1. Ch 17 Section 4 The Impact of the War
Great Depression 1930s – time of hardship, suffering and deprivation
World War II 1940s – time of opportunity, lots of jobs and money to spend (despite
rationing and shortages)

2. Economic Gains Working people – Unemployment fell to 1.4% by 1944
Paychecks rose by 70%
People able to save money

3. Economic Gains Farmers– Had good weather (unlike 1930s Dust Bowl, etc)
Improved machinery, fertilizer, rising crop prices
Crop production increased by 50%
Farm income TRIPLED

4. Economic Gains Women Over 6 million women entered workforce
(35% of workforce = women)
2. 1/3 of jobs were in defense industry
(better pay, more challenging work)
3. More opportunity for women
(some designed planes in
Engineering Depts)

5. Population Shifts
The War Triggered One of the Greatest Mass Migrations of Am History
Millions of servicemen and women sent all over the world
Americans suddenly uprooted themselves to seek work
States with military bases/defense industries had large population gains (Conn., Maryland, Delaware, Florida, the Pacific Coast states)

6. Social Adjustments Mothers raised children alone
Teenage juvenile delinquency
Fathers returning from war had to readjust
Huge marriage boom

7. The GI Bill of Rights (The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act)
provided education and training for veterans
(colleges and tech schools)
Provided federal loans for houses, farms and
starting businesses for veterans
Result: Millions who otherwise would never have
been able to afford a college education or a house
were able to improve their prospects after the war.

8. African-Americans in the Military
Military was segregated
African-Americans assigned menial tasks at first
Pressure from civil rights organizations forced the military to allow blacks to serve in combat
The Buffaloes – 92nd Division, 7 Legion of Merit Awards, 65 Silver Stars, 162 Bronze Stars
Tuskegee Airmen – won two Distinguished Unit Citations for its outstanding combat against the German Luftwaffe

9. African-Americans at Home
Many African-Americans moved from the South to the West Coast to get good paying jobs.
James Farmer – founder of CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) 1942
Purpose: to fight racial urban segregation in the North
- staged their first “sit-in” protest at a Chicago restauran
1943 – racial violence swept the country

10. 1943 Detroit Race Riot June 1943 – fight started between blacks and
whites at a beach and then mushroomed
when some nearby sailors got involved
- Lasted 3 days because of rumors that whites had
murdered a black woman and her child and rumors that blacks had
killed 17 whites.
- FDR sent federal troops into the city to restore order
- 9 whites and 25 blacks died

11. Mexican-Americans in Wartime
17 Mexican-Americans won the
Medal of Honor
1943- The Zoot Suit Riots – Los Angeles;
- 11 sailors reported that they were attacked by Mexican-Americans
-two nights of violence between thousands of servicemen and
civilians
- The city of Los Angeles outlawed the wearing of “zoot suits”

12. Japanese-Americans
Many young Japanese-American men whose families were interned enlisted to prove their loyalty.
The 100th Battalion – 1400 Hawaiian Nesei (American-born); fought in Africa and Italy; often referred to as “The Purple Heart Battalion” because 300 were killed and 650 wounded. Later they merged into the…
The all-Nesei 442nd Regimental Combat Team – the most decorated combat unit of the war

13. Korematsu v. United States
Supreme Court case
1944 – The Court decided that the decision to evacuate Japanese-Americans to interment camps was justified on the basis of military necessity.

14. Japanese-American Citizens League (JACL) – pushed the U. S
Japanese-American Citizens League (JACL) – pushed the U.S. government to compensate those sent to camps for their lost property. In 1965 – Congress authorized $38 million (less than 1/10th of their actual losses) for that purpose. In the 1980s - President Ronald Reagan signed a bill (The Civil Liberties Act of 1988) that promised $20,000 to every Japanese-American sent to a relocation camp. The checks were sent in 1990 with a letter of apology from President George H. W. Bush.)