The WWII Industry in Chicago Chicago History

Bell Ringer Review this graph  The red dotted line is normal unemployment rate.  In what year is the unemployment rate the highest?  In what year is the unemployment rate the lowest?  Using this graph as evidence, did the New Deal end the depression? Explain your answer.  What ends the Great Depression?

Ending the Depression? The WPA and PWA  The programs helped, but didn’t end the depression. What happens after Pearl Harbor?  The government needed to outfit the armed forces.  The government needed specialized war materials. Chicago businesses sold these to the government and began to make money again.

Chicago Factories During the War Stewart-Warner Corporation  Automobile parts to fuses, ammunition boxes, bombs, and instrument panels. Pressed Steel Car Company and the Pullman-Standard Car Company  Cars to tanks Elgin National Watch  Watches to detonation fuses. Western Electric  Radar systems Creation of the Dodge-Chicago Plant  Where Ford City Mall is now How much money did these war supply contracts give Chicago?  9 Billion Dollars!!!

From Orchard Park… In the 1930s with the rise of airplane travel, Chicago leaders wanted to another airport to support Municipal Airport (now Midway Airport). Shortly after Pearl Harbor, the Army began to locate potential sites for airfields and test sites for their airplanes. The Army settled on Orchard Field, a few miles outside Bensenville.  They chose Chicago, because it was far from both coasts so sabotage could be easier to detect.

…to Douglas Field… Now that the site for aircraft production and testing was determined, the contract needed to be sold to a company. A local Chicago company, Douglas Aircraft received the contract and built 655 C-54 transport planes during the war.  The factory covered about 43 acres.  It became one of the largest aircraft manufacturing factories in the country.

…to finally O’Hare International Airport After the war ended, the city of Chicago bought the field to finally construct the second airport needed for the city’s growth.  Midway Airport’s runways were too small to accommodate larger aircrafts. Orchard Park/Douglas Airport was renamed O’Hare International Airport in  It was renamed for Lt. Col. Edward O’Hare, who was the US Navy’s first flying ace and who had won a Purple Heart and the Medal of Honor during the WWII.  “ORD” is still the airport code for O’Hare Airport, because of its ORcharD Park roots.

WWII and Girls Baseball WWII also brought new entertainment to the city and the change of the woman’s role: the AAGBL Many major league baseball players enlisted or were drafted to serve in the armed forces.  Professional teams were forced to rely on players that were not in the war.  This also meant there would be a chance that major league baseball would not survive the war.

Philip K. Wrigley and the AAGBL Philip K. Wrigley  Owner of the Chicago Cubs  Attempted to keep interest in baseball alive by creating the AAGBL. All-American Girls Baseball League  The league opened to small Chicago-area towns like Kenosha, Racine, Rockford, and South Bend  Expanded to Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Muskegon, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Fort Wayne, Peoria, Battle Creek, and Springfield.  The first tryouts for the league were held in Wrigley Field in 1943

Exit Question: Compare the pictures of Annabelle Lee (1945) and Jennie Finch (2009):  How are the two women different?  How are they similar?  How did the AAGPBL help women’s sports to what it is today?