“Despite its horrors, WWII did bring an end to the Depression in America.
Millions of workers streamed back into the factories to produce
airplanes, tanks and guns and to receive a welcome paycheck.”
CH. 25: WWII AT HOME, 19411945
Key Concepts
 During WWII, the American economy
converted to producing materials for the war.
 WWII ended the Great Depression as millions
joined the wartime labor force and after the
U.S. joined the war, the military.
 The war was paid for with taxes and by
government borrowing.
Mobilizing the War Economy
 As Americans came out of the Depression,
people were eager to buy cars, refrigerators,
and washing machines.
 Government had to convince them to
continue to sacrifice for the war effort.
 The outcome of the war would depend on our
ability to produce war items
 May 1943: FDR organizes the Office of War
Mobilization
Conversion of the Auto
Industry
 Feb 10, 1942: Last day of automobile
production
 Henry Ford built a new factory to produce B24 bombers
 He wanted to build planes on an assembly line
(had never been done before)
 Willow Run Plant
 975 acres, employed 42,000+ people
New Opportunities for Profit
 Secretary of War Henry Stimson
 “You have to let business make money or business
won’t work.”
 Cost plus system- government paid all
development and production costs plus a
percentage as profit on anything a company made
for the war
New Markets and Methods
 Robert Woodruff (Coca-Cola) “We will see
that every m an in uniform gets a bottle of
Coca-Cola for 5¢ wherever he is and whatever
it costs the company.”
 Civilians at home increased their consumption to
help support to the program
 Henry J. Kaiser introduced mass production
techniques to shipbuilding
 1941: It took 355 days to build a Liberty Ship
 1945: It took only 14 days
Workers, the War and Unions
 Union membership rose
 10.5 million in 1941 to 14.8 million in 1945
 Labor and business representatives agreed to
no strikes or lockouts
 Strikes did occur, but they were not endorsed by
the unions
 United Mine Workers called a strike in 1943
 Coal prices soared and wages remained the same
 Secretary of the Interior negotiated an end to the
strike
Financing the War
 Tax increases paid for 41% of the cost
 Revenue Act of 1942 set the income tax rate
at 5%
 U.S. Treasury sold war bonds
 Other money was borrowed
 Deficit spending became a habit after WWII
“While American soldiers crouched in foxholes overseas, friends and
families supported their struggle on the home front. Rationing and
conserving resources, like gasoline, scrap metal and rubber, drew most
of the country into the war effort.”
SEC. 2: DAILY LIFE ON THE
HOME FRONT
Key Concepts
 The mood on the American home front was one
of cooperation and determined optimism.
 American consumers had money in their pockets
for the first time in years and they looked for
ways to spend it.
 Shortages of many basic items, such as sugar,
meat and gasoline, plagued the wartime
economy.
 The government sought to maintain morale at
home through various public relations
campaigns.
Prosperity and Popular
Culture
 Money to burn
 Cars were not available to buy
 Book sales increased
 62% of the population went to the movies each week
 Baseball and Popular Music
 4,000 out of 5,700 major and minor league players enlisted in the
military
 Teams placed want ads in newspapers to find players
 1943: Philip Wrigley began the All-American Girls’ Softball League
 Became the All-American Girls’ Baseball League in 1945
 Music
 Frank Loesser’s “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition”
 “White Christmas”
Shortages and Controls
 Clothing-no metal and less cloth available
 Vests, patch pockets and cuffs eliminated from men’s suits
 2 piece bathing suits were justified because the military
needed the fabric for uniforms
 Food
 Sugar couldn’t be imported from the Philippines, nor could
coffee from Brazil
 Meat was sent to the military
 1941: FDR created the Office of Price Administration
to stop inflation
 Rationing begins in 1942
 Sugar ,coffee, meat, butter, shoes and gas
Campaigns at Home
 Government had to create a sense of
patriotism and participation in order to
convince the public to conserve resources
 Scrap metal and other materials were
collected for war time production
 Cooking fats were saved to make powder for
bullets
 “Play your part,” “Conserve and collect,” “Use
it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
“During WWII, thousands of American women rolled up their sleeves and
went to work in defense plants and shipyards. Adapting quickly to work
usually done by men and overcoming a sometimes cold welcome from
fellow male employees, they helped satisfy the Allies’ urgent need for
military goods.”
SEC. 3: WOMEN AND THE WAR
Key Concepts
 During WWII, American women of all ages
went to work.
 Women were successful in their new jobs
despite the hardships and discrimination they
faced.
 At the end of the war, women were strongly
encouraged to leave their jobs, whether they
wanted to or not.
Rosie the Riveter
 Fictional character used in posters and
propaganda
 Created by the government to get women to
help in the effort
Shifting Patterns of
Employment
 Young single women were already working
 The goal was to entice older, married women
into the workforce
 1941: 14.6 million working women, 1944: 19.4
mill.
 ¾ of working women were married
 By the end of the war, ½ of women workers
were married
The Wartime Working
Experience
 Working conditions for women of color
 They faced racial and gender discrimination
 Through lawsuits and protest African American
women were able to change some of their
workplace situations
 Benefits of Employment
 Pay off debts from the Depression
 Sense of independence
 Show their patriotism
Problems for Working Women
 Hostile reactions from male workers
 Work restrictions
 Child care
 Responsibilities in the home
 Low wages
The Postwar Push to
“Demobilize” Women
 Women were expected to leave their jobs
after the war
 Men returning from war wanted their jobs
back and needed them
 Some women wanted to go back to domestic
work
“For many Americans the war broke down racial barriers in the job
market. Japanese Americans, however, fell victim to bitter prejudice at
home as the U.S. battled Japan abroad.”
SEC. 4: THE STRUGGLE FOR
JUSTICE AT HOME
Key Concepts
 Events on the home front helped stimulate the
movement for equal rights for African
Americans.
 Mexican Americans and Native Americans
battled discrimination at home and entered the
work force in greater numbers during the war.
 A large number of Japanese Americans were
forced into internment camps by the U.s.
government during the war, while others served
courageously in the military.
The Wartime Struggle Against
Jim Crow
 During the 1940s, 2 mill+ African Americas migrated from
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the south to the north and west
Population was concentrated in urban ghettos
When the war began 1 in 5 African Americans was
unemployed
Black soldiers in Salina, KS were refused service at a lunch
counter that served German POWs
Military remained segregated
Early 1941, A. Philip Randolph threatened a march on
Washington
 June 25th FDR signed Executive Order 8802, which opened jobs in
defense plants to all Americans
 1942: Congress on Racial Equality founded in Chicago
Mexican Americans and
Braceros During WWII
 The Bracero Program
 1942 shortage of farm workers
 An agreement between the U.S. and Mexico to provide
transportation, food, shelter and medical care for workers
 200,000+ participants
 When their contracts were over, they were sent back to Mexico
 Zoot Suit Riots
 April and May 1943: Fighting breaks out between sailors and Los
Angeles residents of Mexican descent
 Zoot suit consisted of baggy pants and a long jacket



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Sailors would threaten and attack “zoot suiters”
Early June 1943 fighting was widespread
Zoot suiters were usually arrested, sailors were not
Military officials restricted sailors’ leave time
Native Americans and the War
at Home
 50,000+ worked in war industries
 Native Americans who had worked in defense
plants or served overseas were not as likely to
return to reservations
The Japanese American
Internment
 1/10 of the American population
 2/3 of them were American born citizens
 Others feared sabotage and spying
 Feb. 19, 1942: FDR signs Executive Order 9066
 Secretary of War established military zones and
removed Americans of Japanese ancestry from them
 110,000 sent to internment camps
 Relocations happened very quickly
 Most lost everything they owned
Cont’d
 All camps were located in remote areas
 They had wooden barracks covered with tar paper, surrounded by
barbed wire fences and armed guards
 17,000 Japanese Americans served in the military
 1,200 volunteered from internment camps
 442nd Regimental Combat Team won more medals for
bravery than any other in U.S. history
 4 cases against relocation were sent ot he Supreme Court
 All 4 were decided in favor of the government
 Internees were released in early 1945
 Many had been left homeless
 1988: Pres. Ronald Reagan signs a law awarding $20,000 to
each surviving internee