

Replacements �Food manufacturers hopped on the patriot bandwagon �Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinners became a substitute for meat and dairy products. �Two boxes required only one rationing coupon, which resulted in 80 million boxes sold in 1943. �Real butter was replaced with Oleo margarine. �Cottage cheese became a new substitute for meat. �Sales went from 110 million pounds in 1930 to 500 million pounds in 1944.

War at Home: Social Issues �Wartime gender equality �Spurred by women’s entry into workforce �Disagreement over proposed Equal Rights Amendment �War closed gap between “femininity” and “masculinity” �Rosie the Riveter – Propaganda Icon encouraging women to work in factories �Women worked as nurses, near front lines

�Racial equality �Growing popularity of belief that racial differences were culturally created �Helped to fuel postwar struggle against racial discrimination �Demands for a “Double V” campaign �Win WWII and end Segregation in the US �Tuskegee Airmen - All black Air Force Squadron �Expected to fail

Racial tensions �Racial disturbances in cities throughout the country �African Americans, Indians, and Latinos all involved Zoot Suit Riots �Growing commitment to addressing racial grievances �Congress on Racial Equality (CORE)

�Worst wartime treatment meted out to Japanese Americans �Executive Order 9066 authorized internment � 120, 000 Japanese Americans living on West coast were forced to relocate to detention camps � Fear that they would sabotage US war effort �$20, 000 redress in 1988 for having their civil rights violated

Discussion Questions �How did FDR muster U. S. economic and production forces in support of the war? �How did the war change the role of women and minorities in the United States?

Ending the War

Yalta Conference �Big Three (Churchill, Stalin, FDR) make plans for German Surrender �Germany and its capital Berlin were to be divided into four parts �Stalin would allow democratic elections in Eastern Europe �Soviet Union would invade Japan in 3 months

V-E Day �Battle of the Bulge – Last major German offensive �War in Europe ended in May 1945 �Soviet forces from East met with Anglo. American forces from West �Soviets militarily controlled Eastern Europe �British and Americans in control of Italy and Mediterranean

Hitler’s Death �As Soviet and US troops captured street after street in Berlin Hitler made plans for his own suicide �April 29, 1945 he married his girlfriend �April 30, 1945 they committed suicide and had their bodies burned

© 2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license. Allied Advances and Collapse of German Power

Bombing of Tokyo �Thousands of civilian homes were destroyed as the US fire bombed the city �Goal was to break the fighting spirit of the Japanese �Break their will to fight and force their surrender

A New President �Harry S. Truman assumed presidency upon FDR’s death in April 1945 �Knew little of FDR’s intentions in foreign affairs �Manhattan Project �First atomic weapon test - July 1945 �Administration assumed weapon would be used against Japan

Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki August 6, 1945 “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima 140, 000 deaths � August 9, 1945 “Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki 74, 000 deaths Enola Gay � Plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima � �VJ Day August 15, 1945

Little Boy

Fat Man

Reasons for Dropping the Bomb �End the war quickly �Didn’t think Japanese would surrender �Less Japanese battle deaths �Saved an estimated 1 million US soldiers lives �Spent tax $, lets see if it works �Scare the Soviets aka the Russians �The US didn’t want the Soviets in Japan, spreading communism to Japan �Revenge for Pearl Harbor and Japanese treatment of POW’s

Drawbacks to dropping the bomb �Civilian Casualties; Women and Children, elderly �Long lasting effects; Nuclear fallout, cancer, defects �Psychological effects �Monetary damage �Japan had contacted the Soviets about surrendering, as long as they could keep their Emperor �Creation of the Atomic / Nuclear age and the

Building a Lasting Peace �United Nations, 1945 �General Assembly with equal membership �Security Council to maintain peace �International Monetary Fund, 1944 �Maintain stable system of international exchange

�International Bank of Reconstruction and Development, 1944 �Provide loans to war-torn countries �Promote resumption of world trade �General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 1947 �International plan for free and fair trade

�Allies all agreed that powerful nations would have spheres of influence �Germany �Initially, U. S. supported its de-industrialization and dismemberment �Then supported division into zones controlled by Allies �Eventually led to a divided Germany �Capitalist vs. Communist West vs. East

The Holocaust �Anti-Semitism or hatred of Jews had been common in Europe for a thousand years �Hitler used this hatred to blame Jews for most problems in Germany �“The � 1 st Jewish Question” Solution – (Nuremberg Laws) �Laws prohibiting numerous freedoms of Jews �EX: Jews could not marry Non Jews, Jews must wear a visible Star of David

� 2 nd Solution – Relocation �Jews were forcibly relocated to “ghettos” as slave labor �Disease, suicide, starvation were common � 3 rd Solution – Holocaust or Final Solution �Hitler’s plan to exterminate the Jews = Genocide � 6 million Jews were killed � 5 million “others” were killed

America’s Role �Many countries denied immigrants visas despite known violence against Jews (1 st Solution) �Nazi laws had stripped Jews of their wealth �Countries discourage “poor” immigration (Crime) �Surplus of workers because of depression �Fear over anti – Semitic backlash

Israel �Nuremberg Trials – Trials to punish those accountable for the Holocaust �Palestine �European Jews flocked to Palestine after War �Created new state of Israel in 1948 �Zionism