On The Home Front

The December 7th, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor changed day to day life for all Americans

Following Pearl Harbor Americans rallied to support their government and join the war

The government created the Office of Civilian Defense The OCD asked Americans to contribute “an hour a day for the U.S.A.”

Victory Gardens Farmers were busy feeding the Army so victory gardens were the only source of vegetables for regular citizens during rationing

Salvage For Victory Volunteers collected paper, rubber, scrap metal, aluminum pots, tin cans, box springs...anything that could be turned into armaments

The media was also very involved in informing the American public about the war effort The Office of War Information established to control information given to news sources

The media was also very involved in informing the American public about the war effort The entertainment industry created movies and comics to entertain and inform

The media was also very involved in informing the American public about the war effort The entertainment industry created movies and comics to entertain and inform And of course... DISNEY!

Gee…I would love to see some of that!

The media was also very involved in informing the American public about the war effort Songwriters created new songs to inspire patriotism The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy From Company B

The media was also very involved in informing the American public about the war effort Advertisers created catchy slogans to encourage frugality Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without

In 1941, only 15% of industrial production in the U. S In 1941, only 15% of industrial production in the U.S. was going to military needs. In 1942 FDR created the War Production Board to help convert industry to military needs. The WPB set limits to the amount of non-war products which could be produced. The WPB paid companies to set up new factories and, often, provided the equipment and facilities as well. This plan was highly successful and production doubled within a year. In Richmond, CA production time for a new ship dropped from 105 days to 46, then to 29, and finally to 14 days!

WWII created 17 million new jobs and pulled the U.S. out of the Great Depression

In order to ensure that companies could afford to continue producing war goods the government pressured major trade unions into a "No-Strike Pledge"

The government also began to ration goods Rationing: Limiting the amount of items a person/family can buy

War Bonds were also issued Certificate that promised the government would pay the holder the purchase price plus interest

Hmm…I wonder if Disney helped the government encourage rationing and the sale of bonds?