Presentation Transcript

1. The Home Front

   World War II Lesson Three
2. Getting Ready for War Franklin D. Roosevelt said this: “We must have more ships, more guns, more planes- more of everything! We must be the great arsenal of democracy.” We were the only nation that could produce enough weapons.
3. The Country Gets Ready Workers poured all their energy into making military equipment Auto companies: started making tanks and military trucks Shipyards: operated 24 hours a day to work faster than Japan Airplanes: largest industry in the world This strength was a huge advantage
4. End of the Depression! Many workers were needed Unemployment fell….everyone went to work! People poured into the city to work. Graph on pg. 349
5. Roosevelt’s Thoughts “The production which has flowed from this country to all the battlefronts of the world has been due to the efforts of American business, American labor, and American farmers working together as a patriotic team.”
6. Shortage of Workers The U.S needed workers. Men were at war! Women had to make weapons and other products. 7 million women joined the workforce Grocery stores stayed open later. Pg. 350- Rosie the Riveter
7. Female Athletes Team owners needed a way to entertain baseball fans. The All American Girl’s Baseball League was started. Top star: “Dottie” Schroeder
8. Gertrude Pearson Gertrude Pearson joined the Women’s Army Corps. Learned to send military codes Sent to France and was very close to fighting More than 350,000 women who served in the war Served as nurses, airplane pilots, radio operators, mechanics Read pg. 350
9. “Do Your Part” Posters and commercials were created telling Americans to “Do Your Part.” Americans had to conserve, or save, resources. Food, Rubber, Metal, Cloth Children- had “scrap drives” to collect metal for factories Knocked door to door Children turned in their toy cars and trucks to be recycled
10. “Do Your Part” Food was sent to soldiers and the U.S. had a food shortage. Government limited the amount of food people could buy. Called Rationing Every month families got rationing stamps for food Certain number for meat, dairy, vegetables, etc.
11. “Do Your Part” Victory Gardens Americans planted these Small vegetable gardens Planted in their yards or on the rooftops of apartments
12. Quick Review Why do you think the war called on Americans to “do their part?” What problem did rationing help solve? How did the growing of “victory gardens” help the nation?
13. Better Lives for African Americans Before the war, factory owners did not want to hire black men and women. During the war they needed workers. Thousands left to find work in the North and West. Many earned more than they had ever earned.
14. Discrimination Existed in the military Black and white soldiers were in separate units They were fighting for freedom around the world, but they were not treated fairly! Many African Americans did verywell in the military.
15. Benjamin O. Davis. Jr. Graduated from West Point Military Academy He wanted to be a fighter pilot but he couldn’t Black leaders protested In 1941, Davis led 12 other men in fighter pilot training
16. Tuskegee Airmen Pilots trained in Tuskegee, Alabama Lemuel Curtis was one of the first Tuskegee Airmen. He said: “It was a proud feeling. We were focused on the task- didn’t feel like pioneers or anything. Later, looking back, we realized our trail-breaking role.”
17. Tuskegee Airmen Joined the fighting in 1943 Benjamin O. Davis was commander They flew thousandsof combat missions Benjamin O. Davis was the first African American General in the Air Force More than 1 million African Americans served in the war.
18. Quick Review What can you conclude about African American workers, knowing they were paid less than white workers? What “trail” did the Tuskegee Airmen “break?” What can you infer from the fact that integrated units began to appear during WWII?
19. Japanese Americans 1941: 125,000 Japanese Americans lived in the U.S Most lived on the West coast Americans began to worry that Japanese Americans would help the Japanese attack Read Ebihara’s story on pg. 353
20. Executive Order #9066 Executive Order #9066: the military could remove from the west coast anyone seen as a threat Japanese Americans were forced to leave their homes They were moved to relocation camps, also called internment camps.
21. Relocation Camps By summer 1942, 110,000 Japanese Americans were in the camps Many still wanted to fight for their country They wrote letters asking to go to war Thousands of Japanese Americans served in the army
22. Quick Review Why did Henry Ebihara get upset over the assumption that he supported the Japanese? How do you feel about the actions of the government? What can you learn about the Japanese Americans from the fact that they still wanted to serve their country?