Mobilization

1. Mobilization On The Home Front

2. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, eager young Americans jammed the recruiting offices. 5 million who initially volunteered for military services was not enough to fight a global war & the Selective Service System instituted the draft & eventually provided another 15 million soldiers to meet the Armed Forces’ needs.

3. Women in the Military The Military’s manpower needs were so great that in early 1942, the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) was created This organization allowed women to volunteer for the army to fulfill duties not being performed by male soldiers. Women did not receive the same rank, pay, or benefits as men doing the same job, nor could they expect to have an army career (Postwar) In all, 250,000 women served in auxiliary branches during the war.

5. Minorities in the Armed Forces For minority groups, the war created new dilemmas. Restricted to racially segregated neighborhoods, reservations & denied basic citizenship rights, some members of these groups questioned whether this war was their war to fight (why die for democracy for some foreign country when they didn’t have it at home) However, minorities knew that regardless of how bad they were treated at home, they would be worse off under Axis control. In response, 500,000 minorities saw heavy action both in Europe & Asia. More than 1 million AA’s served in the military. They lived & worked in segregated units & were mostly limited to non combat roles (1943, after protest, AA soldiers saw combat) 13,000 Chinese Americans & 33,000 Japanese Americans fought for U.S. & served as spies & interpreters. 25,000 Native Americans left their Reservations & fought in the war.

7. The Tuskegee Airmen The first black pilots Impressive fighting record Helped lessen the racism directed towards African-Americans

8. They flew more than 1500 missions. The unit received recognition through official channels, and won two Presidential Unit Citations, 744 Air Medals, 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 14 Bronze Stars, and several Silver Stars.

9. Navajo Code talkers

10. Industrial Response 1942, the nation’s industries had been shut down & re-opened after a few weeks producing tanks, planes, boats, & military cars. Across the nation, factories quickly converted to war production.

11. Economic Controls Congress worried about Inflation (incomes rose as a production of consumer goods fell) during the war created the Office of Price Administration (OPA). The OPA fought inflation by freezing prices on most goods. Congress also raised income taxes and encouraged people to buy war bonds. The OPA set up a system for rationing = allotments of goods deemed essential for the military. Under the system, households received ration books with coupons to be used for buying such scarce goods as meat, shoes, coffee, & gasoline. Besides controlling inflation the government needed to ensure that the forces & war industries had enough resources. The War Production Board (WPB) assumed responsibility of production & allocated raw materials to key industries. The WPB also organized nationwide drives to collect scrap iron, tin cans, paper, etc.

12. Labor Contribution By 1944, 18 million workers were laboring in war related industries & more than 6 million of these new workers were women (faced sexism). Defense plants hired more than 2 million minority workers during the war years. Minorities faced strong prejudice (before war 75% of defense contractors refused to hire AA’s) (Read Wartime migrations from RG) To protest such discrimination in the military & industries, A. Philip Randolph (nations leading AA labor leader) organized a march on Washington to protest. FDR backed down under pressure & issued an executive order calling on employers & labor unions to provide for the full equitable participation of all workers in defense industries, without discrimination.

18. The Bracero Program More than 200,000 Mexicans came to the U.S. to work as farmers – they replaced the labor shortage due to the war Unfortunately, they suffered through terrible working conditions and low wages. Many companies cheated them out of a portion of their wages.

19. FDR signed Executive Order 9066, directing the military to arrest and relocate all persons of Japanese descent

21. Japanese Relocation Centers

23. Stop

24. Mobilization of Scientists 1941, FDR created Office of Scientific Research & Development (OSRD) to bring scientists into the war effort. The OSRD spurred improvements in both radar & sonar technology, & medical technology (penicillin) The greatest scientific achievement of the OSRD was the secret development of a new weapon = Atomic Bomb Interest began in 1939, after Albert Einstein & other German scientists succeeded in splitting the Uranium atom = (releases an enormous destructive power. FDR responded by developing a program that could develop a bomb as quickly as possible = Manhattan Project

28. 5 Keys to Victory • 1. Pre-war preparation • 2. Our Wealth (resources, factories, labor, etc) • 3. Industrial Production • 4. Great Military Leaders (Ike, Patton, • MacArthur) (lost 300,000 troops) • 5. Our mainland was unscathed by the war • (survived a two front war)

29. Postwar Issues Arms Race & Nuclear Age Cold War What to do with the Jews in Europe (Israel) Returning Soldiers