World War II Pearl Harbor The Home Front

Pearl Harbor

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

Pearl Harbor from the Cockpit of a Japanese Plane

A date which will live in infamy! Pearl Harbor – Dec. 7, 1941

FDR Signs the War Declaration

USS Arizona, Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor Memorial

Pearl Harbor 7:55 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941 Japanese launch surprise attack on U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 2,345 killed and most of the U.S. Pacific fleet is destroyed or severely damaged – 57 civilians also killed

Pearl Harbor Human Casualties KilledWounded Navy1, Marine Corp10969 Army Civilian4835 Ships Sunk12 Damaged9 Aircraft Destroyed164 Damaged159

Declaration of War December 8, 1941 FDR asks Congress to declare war on Japan – “Dec 7, 1941 a date which will live in infamy…” December 11, 1941 – Germany and Italy, Japan’s allies, declare war on the U.S. – U.S. Congress responds by declaring war on Germany and Italy

Axis vs. Allies Allies – Great Britain – France* – China* – Soviet Union – United States Axis – Germany – Italy – Japan

The War Time Economy The War Production Board – Supervised the conversion of industries to war production Auto Companies began making trucks, jeeps, and tanks Manufacturing ships, airplanes, and other war materials

Women Join the Workforce Millions of American men joined the armed forces Women took their places in the factories producing the materials necessary for the war

Rosie the Riveter Rosie the Riveter was an imaged used to encourage women to contribute to the war effort by working in the factories

Military Service Selective Service Acts 1940 & 41 – More than 15 million Americans joined the armed forces during the war Women begin serving in large numbers – WACs: Women’s Army Corps – WAVES: Women Appointed for Volunteer Emergency Service – Women did not fight in combat Performed clerical tasks Worked as nurses Flew aircraft from U.S. to overseas bases

Paying for the War U.S. spent $320,000,000,000 on the war Most of the money was raised through taxes The government also borrowed money by selling bonds

Sacrifices Rationing – Consumers could only buy limited numbers or amounts of certain goods because they were needed to support the war effort – The government issued ration books to buy certain products – Examples: Oil/Gas Rubber Tin Meat Sugar butter Consumer goods were in short supply because industry was producing goods for the war

Ration Book

Victory Gardens Americans were encouraged to help the war effort by planting vegetable gardens and growing their own food

Recycling

African-American Contributions 1,000,000 African Americans served in the U.S. military during the war – Military units were segregated The Tuskegee Airmen – 332 nd Fighter Group – Shot down more than 200 enemy planes – Dangerous missions escorting American bombers over Germany

Native Americans Contribution “The Code Talkers” – Navajo tribe members who used a special code based on the Navajo language to send messages in the pacific theatre – Japanese were never able to break the code

Japanese Americans Many Japanese Americans were feared and hated after Pearl Harbor – People questioned their loyalty and feared they were spies Nisei – Japanese American citizens born in the United States

Internment Camps FDR ordered the army to relocate more than 100,000 Japanese Americans living on the west coast to interment camps in desert areas – Feared a Japanese attack on the western U.S. Many abandoned homes and businesses Korematsu v. United States – The Supreme Court ruled that government was allowed to relocate Japanese Americans

Propaganda Ideas or information designed and spread to influence opinion The government used propaganda to encourage Americans to support the war against the axis powers

Review