WW II During & After

1. WW II During & After The American People

2. V-J Day • August 14th 1945 • Japan’s government unconditionally surrenders to the USA and it’s allies. • Parades on the home front. • Large sense of nationalism. • Japanese Americans in internment camps were set free in California.

3. Executive Order 9066 • Issued February 19, 1942 • Forced Japanese into “internmentcamps” • Allowed the US Military to declare parts of the USA as “military zones” baring “Foreign Enemy Ancestry” • Lead to over 120,000 Japanese Americans being held in “internment camps” for up to 4 years. • Focused on the • Issei—Japanese Immigrants (1st Generations) • Nisei---American Born Japanese (2nd Generation) • Sansei---Japanese (3rd Generations Japanese Americans)

4. Executive Order 9066 • These Internment Camps were the USA version of Concentration Camps (minus the gas chambers) • People were given less than 48 hours notice. • Were told only to bring what they could carry. • Given an allegiance questionnaire to determine which camp they would be “kept” • Also relocated were Italians and Germans (but not as widely) • Japanese Internment Camps During WWII • Japs keep moving

6. War’s Social and Economical Impact • During WWII the USA saw their economy soar. • Producing war supplies for the USA and it’s allies was very profitable. • People moved to cities to work in factories. • Jobs paid well. • Women, African-Americans, and Hispanic-Americans worked as well and gained some economic freedom/stability.

7. Military deployment breeds Social Change • Approximately 16 million men and 250,000 women served in the US military during WW II • Most of these people were stationed in the USA but in different parts. • FG (5:00 min mark) • Often after the war these people who were stationed in other areas in the USA stayed there. • These mixing of various cultures caused people to adopt certain customs/social patterns.

8. Wartime Population Shifts • People moved from rural areas to cities. (jobs) • Sunbelt grew as well. (Florida Carolinas etc.) • Many people relocated because of the war effort and eventually stayed in their new areas after the war.

9. Wartime Prosperity • Because of such economic/industrial expansion many areas also had advances. • Health Care for working people became common. • Dental care vastly improved. • Birth rates rose, death rates declined. Lifespan extended. • Average incomes rose. (We became a middle class nation) Before WW II After WW II

10. Office of Economic Stabilization • Started in 1943. • Headed by James F. Byrnes. • Helped organize the wartime efforts from an economic standpoint (successful) ----Helped organize the government contracts for war supplies. • Real GDP grew by 25% Economy was booming! (we haven’t been as good since)

11. Good and Bad • With the government issuing large contracts for war supplies they needed money. • RAISE TAXES: • Revenue Acts 1942-1943. (Created the modern income tax) This generated an additional $40 Billion • Other revenue came from War Bonds (Peddled by movie stars/celebrities) • YouTube - Bette Davis promoting the sale of war bonds • YouTube - Bugs Bunny War Bond Drive WW2 Cartoon

12. Good and Bad • The depression of the 20’s and 30’s was eliminated. • Jobs were plentiful and wartime economic expansion was fueled by government spending and mass conscription. • Conscription: The military draft. • Farmers and industrial workers saw increases in production (up to 20% increase)

13. Good and Bad • Because businesses were booming and laborers were employed congress enacted the War Labor Board. • War Labor Board (1942) • Set guidelines for wages, hours, and unions. • For the most part during war times labor unions remained cooperative and didn’t strike much.

14. Good and Bad • Because people were making government product there were often shortages in consumer goods. This leads to??????? • Inflation: (Too much money chasing too few goods) • Government then regulated this by putting price restrictions on many consumer goods. • They also used a ration system issuing coupons for certain items.

15. Bad • Roosevelt created the Office of Price Administration:Their job was to regulate prices/rations etc. • This outraged citizens. • Gas/Beef rationing was the worst. • Gas was so scarce people bought it on the black markets. • Speed limits were set at 35mph to save gas. • Service stations closed, people often had to walk because a lack of gas. • Motorists would line up for miles to get gas.

16. Bad • Beef rationing also hurt. • Butchers were often abused/hurt because their display cases were either empty or they refused to budge on the ration limits. • Families had the $ to pay. (just no beef) • Newsreel: A look back at food rationing during World War II

17. Women’s Roles • Prior to war, women were seen as dainty and unsuitable for manufacturing. • Women were actually utilized during wartime. • WAC --- Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps • WAVES—Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service. Women in War (Info)

18. Women’s Roles • Because of a shortage of workers, the idea of women working outside the home changed. • Women worked in factories, drove trucks, worked in munitions stations.

19. Women’s Roles • Office of War Information: • Produced propaganda to encourage women to join the war labor force. • Slogan became Rosie the Riveter “Do the job HE left behind” • YouTube - Rosie the Riveters of World War II

20. Women’s Roles The downside • While women finally enjoyed working in the labor force, they did have problems. • Problems: • Unequal pay from males • Sexually harassed by their male supervisors • Lack of child care facilities. • “Latchkey Children” • Children were often put in all day long movie theaters. • Girls turned to prostitution • Boys were vandals

21. Women’s Roles The downside • Women were expected to relinquish their jobs to men when the war ended. • Many did not want to. • Some were fired. • This started women to raise their daughters to be less subservient. • Was the roots to women’s rights.

22. African-Americans Role • Were segregated. • Often were attacked by white civilians in the south. • Had lesser roles in the military • They had hoped their service would translate into better education and job opportunities after the war. (It didn’t) • Hoped for a “Double V” • Victory over the axis powers • Victory over the Jim Crow Laws

23. African-Americans Role • Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) • Started by Pres. Roosevelt. • Done to stifle a potential protest because employers were not hiring black workers to fill war contracts. • It was symbolic • It was not enforced • Blacks started to move to industrial cities in the north. • Whites didn’t like this because they were competing with them for everything. • They wanted blacks to stay in the south.