2. Warm-up:
What changes occurred on the American home front during World War II?
7 sentence paragraph

3. The Home Front
WWII

4. America Joins the Struggle
In 1941, FDR and Winston Churchill met in secret and drafted the Atlantic Charter
The U.S. entered the war at a critical time for the Allies; production levels of other Allies had dropped sharply
Factories converted from consumer goods to war production ( guns & butter)
Dozens of agencies established to deal with war production:
Office of War Mobilization
War Production Board

5. President Roosevelt knew he needed to strengthen military
Congress passed first peacetime draft-Selective Training and Service Act--all males had to register
Americans from all ethnic and racial backgrounds fought
About 350,000 American women volunteered
16 million served-”GI’s”
(National Archives)

6. Financing the War
U.S. govt. vowed to spend whatever was necessary on the war
Federal spending increased from $8.9 billion in 1939 to $95.2 billion in 1945
Raised income taxes covered 41%; borrowed rest
Boosted national debt from $43 billion in 1940 to $269 billion in 1945 (deficit spending)
Launched bond drives

7. The U.S. Homefront
Wartime jobs gave many people the first extra cash since the depression
Supply often fell short of demand; rationing occurred; the OPA controlled inflation by limiting prices and rents
Americans looked for other ways to spend money: bought and read more books and magazines; went to baseball games and movies
Government encouraged citizens to participate in war effort