Chapter 35
Essential
Question
What kinds of opportunities and hardships did the war create for Americans at home and
abroad?
35.1
The Impact of World War II on Americans.
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Everyone would have to make sacrifices in support of the armed forces.
They would have to accept rationing, a system for limiting the distribution of food,
gasoline, and other goods, so the military could have the weapons, equipment, and
supplies it needed.
As a result, life in the U.S. would change dramatically.
Civilians contributed to the war effort when they took part in the rationing system. The
key to the system was the ration book, which contained coupons that allowed
consumers to buy rationed items, such as canned goods, sugar, coffee, and dairy
products.
35.2
Organizing the American Economy for War
 The Job of organizing the wartime economy fell to the War Production Board (WPB).
o The WPB successfully mobilized businesses behind the war effort, leading to
closer relationships between the government and large corporations.
 Another government agency, the National War Labor Board (NWLB), settled labor
disputes before they disrupted the production of war goods.
 Taxes provided about 45 percent of the revenue needed to pay for the war.
o The Revenue Act of 1942 increased individual and corporate income tax rates
and more than tripled the number of individuals required to pay income tax.
o Borrowing provided much of the rest of the money to finance the war.
 Congress gave the job of curbing inflation to the Office of Price Administration.
o The OPA instituted price controls, a system of legal restrictions on the prices
charged for goods.
o The OPA rationed about 20 basic consumer products, including gasoline, tires,
sugar, meats, and processed foods.
As the war effort got underway, the government spent billions of dollars on military
supplies and equipment. War industries worked night and day to satisfy this demand.
As a result, the nation's gross domestic product rose sharply. So did the national debt,
as the government borrowed heavily to cover war expense.
Warplanes and tanks were critical items for the U.S. military during the war. Production
of both types of equipment increased rapidly during the early years of the war.
Warplane production continued to grow through 1944, while the production of tanks
was in decline.
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35.3
Americans formed car pools or rode bicycles to work.
Americans recycled metals, paper, rubber, and other materials.
o Victory gardens and recycling campaigns not only boosted war production but
also raised the morale of Americans on the home front.
American GIs Go to War
Service in World War II by Selected Groups
Japanese Americans
Women in military
auxiliary
African Americans
Jewish Americans
Mexican Americans
25,000
350,000
1,057,000
550,000
500,000
More than 16 million Americans served in the military during World War II. These men
and women represented many different ethnic groups. Members of these groups often
faced racism or other forms of discrimination. Some groups were segregated. Within
each combat unit, however, a bond often emerged that crossed ethnic lines.
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In 1940, more than 16 million men between the ages of 21 and 35 registered for the
draft.
Later registrations expanded the age limits to include men from 18 to 44.
Most U.S. soldiers went off to fight in World War II with a strong commitment to the
Allied cause. Nevertheless, they often found the experience of war shattering. Combat
was grueling and traumatic, and many soldiers came home with a new respect for the
horrors of war.
35.4
The Internment of Japanese Americans
Many U.S. residents of Japanese descent were moved to internment camps during
World War II. This measure was intended to prevent sabotage during the war. Most of
the detainees were Japanese Americans, however, and relocation violated their rights as
U.S. citizens.
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In February 1942, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066.
o This order declare that large military zones could be set up to exclude current
residents who were believed to be a threat to security.
o
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In March 1942, the military used this executive order to launch a mass
evacuation of people of Japanese ancestry from the Pacific Coast.
A Japanese American, Fred Korematsu, was arrested and convicted with remaining in a
restricted military area.
Korematsu appealed the verdict all the way to the Supreme Court.
o In the case Korematsu v. United States, the Court upheld his conviction on the
grounds that a group's civil rights can be set aside in a time of war.
Most internment camps were located in the West. They were set up in desert areas
away from the coast and far from population centers. The government referred to these
camps as relocation centers, but critics called them concentration camps.
Several thousand Japanese American GIs fought with the 442nd Regimental Combat
Team. This unit won many medals during the war, including the Congressional Medal of
Honor. In 1946, President Harry Truman told the 442nd, "You fought for the free
nations of the world. You fought not only the enemy, you fought prejudice, and you
won."
35.5
Women at War
Women started out in the armed forces as secretaries and clerks but soon took on more
challenging tasks. For example, Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs) flew bombers,
fighter planes, and new jet aircraft, though not in combat. Their main job was to fly
planes from factories to air bases, but they also tested aircraft and trained pilots.
During the war, posters and magazines ads encouraged women to fill jobs left by men
who joined the armed forces. Millions of women responded: some by patriotic reasons,
some for higher pay. Women made up about a third of the new workers hired during
the war.
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35.6
Women in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) became members of the military and
underwent rigorous army training.
In 1942, the navy and the coast guard established their own branches for women.
African Americans Fight for Two Victories
In 1941, the army air corps brought African Americans from around the country to train
at a flying school in Tuskegee, Alabama. These men won fame as the Tuskegee Airmen.
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On June 25, 1941, Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802, outlawing discrimination by
defense contractors.
o This triggered a migration of African Americans out of the rural South and into
the industrial cities of the North and the West
o From 1940 to 1945, some 500,000 black Americans, attracted by higher-paying
jobs, left the South.
 In the process, African Americans escaped the Jim Crow laws that
legalized segregation and kept many of them from voting.
In the cities black Americans faced other hardships, including a lack of housing and
social services, as well as ongoing racial discrimination.
In 1943, thousands of African Americans moved to Detroit, Michigan, to find work. The
competition with whites for jobs and housing stirred up racial tensions. In June, those
tensions boiled over in a race riot that left 34 people dead. Heavily armed federal
troops finally restored order.
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35.7
Challenging Racism at Home
o The National Urban League was founded in 1910.
 It opposed discrimination in defense plants, fought to integrate labor
unions, and pushed federal officials to ensure equal opportunity for
African Americans in housing and employment.
o The NAACP was founded in 1909.
 It focused on seeking racial justice through the courts.
o The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) was founded in 1942.
 CORE believed in confronting discrimination through nonviolent
protest.
CORE efforts, along with the work of the NAACP and the National Urban League,
helped set the stage for the postwar civil rights movement.
Jewish Americans and the War
On November 9, 1938, the Nazis organized riots that killed Jews and destroyed Jewish
property. So much glass littered the streets that the event became known as
Kristallnacht, or the "night of broken glass." Franklin Roosevelt told a reporter that he
"could scarcely believe that such things could occur in a twentieth-century civilization."
Jewish Americans Urge the Government to Help Jews in Europe
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35.8
By the end of 1942, the government knew that Hitler was slaughtering Jews in a
systematic way.
It was not until 1944 that Roosevelt issued an executive order creating the War
Refugee Board.
o This agency arranged for Jewish refugees to stay at centers in Italy and North
Africa, as well as in former army camps in the U.S.
Mexican Americans Leave the Fields for War Work
GIs of Mexican ancestry served with distinction in World War II. Many received medals
for bravery in combat. Some of these GIs were Mexican national, citizens of Mexico
living in the United States. Service in the armed forces gave them a better chance to
gain U.S. citizenship.
Prejudice Against Mexican Americans Erupts in Zoot Suit Riots
In June 1943, groups of sailors and marines attacked young Mexican Americans in East
Los Angeles, in part because the teenagers were wearing zoot suits. In general, the
police left the servicemen alone and arrested the victims instead.