US History Standards: SSUSH19 The student will identify the origins, major developments, and the domestic impact of World War II, especially the growth of the federal government. d. Describe war mobilization, as indicated by rationing, war- time conversion, and the role of women in war industries.

  After Pearl Harbor, 5 million young men volunteered for military service – another 10 million were drafted  The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) was formed on May 15, 1942 for women to serve in noncombat positions  In 1943, the “auxiliary” status was dropped and WACs worked as nurses, ambulance drivers, radio operators, electricians, and pilots – nearly every duty not involving direct combat Expanding the Military

  African Americans, Native Americans, Mexican Americans and Asian Americans will join the fight even though they were discriminated against at home  Military units during World War II were segregated and early in the war minorities were held to noncombat positions  To protest discrimination in both the military and in industry, A. Phillip Randolph, the nation’s most respected African-American labor leader, called on African Americans to come to DC for a demonstration on July 1, 1941  Fearing white resentment and violence, FDR had a meeting with Randolph who refused to back down  In the end, FDR compromised – Randolph cancelled the march and FDR signed an executive order calling on employers and labor unions to allow all workers to labor without discrimination Expanding the Military A. Philip Randolph

  After 1943, African Americans, in segregated units, were allowed to serve in combat Expanding the Military  Asian Americans served as spies and interpreters

  just like in WWI, every aspect of the economy would be controlled and devoted to the war effort  Jan – War Production Board was set up to convert peacetime industries into production for war - all production of civilian goods was stopped  Factories were retooled to produce tanks, planes, boats, and command cars and shipyards turned out cargo carriers, tankers, troop transports, and aircraft carriers  May 1943 – Office of War Mobilization opened – this agency would control all wartime resources  The War Production Board decided who would make what and organized nationwide recycling drives that school children were involved in  All of this needed wartime production put an end to the unemployment experienced during the 1930s The Wartime Economy

  Despite the draft, 18 million people were working in war industries including 6 million women and 2 million minorities, all of whom were making higher wages  Farmers also prospered – good weather meant better growing conditions and improvements in farm machinery meant that more could be grown – crop prices greatly increased  The US government vowed to pay whatever necessary to fight the war - war was paid for by higher taxes and loans The Wartime Economy

  The war affected the daily lives of all Americans  Many moved to take war-related jobs  Americans again bought war bonds to raise money for the war effort  Shortages and rationing limited what people were allowed to buy – things like metals to make zippers or typewriters and nylon stockings were unavailable  The demand for food also fell well short of the supply  Rationing was imposed and consumers were given a fixed amount of things like sugar, coffee, meat, butter, canned fruit, and shoes – once you used up your points, you couldn’t get anymore  Americans had extra money for the first time in years and spent it on things like books, magazines, recordings of songs, went to baseball games, and the movies  Many Americans also planted victory gardens – a home vegetable garden planted to add to the home food supply and replace the vegetables needed to send to the soldiers Life at Home during World War II

 Internal Migration in the US During World War II

  As a consequence of the attack on Pearl Harbor, people were panicked about Japanese Americans living on the West Coast – people feared they were spies, newspapers printed ugly stories, and their numbers weren’t large enough to resist what was about to happen to them  On February 19, 1942, FDR signed an order requiring people of Japanese ancestry to be removed from California and parts of Washington, Oregon, and Arizona for national security  In the following weeks, the army rounded up 110,000 Japanese Americas, 2/3 of whom were native born Americans  They were sent to ten quickly constructed “relocation centers” which were basically prison camps Japanese Internment

  No specific charges were ever filed against them and no evidence of subversion was found  Most were forced to sell their homes, businesses, and all their belongings for less that their actual value  Japanese Americans were allowed to leave the camps in 1945, but most returned home and had to completely rebuild their lives  Many Japanese Americans decided to fight and in 1965, Congress authorized paying them $38 million in compensation, less than a tenth of their actual losses  Additional payments were made in 1990 with a letter of apology from President George H.W. Bush  About 11,000 German Americans were interned and 10,000 Italian Americans Japanese Internment

  hd/videos/japanese-internment-in- america?m= baf036&s=All&f=1&free=false hd/videos/japanese-internment-in- america?m= baf036&s=All&f=1&free=false Japanese Internment Video