Louisiana: World War 2 Era

AGRICULTURE, LABOR, and INDUSTRY Industries that thrived in Louisiana during this time. Sugarcane, cotton, & rice Petrochemicals War items (shell casings, tanks to hold gas, armored tank parts) Describe the people who found jobs. More women joined the workforce during this time than any other time in history. African Americans

Use timeline to describe how the port develops over this time. Traffic had increased and it is now an important part for troops and materials coming and going, base for ships Lots of war supplies leaving on cargo ships daily Industries in New Orleans and Ruston? New Orleans: shipbuilding Ruston: egg dehydration plant (used as food for the soldiers) Axis prisoners (POWs) were employed to work farms

HIGGINS BOATS Who created? Andrew Higgins Where? New Orleans (largest ship building plant in the world) What were they used for? To get soldiers and equipment safely and efficiently on shore Significance to the war? Used in D-Day (Normandy, France) which became a turning point in Western Europe

Life On the Home Front (Home front is used to describe civilian life.) What security measures are taken after Pearl Harbor? Bridges, city water supplies, and defense plants were put on extra guard Describe blackouts. Cities had to be completely dark at night Purpose: so enemy planes could not locate them

Describe rationing and give 3 examples. Consumption of scarce supplies or resources was limited TIRES…rubber was needed for items such as gas mask and life rafts (bicycles were in short supply) SUGAR…needed for food (had to sign up for a sugar ration book) MEAT… needed for food (“meatless” days were established) SHOES… began w/3 pairs per person a year and dropped down to one by the end

Describe Victory Gardens. Families planted a garden for their use Supplied over 40% of the fresh vegetables during the war In what ways did Louisiana citizens help? Boy Scouts delivered blackout booklets Schools collected scrap Showed support for troops USOs provided entertainment

Military Training and Facilities What were the Louisiana Maneuvers? Army training drills/mock wars Headquarters were in DeSoto parish Why were they held here? Right climate and rural areas with few people to disturb Describe the mock wars. Divided into 2 armies to fight each other Practiced maneuvers they would use in WW2 Covered over 3,000 square miles

How did this help war efforts? Men were prepared to go into war Were able to access weaknesses How many training sites/facilities did Louisiana have by the end of the war? 5 training camps 10 flying fields Barksdale Field – Bossier Parish; today is an Air Base

Postwar V-E Day V-D Day Victory in Europe Germany surrendered after being defeated and Hitler committing suicide May 8th V-D Day Victory Over Japan Day Japan surrendered after the atomic bombs were dropped August 15th

Postwar Describe the shift seen in Louisiana’s economy Went from agriculture to industry Machines replaced laborers Describe the industries that grew in Louisiana after the war. Oil industry saw biggest growth Chemical plants began locating along MS River