WWII & the Homefront

1. WWII & the Homefront

2. On the homefront • Council for National Defense created in 1940 to specifically convert factories to war production • General Maximum Price Regulation Act: froze prices & est. rationing • Revenue Act of 1942: expands the # of Americans having to pay income tax, increasing federal revenues • “Dollar-a-Year” men” businessmen who went to Washington to take on jobs relating to the war effort • Demand for workers increased, & finally Great Depression comes to an end • Wages increased, union membership increased • Govt sells war bonds, encouraged by celebrities

3. rationing • Americans were asked to ration gasoline, rubber, meat, sugar & butter • Families had ration cards to determine which of these goods they could still buy • Women were desperate for silk stockings so they drew a line up the back of their legs to make it appear as if they were wearing them • Blackouts in cities to deter enemy aircraft • Skies constantly skanned for enemy aircraft • Many high schools eliminated vaccinations so students could go to work

4. Pop culture • Movies were mostly comedy to take people’s minds off the war • Casablanca: emphasized self-sacrifice & help war • “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby was a favorite song • Baseball became a popular pasttime with players labeled 4-F: unfit for military service • All-American Girls Baseball League formed (women)

5. Women • Entered the workforce in large numbers • Left traditional “woman” jobs & go to factory jobs • Rosie the Riveter symbolized American womend • Women were told it was their patriotic duty to work, but were paid less than men • After the war, women encouraged to return to the home for their “patriotic duty”

6. Discrimination • Blacks worked in factories & signed up for military service • Black military units were segregated & did not participate in combat • Double V Campaign: campaign popularized by American black leaders during WWII emphasizing the need for a double victory: over Germany & Japan & also over racial prejudice in the US • CORE: Congress for Racial Equality (1942), organized the 1st sit-ins & boycotts

7. Executive Order 9066 • Feb. 19, 1942 • Orders Japanese-Americans to internment camps, for their own protection • Korematsu v. US: Supreme Court ruled that the internment camps were legal since they were based on “military necessity” • 1988 federal government apologizes to those placed in camps; each survivor given $20,000