Chapter 26, Section 3

Chapter 26, Section 3

The Home Front

The bombing of Pearl Harbor plunged the U.S. into warVictory depended on successful mobilizing on the war frontMobilizing for Victory

After Pearl Harbor millions of men and women volunteered to serve in the armed forcesOther found work in war industriesGuns, tanks, aircraft, and other war supplies

Training for Combat

10 million men were drafted and another 6 million men and women enlisted1941 the army, navy, and air force built bases around the country for trainingRecruits trained to fight in the jungles of the North Pacific and the deserts of North Africa, and the towns and farmlands of Europe

Training for CombatWomen were not allowed in combat but many served ferrying bombers from base to base, towing targets, and teaching men to fly

Organizing the economy

Even more then in WWI the government controlled the economy during WWIISet prices, negotiated with labor unions, rationed goodsWar Production Board helped factories shift from making consumer goods to war goodsAuto makers switched from making cars to making tanks and trucksOrganizing the EconomyWartime demands for goods quickly ended the Great DepressionUnemployment fellMinority workers found jobsWages roseFarmers prospered

A Miracle of production

American workers topped FDRs goals of producing 60,000 planes Consumers suffered from shortages because industries were making war goodsNew cars, tires

New roles for Women

Women were needed to work for victory6 million women entered the work forceReplaced men who joined the armed services

Better pay

Because women were needed they were able to win better paySome employers found ways to avoid equal payThe war changed fashions for womenWore trousers instead of skirtsOveralls and scarves around the hair on the job

Rosie

African Americans Seek Social Changes

African Americans rallied to their nations cause

Plans for a march

A Philip Randolph called for a march on Washington to protest job discriminationGovernment worries that a march would feed Hitlers propaganda campaignFDR ordered employers doing business with the government to end discrimination in hiring Segregation in the Military

FDR refused to end racial discrimination in the militaryNearly a million African Americans had to serve in all black units commanded by white officersBlack Eagles famously heroic African American unit that destroyed or damaged 400 enemy aircraft1948 President Truman ended segregation in the armed forces

Racial Tension

Competition in cities for scarce housing led to violence and race riots

Other Ethnic groups in the War

Native AmericansThe highest proportion f service men of any ethnic group1 out of 3 able bodied men were in uniformNavajo code talkers used their language to send vital messagesJapanese could not interpret

HispanicsThousands of Puerto Ricans and Mexican men servedStill faced racial prejudice

Relocation of Japanese AmericansMost Japanese Americans lived on the West Coast or in HawaiiAfter Pearl Harbor they questioned their loyaltyMight act as spies and help Japan invade the U.S.Relocation of Japanese AmericansWar Time Relocation Agency: FDR approved of moving about 120,000 Japanese Americans to campsWRA camps kept Japanese Americans in crowded barracks behind barbed wire German and Italian Americans were not sent to campsJapanese Americans in Hawaii were not moved

Relocation of Japanese Americans1944 Supreme Court ruled that the camps were necessary wartime measureLoyal Service and a Delayed Apology

Thousands of Japanese Americans served in the armed forcesMost in segregation units and fighting in EuropeYears later Americans began to recognize the injusticeCongress voted to apologize and award $20,000 to every survivor of the camps

WRA relocation camp