T r a n s p a r e n c y
3 5 A
The Granger Collection, New York
Examples of Rationing During World War II
Examples of Rationing, 1941–1945
Item
Amount per Family
Sugar
1/2 pound a week
Gasoline
Non-war workers: 3 gallons a week; War workers: 8 gallons a week
Meat
2 pounds a week
Cheese
1.4 pounds for three months
Butter
4 ounces a week
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History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals
46
T r a n s p a r e n c y
3 5 B
Newsreels from World War II
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History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals
47
T r a n s p a r e n c y
3 5 C
American GIs
March 22
g, Junie!
Darling, Darlin
t
piness is righ
Junie, this hap
m
m a ission
Got back fro
unbearable.
ut I quit
ternoon . . . b
af
is
th
0
0
4:
at
l the
mpletely unti
A son!
breathing co
as unfolded.
w
s
ew
n
l
fu
wonder
...
Darling, Junie
adron went
ys in the squ
o
b
All of the
ad saved
onderful! I h
w
’s
it
h
O
.
wild
last two
ration for the
f good
my tobacco
ined a box o
ta
b
o
ad
h
d
weeks an
I’m anxious
ars . . . Golly
g
ci
an
ic
er
m
A
re Damon
details. I figu
e
th
l
al
w
o
to kn
er what
19th. I wond
e
th
n
o
rn
o
was b
im. Tell him
d all about h
he weighs an
appiest,
e proudest, h
th
as
h
e
h
at
th
le world.
p in the who
Po
st
ie
ck
lu
and
Junie if this
letter makes
no sense
forget it—I’m
sort of delirio
us—Today
everything is
special. This
iron hut
looks like a ca
stle;.The low
hanging
overcast outs
ide is the mo
st
beautiful
hue of blue I’v
e ever seen.
I’m a father.
I have a son!
My darling w
ife has had
a fine boy an
d I’m a king
. . . Oh, Junie
I wish I could
,
be there. Now
I think
maybe I could
be of some h
elp. There
are so many
things to be
done. What a
ridiculous an
d worthless
thing a war is
in the light o
f such a won
derful event.
That there w
ill be no war
fo
r Damon! . . .
Oh my beauti
ful darling, I
love you
more and mo
re and more.
Gosh, I’m
happy! Swee
t dreams my
sweet
Mother.
Love, Rarey
Source: “Dear Home: Letters from WWII,” History.com, www.history.com.
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History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals
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T r a n s p a r e n c y
3 5 D
Japanese Americans
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History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals
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T r a n s p a r e n c y
3 5 E
Women
Rosie the Riveter
All the day long,
Rosie’s got a boyfriend, Charlie.
Whether rain or shine,
Charlie, he’s a Marine.
She’s a part of the assembly line.
Rosie’s protecting Charlie,
She’s making history,
Working overtime on the riveting machine
Working for victory,
When they gave her a production “E,”
Rosie the Riveter.
She was as proud as a girl could be,
Keeps a sharp lookout for sabotage,
There’s something true about,
Sitting up there on the fuselage.
Red, white, and blue about,
That little girl will do more than a male can do,
Rosie the Riveter.
Rosie the Riveter.
—Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb, 1942
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History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals
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T r a n s p a r e n c y
3 5 F
African Americans
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T r a n s p a r e n c y
3 5 G
Jewish Americans
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History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals
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© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
Source: “American Experience: Zoot Suit Riots,” PBS, www.pbs.org.
OF MEXICAN AMERICAN YOUTH
YOUTH COMMITTEE for the DEFENSE
Respectfully,
We thank you very much.
Japanese either.
the other Americans divide from us . . . We don’t like Hitler or the
particularly because discrimination is the thing that makes
Discrimination is what hurts the most, so help us with that
the way we are raising money for that is to collect scrap iron . . .
chance. We have got a Defense Club to help the 24 boys on trial and
girls can do a lot of things to win the war if someone will give us a
rest of the people . . . [We] know that us Mexican-American boys and
bad for the war because it is against unity and divides us from the
We have talked about all this in our club and we think it is very
fun of zoot suits and use the word “Mexicans” like it was a dirty word.
. . . [the] newspapers have made us look like criminals too. They make
There is still a lot of discrimination in theaters and swimming pools and
We have no place to play so the Police are always arresting us . . .
are no recreation centers and the nearest movie is about a mile away,
16th of September here in Los Angeles . . . In our neighborhood there
We are writing you this letter because we heard you speak on the
Dear Mr. Wallace:
Mexican Americans
T r a n s p a r e n c y
3 5 H
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