CH. 23-4 MOBILIZING FOR WAR AMERICAN HISTORY

MOBILIZING THE ARMED FORCES Isolationist feelings were destroyed by the Pearl Harbor attack USA had a head start on mobilization 1940—military spending sharply increased Jobs were created to bring USA out of the Great Depression The leader of the mobilization was Army Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall MOBILIZING THE ARMED FORCES

Marshall and Roosevelt worked closely to plan for war Marshall ensured that American soldiers were well equipped and properly trained FINDING SOLDIERS Following Pearl Harbor, the military draft (reinstated in 1940) was expanded Millions of young men volunteered

Eventually, some 16 million Americans entered the armed forces WOMEN AND THE ARMED FORCES Women not allowed in combat They filled traditional males roles so the men could fight 10,000 women joined Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services (WAVES)

This was a navy program where women did necessary clerical work that would otherwise be done by men Some 1,000 women joined Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs) and tested and delivered aircraft Nearly 40 WASPs gave their lives serving the country The largest group was the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in which 150,000 women served

1943—Women’s Army Corp became full members of the Army and received protection and benefits and could serve overseas WAC leader was Oveta Culp Hobby, who was given the rank of Colonel NEW MILITARY BASES New bases were built in rural areas with plenty of land available

Camp Blanding, FL—55,000 troops became the 4th largest FL city overnight Texans saw 1.2 million troops train Some 200,000 air pilots trained at Texas air bases Texas was temporary home to over 50,000 German, Italian, and Japanese prisoners of war

MOBILIZING INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE American forces would need proper equipment Many factors were quickly converted to make war materials Roosevelt set a goal of building 60,000 new aircraft in 1942 and 125,000 aircraft in 1943 All war material had to be shipped overseas MOBILIZING INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE

Thanks to Henry Ford and others 125,000 tanks were created by 1943 Early in the war submarines took a heavy toll on American ships American shipyards built 5,500 vessels during the course of the war ROSIE THE RIVETER More than 6.5 million women took factory jobs vacated by men that went to war

LABOR IN WORLD WAR II Government spending during the war helped end the Great Depression and create millions of new jobs Many of these workers joined labor unions Government was worried labor strikes would hamper the war effort Roosevelt created the National War Labor Board prior to Pearl Harbor to settle labor disputes

1943—Congress passed the Smith- Connally Act, giving the President the power to take over vital industries in the event of a strike MOBILIZING SCIENCE Technology would play a vital part in the war effort

THE MANHATTAN PROJECT—located in Los Alamos, NM Top-secret project to develop an ATOMIC BOMB (weapon of great energy created by splitting atoms) Research began in 1939 led by physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer USA was worried Germany was working on a bomb

FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM AT HOME AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE MILITARY Hundreds of thousands of African Americans served with honor in WWII There was still discrimination There were segregated units No African Americans were awarded the Medal of Honor during the war This error was corrected 50 years later when 7 Medals were awarded FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM AT HOME

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE WORKFORCE Many factory jobs for opened up for African Americans They were still forced to take the lowest paying jobs CHALLENGES FOR HISPANIC AMERICANS US and Mexican governments established the BRACERO PROGRAM in 1942

This gave Mexicans workers the chance to work temporarily in the USA Hispanic Americans served bravely in the armed forces They also shared a strong commitment to victory and freedom THE END