Mobilization for War and the Homefront Building an American Force at Home and Abroad

The Draft 1940: First peace time military draft 15 million men and women served 31 million men from 18 and 44 registered More than half were found to be unfit physically Military attempted to prevent homosexuals from enlisting, but that proved difficult

Keys to Economic Success War Production Board: Supervised production and supply Need to change consumption for wartime Rationing: shoes, meat, coffee Black market develops Ration books with coupons given to everyone American production is at its highest point Block wardens

Other Wartime Agencies War Labor Board War Manpower Commission Fair Labor Employment Practices Committee Office of Price Administration

African Americans in WWII Less discrimination than in WWI African Americans served in segregated units Civil rights groups protested the segregation Often assigned the most menial duties Trained as officers in the Air Force Segregated troops Fought for democracy Pittsburgh Courier—Double V Campaign Blood banks had segregated blood

African Americans continued Many moved from South to North Able to get factory jobs—paid less than their white counterparts Fair Employment Practices Commission: Prohibit discrimination on the basis of race or national origin Didn’t end discrimination but led to improvements

Latinos Mexican Americans served in combat troops Bracero Program: 1942-1964 Brought in temporary contract labor from Mexico to fill agriculture jobs during the War Braceros (from the Spanish word arms) would work for 4 months and then return home--they could contract for longer Zoot Suit Riots: 1943 Servicemen accused “Zoot suiters” of attacking them Led to riots in which Mexicans were beaten up by servicemen Led to the passage of laws prohibiting the wearing of Zoot Suits

Conditions of Relocation: Continued Korematsu v. United States Internment challenged and upheld in the Supreme Court Not a unanimous decision One justice called it, “legalization of racism” Some Japanese-Americans gave up their citizenship considered a symbolic act of distaste for the actions of the American government

Women on the Home Front Women took the jobs formerly held by men Jobs offered higher pay Rosie the Riveter became a popular image Encouraged women to “do their part” Women worked at heavy industrial jobs for the first time At the end of the war women were expected to return home Made room in the factories for veterans Returned home and to jobs that didn’t pay as well

Women in the Military Women were not drafted but could volunteer Served as nurses and support staff WACS—Army WAVES—Navy SPARS—Coast Guard WASPS—Air Force

Japanese Internment After the bombing of Pearl Harbor the US works to tighten national security FDR issues Executive Order 9066 Excluded people of Japanese heritage from certain “designated military areas” Only affected Japanese on the West Coast Cleared “enemy aliens” due to a threat of spying Japanese forbidden from owning land Had been the most productive farmers in CA

Attitudes toward the Japanese General De Witt: responsible for authoring the order “The continued pressure of a large unassimilated, tightly knit racial group, bound to an enemy nation by strong ties of race, culture, custom and religion along a frontier vulnerable to attack, constituted a menace which had to be dealt with.” Whips up public sentiment The government maintained that the ethnic ties of the Japanese to their country of origin were stronger

Camp Life Camps were located in barren areas Release no possibility for economic self-sufficiency animosity toward the Japanese-Americans was intense--government decided that release was not possible Release must prove loyalty to the US must have a job waiting in a welcoming community

Camp Life Camp life was without privacy shared chores people with specific skills provided them to other internees Quakers came in a provided education Anti-war tradition