How did
WWII
affect
Americans
at Home?
V-Mail – Victory Mail
• American
involvement in
World War II
brought an end to
the Great
Depression.
Factories and
workers were
needed to produce
goods to win the
war.
The war
affected
every
aspect
of
American
life.
Women During WWII
• Thousands
of American
women took
jobs in
defense
plants during
the war.
• Rosie the
Riveter was
a symbol of
all American
women in
the war
effort at
home.
Link to song below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CQ0M0wx00s&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active
“Rosie the Riveter”
While other girls attend their fav’rite
cocktail bar
Sipping Martinis, munching caviar
There’s a girl who’s really putting
them to shame
Rosie is her name
All the day long whether rain or shine
She’s a part of the assembly line
She’s making history,
working for victory
Rosie the Riveter
Keeps a sharp lookout for sabotage
Sitting up there on the fuselage
That little frail can do more than a
male will do
Rosie the Riveter
Rosie’s got a boyfriend, Charlie
Charlie, he’s a Marine
Rosie is protecting Charlie
Working overtime on the
riveting machine
When they gave her a production “E”
She was as proud as a girl could be
There’s something true about
Red, white, and blue about
Rosie the Riveter
Everyone stops to admire the scene
Rosie at work on the B-Nineteen
She’s never twittery, nervous or jittery
Rosie the Riveter
What if she’s smeared full of
oil and grease
Doing her bit for the old Lend Lease
She keeps the gang around
They love to hang around
Rosie the Riveter
Rosie buys a lot of war bonds
That girl really has sense
Wishes she could purchase
more bonds
Putting all her cash into national
defense
Senator Jones who is “in the know”
Shouted these words on the radio
Berlin will hear about
Moscow will cheer about
Rosie the Riveter!
Price Controls & Rationing
• Americans
were asked to
make
sacrifices to
support the
war by
conserving
and rationing
resources.
Breaking Down Racial Barriers
• The need for
temporary
workers broke
down some of
the racial
barriers.
• The U.S.
needed
everyone’s
help. African
Americans
were hired to
work in places
like defense
plants making
war
materials,
planes, and
ships.
Although discrimination continued,
many African Americans bravely
served in the armed forces.
The first African-American fighter pilots in
the U.S. Air Force were nicknamed the
“Red Tails.”
Japanese Americans
Many Japanese
Americans
served in the
armed forces.
• However,
many
Japanese
were treated
with distrust
and prejudice
after the
Pearl Harbor
attack.
Listen to radio and TV broadcasts
http://www.freeinfosociety.com/article.php?id=10
Japanese Internment Camps
• Many
Japanese
Americans
many were
forced into
internment
camps.
My Plea
Oh God, I pray that I
may bear a cross
To set my people free,
That I may help to
take good-will across
An understanding
sea.
Oh, God, I pray that
someday every race
May stand on equal
plane
And prejudice will find
no dwelling place
In a peace that all
may gain.
-Written By Mary Matsuzawa,
a child of the Japanese
Internment Camps.
On August 10, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed HR442 into
law. Three years later, on October 9, 1991, letters of formal
apology and checks from the United States government were
issued to each of the living survivors of internment.
U.S. Assistant
Deputy Attorney
General James
Turner presenting a
redress check to an
Issei* man, 105
years old, Oct.
1990, Seattle,
Washington.
*Issei refers to the Japanese family members
first to immigrate. Their children born in the
new country are referred to as Nisei (second
generation), and their grandchildren are Sansei
(third generation).
Memorial at the site of a Japanese Internment Camp
President Roosevelt was a gifted communicator. On January 6, 1941,
he addressed Congress, delivering the historic "Four Freedoms"
speech. At a time when Western Europe lay under Nazi domination,
Roosevelt presented a vision in which the American ideals of
individual liberties were extended throughout the world. Alerting
Congress and the nation to the necessity of war, Roosevelt
articulated the ideological aims of the conflict. Eloquently, he
appealed to Americans` most profound beliefs about freedom.
The speech so inspired illustrator Norman Rockwell that he created a
series of paintings on the "Four Freedoms" theme. In the series, he
translated abstract concepts of freedom into four scenes of
everyday American life. Although the Government initially rejected
Rockwell`s offer to create paintings on the "Four Freedoms" theme,
the images were publicly circulated when The Saturday Evening
Post, one of the nation`s most popular magazines, commissioned
and reproduced the paintings. After winning public approval, the
paintings served as the centerpiece of a massive U.S. war bond
drive and were put into service to help explain the war`s aims.
“We look forward to a world founded
upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and
expression--everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every
person to worship God in his own
way-- everywhere in the world. The
third is freedom from want . . .
everywhere in the world. The fourth is
freedom from fear . . . anywhere in
the world.”
--President Franklin D. Roosevelt,
Message to Congress, January 6, 1941
You can hear this excerpt from
President Roosevelt`s address
By Norman
Rockwell 1943
By Norman
Rockwell
1943
By Norman
Rockwell
1943
By Norman
Rockwell
1943
Home Front U.S.A. –
Video (ANSWERS)
From “New Deal” to
“Win the War”
Introduction: One month after Pearl Harbor,
President Roosevelt proclaims that victory over
the aggressor nations is now our countries
highest priority. FDR’s “impossible” 1942
production goals of 60,000 aircraft; 45,000 tanks;
20,000 antiaircraft guns; and 8,000,000 tons of
shipping are intended to strike fear into the
enemy and to mobilize the home front. “Victory”
becomes the catchword behind America’s war
aims – and the word “sacrifice” suddenly has a
new meaning.
Japanese-American Internment Camps:
1. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signs
executive order 9066 which requires the
removal of all Japanese-Americans from the
Pacific coast.
2. With one broad stroke, the civil liberties of over
100,000 American citizens are shattered.
3. Japanese-Americans are given 7-10 days to pack
up or sell their belongings and report to the
“War Relocation Authority.” From there, they
will be transported to the Santa Ana Raceway
and later internment camps where they will
4. Ten internment camps stretching from
Death Valley, California to Arkansas will
house the over 100,000 JapaneseAmericans.
5. On August 15, 1945 the Allies celebrated
V-J Day (Victory over Japan Day) and the
Japanese-American internment camps
are emptied. Each family received $50.
6. Forty years after the end of WWII the
United States congress formally
announced that the internment of
Japanese-Americans was a mistake.
Civil Defense:
1. After the United States declared war,
many American join the “Civil Defense
Corps” to help protect fellow citizens in
their homes and communities.
2. The Civil Defense’s main duties included:
enforcement of blackouts, blacking out
and taping glass windows, conducting air
raid drills, learning to out fires, and
passing out gas masks, and scanning the
skies for enemy planes.
Domestic Propaganda:
1. In an effort to boost morale on the morale the
home front, the U.S. War Department creates a
series of posters aimed at uniting the military and
the home front.
2. These posters are displayed in front of homes,
factories, street corners, and storefronts.
3. The posters ridicule the enemy and call upon
everyone to get involved in winning the war.
4. A cartoon character named “Private Snafu” was
created to encourage Americans to not let
information they may know about our military slip
to possible spies. **(SNAFU—this is an acronym
that means, “Situation Normal All Fouled Up” –
used by the military to describe a battle or military
maneuver that did not go as planned.)
Arsenal of Democracy:
1. FDR knows that propaganda alone will not win the war
so; in 1942 a national “war production drive” is
launched.
2. The United States’ tremendous need for war materials
pulls the country out of the Great Depression.
3. Millions of Americans leave their non-essential jobs or
find work in factories making bombs, planes, vehicles,
and other war essentials.
4. A mandatory 48 hour work week is put into place.
Everyone is expected to do their part in helping to win
the war.
5. Car manufacturing plants are converted to build planes
and ship yards run 24 hours a day to compensate for the
loss of battleships at Pearl Harbor.
6. A “Liberty Ship” is produced every six weeks. From
1942 until the end of the war, Americans will build over
70, 000 ships to become the world’s leading shipbuilder.
“Rosie the Riveter”:
1. Due to the labor shortage, women take jobs
that were previously deemed inappropriate or
even impossible for them to perform before
the war.
2. Rosie the Riveter will become one of the most
enduring icons of the war.
3. Women join the workforce in unparalleled
numbers. At the peak of war in 1944, 19
million women are employed.
4. Without women joining the work force, the
United States could not have won the war.
Rationing:
1. In 1942, the Office of Price Administration
(OPA) is established to ration supplies needed
for the war.
2. 20 essential commodities including rubber,
sugar, and meat become strictly regulated.
3. Ration books and stamps are distributed to
every household.
4. Americans must learn to stretch their allotted
rations. Only two pounds of meat is allotted to
each person per week and the OPA places price
caps to reduce inflation on certain items.
5. The OPA requires the two million car owners to
register for gas rationing.
Victory Gardens:
1. To off-set the food shortage, the U.S.
government urges citizens to plant their own
vegetables; they are called “victory gardens.”
2. The “War Food Administration” encourages
all Americans to grow, harvest, and share the
food they grow.
3. Community gardens and places to can your
food pop up everywhere. At its peak in 1944,
over 20 million victory gardens produce a
phenomenal 8 million tons of food.
Scrap Drives:
1. To supplement the materials essential for
defense, Americans are asked to scour their
garages and attics for scrap metal, rubber,
and paper.
2. Food handlers are urged to save kitchen fat
to make explosives.
3. Though most scrap materials are never
used, the group effort keeps morale high
on the home front.
Bond Drives:
1. To help finance the military’s need for 56 billion
dollars, the U.S. turns to cartoon and poster
propaganda, like a “Bugs Bunny” add, to sell
bonds.
2. In 1943, Hollywood stars launch a nationwide tour
to encourage everyone to be patriotic and help the
war effort by buying bonds. The biggest bond rally
takes place at the Washington Monument in D.C.
3. Celebrities also perform in USO clubs for service
men and women in order to boost morale.
4. By the end of the war, Americans had purchased
an astounding 186 billion dollars in war bonds.
Women in Uniforms:
1. To free more men for combat, in May of 1942 the
federal government creates the Women’s Army
Auxiliary Corps (WAACs).
2. WACCs are recruited voluntarily for non-combat
service for work at home and overseas.
3. The WACCs are given army pay, army uniforms, army
training, and army discipline, but the jobs they
perform are often supportive.
4. In September of 1942, the WAFS (Women’s Auxiliary
Ferrying Squadron) a division of the Army Air Force,
are created.
5. Over 350 thousand women will wear military uniforms
and help to win the war effort.