1. American
Homefront
during WWII

2. Americans joined the War Effort
After Pearl Harbor …
five (5) million men volunteered for military service
AND …
eventually the Selective Service System provided another ten (10) million soldiers
*first peacetime draft
“A blue star in a home’s window meant someone from that family was in the war”
“A gold star meant someone in the family had died in the war effort”
Women in the Armed Forces
Women’s Auxiliary Corps (WACS)
female army volunteers served in noncombat positions
nurses, ambulance drivers, radio operators, electricians, and pilots
Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES)
female noncombat volunteers made up 2 ½ percent of the Navy

3. FDR’s Four Freedom’s Speech
“We look forward to a world founded upon four essential freedoms. The first freedom is freedom of speech and expression…The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way…The third is freedom from want(need)…the fourth is freedom from fear.”
-FDR
State of the Union Address ,
Jan 6, 1941

4. Minorities in the Military
AFRICAN AMERICANS
“Why die for democracy in some foreign country when we don’t even have it here?”
“Here lies a black man killed fighting a yellow man for the protection of a white man.”
one million African Americans served in segregated units
Tuskegee Airmen
ASIAN AMERICANS
thousands of Chinese and Japanese Americans joined armed forces
Japanese Americans served as spies and interpreters
NATIVE AMERICANS
thousands of native Americans enlisted, including women
Navajo “code talkers” were essential for wartime communications

6. How did Americans get their
news on the WAR?
Newsreels:
telegrams
NEWSPAPERS
Ernie Pyle
click radio to hear an actual WWII radio broadcast
Radio broadcasts
Edward R. Murrow
Propaganda
using media to promote a point of view
letters

7. Production and Rationing
Office of War Mobilization
decided which companies would convert to wartime production
Office of Price Administration
rationed fuel and materials vital to the war effort, such as gas, metals, rubber, plastic
collected and recycled important materials
“scrap metal drives”
people used ration books and stamps to purchase rationed items
“victory gardens” and “car sharing clubs”
New Work Opportunities for Some Groups
women
“Rosie the Riveter”
minorities
population shift to
northern cities

11. Shhhhh … be quiet. Americans were also expected to keep quiet about war related work and information

12. Even Dr. Seuss was involved in the war effort …

14. Americans helped offset
Paying for the War
Americans helped offset
the cost of the war by
purchasing War Bonds
8 out of every 13 Americans purchased bonds, raising over 185 billion dollars for the war

15. Japanese Internment Camps
FDR signs Executive Order 9066 in 1942 requiring removal of Japanese Americans
California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Hawaii
recommended by military
110,000 Japanese Americans relocated to 10 relocation centers
2/3 of these were Nisei or American-born Japanese
Korematsu v. United States
restitutions eventually paid in 1990

17. WWII FDR guides nation through Great Depression and
FDR was elected President a record four times!
FDR died shortly before V-E Day in April 1945
he changed the role of federal government, led country through WWII, appointed 1st female
cabinet member, contributed to advances for minorities, and helped plan the United Nations
Vice President Harry S Truman sworn in as 33rd president of the United States