17.1 Mobilization on the Home Front
Selective Service and the GI 5 million who volunteered Selective Service System expanded the draft and eventually provided another 10 million soldiers GI- “Government Issue”
Women in the Military Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) Women volunteering for the army did not receive the same rank, pay, or benefits as men doing the same jobs 250,000 women served in this and other auxiliary branches during the war
Minorities in the Armed Services All-Latino units saw heavy action both in Europe and Asia More than a million African Americans also served in the military Worked in segregated units and were mostly limited to non-combat roles More than 13,000 Chinese Americans 33,000 Japanese Americans 25,000 Native Americans enlisted in the armed services too
Industrial Response Factories were quickly converted to war production Automobile plants were retooled to produce tanks, planes, boats, and command cars
Mobilization of Scientists Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) Spurred improvements in both radar and sonar The atomic bomb – “the Manhattan Project”
Internment of Japanese Americans 1942, War Department called for the mass evacuation of all Japanese Americans from Hawaii February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed an order requiring the removal of people of Japanese ancestry from California and parts of Washington, Oregon, and Arizona 110,000 Japanese Americans
Agencies and LawsWhat the Regulations Did National War Labor Board (NWLB) Limited wage increases Allowed negotiated benefits Kept unions stable Office of Price Administration (OPA) Fought Inflation Rationed foods War Production Board (WPB) Rationed fuel and materials vital to the war effort Department of the Treasury Issued war bonds Revenue Act of 1942 Raised the top personal-income tax rate to 90% Added lower and middle income Americans to the income-tax rolls Smith-Connally Labor Disputes Act (1943) Limited the right to strike Gave president power to take over striking plants Government Takes Control