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WWII: Effects on American Life

WWII: Effects on American Life. Scope of Mobilization. # of people who registered for the draft = 31 million # of people who served in the armed forces = 15 million. Mobilization for black Americans. Approx. 700,000 black Americans served, in all branches, in segregated units

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WWII: Effects on American Life

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  1. WWII: Effects on American Life

  2. Scope of Mobilization • # of people who registered for the draft = 31 million • # of people who served in the armed forces = 15 million

  3. Mobilization for black Americans • Approx. 700,000 black Americans served, in all branches, in segregated units • NAACP, “A Jim Crow army cannot fight for a free world.” • Most assigned to menial duties

  4. Women in the War: Opportunity • Approx 350,000 women enlisted in the armed services -140,000 WAC (Women’s Army Corps) -100,000 WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) -23,000 members of the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve -13,000 SPARs (for Semper Paratus [always ready, USCG]

  5. Women in the War: Discrimination • Women were barred from combat • Social lives of women soldiers were more strictly regulated than men • Most military jobs reflected societal stereotypes – clerical work, communications, and health care

  6. Workers & the War Effort • When millions of citizens entered military service, a huge hole opened in the American workforce • The backlog of depression-era unemployment quickly disappeared & the US faced a critical labor shortage • Defense industries employed about 7 million new workers, including women

  7. Women & IndustryRosie the Riveter • Gov’t planners “discovered” women while looking for industrial labor • Propaganda: “Rosie” • Women were given high paying jobs as riveters, welders, and drill-press operators • Women made up 36% of the workforce in 1945 (up from 24% prior to the war) • However, women were only “filling-in” while the men were away • Lower pay

  8. Organized Labor • Responded with an initial burst of patriotic unity… “no strike” pledge • National War Labor Board: established wages, hours, & working conditions • Incomes rose as much as 70% despite wage ceilings • However, many unions felt cheated as corporate profits soared in relation to wages

  9. Civil Rights • Just as labor sought to benefit from the war, African Americans manifested a new mood of militancy • Black leaders pointed out parallels between anti-Semitism in Germany and racial discrimination at home • “Double V” campaign: victory over Nazism abroad and victory over racism and inequality at home.

  10. Prior to the war, the fed. gov’t took little action for civil rights • A. Philip Randolph (Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters) – announced a plan to march on Washington in 1941 -Executive Order 8802: “there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or gov’t because of race, creed, color, or national origin.” -Fair Employment Practices Commission

  11. Economics • Federal defense spending had solved the depression: unemployment disappeared, per capita income more than doubled, despite some dislocations and shortages 70% of Americans reported “no real sacrifices” • Office of Price Administration: gas, rubber, meats, butter, sugar…

  12. Demographics • Military: when men entered the services, families often followed them to training bases or points of debarkation • Lure of high paying defense jobs • 15 million Americans moved during the war, much from rural areas to urban areas -result: housing strains, inadequate public transportation, another “Great Migration” and with it increased racial tensions

  13. Effects • Civil Rights movement • Feminist Movement • Military Industrial Complex • Nuclear Age

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