WORLD WAR 2 THE HOMEFRONT

Selective Service & GI Bill 6 million volunteered 11.5 million drafted through Selective Service Soldiers known as GI’s (Government Issue) GI Bill passed in 1944 to ease transition of GI’s back into civilian life; gave funding for college education and loan guarantees to veterans buying homes or farms GI originally stood for galvanized iron but later referred to government issue (stamped on uniforms and supplies) – came to be associated with US soldiers. Went through 8 weeks of basic training, then sent off to war About half of returning vets (7.8 million) went to school under GI bill upon return

Discrimination in the Military One million African Americans – segregated units, non-combat roles until 1943 (Tuskegee Airmen) 300,000 Mexican Americans 13,000 Chinese Americans 33,000 Japanese Americans (442nd Regiment) 25,000 Native Americans (Navajo Code Talkers) Truman desegregated 1948 after war Why die for democracy over there when we don’t even have it here? asked one editorial in African-American newspaper One African American who was drafted said “Just carve on my tombstone, here lies a black man killed fighting a yellow man for the protection of a white man” 442nd was most decorated unit in US history (all nisei unit) – many of their families were in internment camps. Fought in Atlantic Tuskegee Airmen – fought in Italy, won military’s highest commendation for dogfights with German Luftwaffe

WAAC/WAC Women’s (Auxiliary) Army Corp Non-combat positions: nurses, drivers, electricians, pilots, office workers, radio operators, etc. Established in 1942; 13,000 women applied on the first day. 350,00 women served during the war WAC remained a segregated unit of army until 1978 when male/female forces were integrated At first women got salary but no other army benefits; by July 1943, dropped Auxiliary (became WAC) and women given full army benefits Today about 200,000 women serve in US armed forces out of 1.4 million active duty

Wartime Production War Production Board (WPB) decided which companies would convert from peacetime to wartime production Automobile plants => tanks, planes, boats, and command vehicles Mechanical pencils => bomb parts Bedspreads => mosquito netting Bottling soft drinks => filling shells with explosives In 1942, last auto produced for private use during the war (gray sedan with “victory trim” – meaning no chrome) Ramped up production on ships – one Liberty ship (Hull 440) completed in only four days!

Wartime Labor: Women 18 million workers in wartime industries Unemployment fell to 1.2% in 1944 6 million were women, made up 35% of total workforce but only made 60% of men’s salaries “Rosie the Riveter” 3 times as many civilian workers by 1944 as there were in 1941 2 million minority workers – before war 75% of defense contractors would not hire African Americans

Wartime Labor: Minorities 2 million (of 18 million) were minorities Faced segregation & discrimination A. Philip Randolph CORE: Congress of Racial Equality founded by students in Chicago, staged sit-ins at segregated businesses FDR issued exec order calling on employers not to discriminate under pressure of a march on Washington organized by Randolph % of African Americans working in skilled jobs rose from 16 to 30% between 1940-1944 A Philip Randolph, president/founder of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, planned march on Washington under banner “We Loyal Colored Americans Demand the Right to Work and Fight for our Country” – when FDR heard about it, he was afraid it would provoke violence because 100,000 people were expected. FDR made Randolph a deal that in return for calling off the march, he would issue exec order Many African Americans left south (1.3 million).

Bracero Program Demand for manual labor, especially agricultural & railroad workers Series of laws & agreements starting in 1942 to allow for temporary workers from Mexico during the war 160,000 during the war; 4.5 million Mexican workers by 1964 when program ended Workers faced deductions of 10% of salary that would be repaid when they returned to Mexico – many ag workers never received this payment

Racial Tension Detroit Riots of 1943: 9 whites, 25 blacks killed in violence that started with false rumors and a racially-motivated fight at a beach Zoot Suit Riots of 1943: 11 white sailors reported they had been attacked by zoot-suit wearing youths; mobs beat up hundreds of Mexican-American and blacks in Los Angeles Fighting in Detroit lasted 3 days. Started due to rumor that whites had murdered a black woman and her child so blacks and rioted and killed 17 whites. Then white sailors got involved – by the end of riot (after FDR sent federal troops in), 9 whites and 25 blacks were dead

Wartime for Consumers Office of Price Administration (OPA) froze prices and set up rationing system of stamp books for meat, shoes, sugar, coffee, gasoline Black market emerges to buy hard-to-get items (especially those that are rationed) Prices frozen to combat inflation/black market. Congress also raised taxes (to help pay for war) but higher taxes helped reduce demand. Inflation remained below 30% (half of what it was in WWI) Other rationed goods: butter, cheese, vegetables Gas rationing was particularly hard on people in the West (no public transit, farm families far away from town)

War Production Board (WPB) organizes drives to collect iron, tin, rubber, paper, rags, cooking fat, etc. Also decided which companies would convert from peacetime to wartime production and how much raw materials each industry would get School children did drives to collect scraps – in one 5-month drive in Chicago, children collected 36 million pounds of old paper – 65 pounds per child!

Consumers encouraged to buy war bonds