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Wartime Migration

Wartime Migration. Many of the 15 million mobilized for the war chose not to return home after 1945 War industries brought people to boomtowns like Seattle, Detroit, LA In 1938 FDR called the South the nation’s “number one economic problem”

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Wartime Migration

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  1. Wartime Migration • Many of the 15 million mobilized for the war chose not to return home after 1945 • War industries brought people to boomtowns like Seattle, Detroit, LA • In 1938 FDR called the South the nation’s “number one economic problem” • Received a disproportionate share of defense contracts • 1.6 million blacks left the South seeking jobs in the North and West • Race relations now be a “national” issue

  2. Wartime Migration – Race Relations • Racial tensions increased over employment, housing, and segregated facilities • A. Philip Randolph (head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters) threatened a massive “Negro March on Washington” in 1941 • Demanded equal opportunities for blacks in war jobs and in the armed forces • Result: FDR issued an executive order forbidding discrimination in defense industries • The war will embolden blacks to fight for equality (slogan “Double V” - victory over dictators abroad and racism at home)

  3. A. Philip Randolph, 1942 & 1963

  4. Wartime Migration • 1944 invention of the mechanical cotton picker – did the work of 50 people @ 1/8 the cost • South’s need for cheap labor disappeared • Some 5 million black tenant farmers and sharecroppers head north over next 3 decades • By 1970 half of all blacks live outside the South • War prompted the exodus of Native Americans from reservations • 1940 90% live on reservations • By 2000 half lived in cities w/ many in southern California

  5. John Daniel Rust (1892–1954)  inventor International Harvester Corporation  producer

  6. Federal Action and Labor • WMC (War Manpower Commission) – determined which industries needed manpower the most • The NWLB (National War Labor Board) • Limited wage increases • Allowed negotiated benefits such as paid vacations, pensions, and medical insurance • Kept unions stable by forbidding workers to change unions

  7. Federal Action and Labor (cont’d) • Union membership increases from 10 million to 13 million workers during the war • Despite the no-strike pledges of most major unions, a rash of labor walk-outs plagued the war effort • Prominent strikers  United Mine Workers led by John L. Lewis (Alabama) • Struck in Jan. 1943 – negotiations break down • May 1943 – FDR seized the mines & threatens to draft the miners (miners don’t give up) • November 1943 – some union demands met; miners win pay raise of $1.50 per day

  8. The Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act • Congress worried  the Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act (June 1943) • Authorized the government to seize and operate tied-up industries • Montgomery Ward (refused to recognize its workers’ union) – workers strike • NWLB ordered Sewell Avery (president) to negotiate with the union • Avery ignores the order and refuses to leave – soldiers carry him out • Government ran the company the rest of the war

  9. Anti New-Deal chairman, Sewell Avery, had to be literally carried out of the plant by Guardsmen

  10. Federal Action and Labor (cont’d) • The Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act (cont’d) • Strikes against any government-operated industry were made criminal offenses • Govt. took over coal mines and briefly the railroads • Work stoppages only accounted for less than 1% of total working hours

  11. Labor in WW2 • By 1944 nearly 18 million workers labored in war industries • More than 6 million were women • Reluctance at first to hire women • Thought they lacked the stamina of men or technical understanding of machinery • Thought they would be a distraction to men • Soon women were hired in record numbers • Earn only 60% as much as men • By war’s end 1 out of 3 workers are women

  12. Labor in WW2 • Nearly 2 million minority workers hired during the war • Faced prejudice, at first, like women • Start of the war 75% of defense contractors simply refused to hire blacks • After Randolph’s threat to strike FDR issued Executive Order 8802 • Banned discrimination in all government agencies, job-training, and all companies doing business w/ the federal govt.

  13. Labor in WW2 • FDR established the Fair Employment Practices Committee to ensure equal treatment amongst minorities • At war’s end 2 million blacks held jobs in aircraft factories, steel mills, and shipyards • In the North and Southblacks enjoyed more social acceptance and economic well-being

  14. Discrimination Persisted • Armed Forces – official policy  • have all-black soldiers or sailors commanded by white officers • In the navy – blacks could only be porters • Black soldiers on leave face segregation in the South • In the North whites resent competition w/ influx of blacks for jobs and housing

  15. Japanese Americans Lose their Liberties • After Pearl Harbor US fear of a Japanese invasion – most Japanese lived in small identifiable communities along the Pacific coast (easy targets) • February 1942 defense officials labeled them “a menace to be dealt with” • FDR yields to pressure and gives War Department full authority to forcibly relocate thousands of Japanese families (2/3 native-born) • 110,000 uprooted to internment camps • Had to sell homes, businesses, and most possessions

  16. Japanese Internment • 1,200 petitioned FDR to be allowed to serve – formed the 100th Inf. Battalion • One of the most highly decorated • 1944 Supreme Court upheld forced location as justifiable during war • 1945 families allowed to return • 1988 Congress votes overwhelmingly to formally apologize ($20,000 to each survivor)

  17. The National Debt • To pay for the war, the government raised taxeswith the Revenue Act of 1942 • Raised the top personal-income-tax rate to 90% • Added lower and middle-income Americans to the income-tax roles • Also the government borrowed huge amounts of money by selling war bonds • Spectacular drives used movie stars and comic book heroes such as Batman and Dick Tracy to sell bonds and bolster patriotic spirit • The National Debt first begins to balloon because of World War II (not New Deal)

  18. The Return of Prosperity • US economy grew during the war: • GNP rose from $91.1 billion (1939) to $213.6 billion (1945) • During 1942 alone, war production rose over 300% surpassing Germany, Italy, and Japan combined • Increase in production ends the depression • Farmers see a prosperity not enjoyed since WWI

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