WWII: The American Homefront
■ Essential Question:
–How did World War II transform the
American home Front?
World War II had a huge impact on the United States
Examine how
World War II impacted
Americans at home by
analyzing each
document.
The U.S. Government: Document A
The U.S. Government: Document B
The U.S. Government: Document C
To win wars in Europe and the Pacific
and to meet civilian demands, the U.S.
government grew to its largest size ever
The War Production Board
directed factories to
produce war supplies in
order to
out-produce the Axis Powers
Pre-fabrication
Ford factories madeallowed shipbuilders
one B-24 to make
bomber every hour
a battleship in 14 days (rather than 355 days)
The War Powers Act gave President Roosevelt
the power to expand the government,
use censorship, and limit personal liberties
The U.S. gov’t spent $250 million per day
from 1941 to 1945…This is 2x as much
as all previous gov’t spending combined
The government drafted soldiers and
sold war bonds to raise money to fund the
war
War bonds helped raise $187 billion
The Office of War Information directed propaganda
Wartime production led to shortages of consumer
goods and high demand for essential materials…
…The Office of
Price Administration set
fixed prices on consumer
goods and distributed
ration books on essential
war-related materials
Americans recycled
and planted victory
gardens to support
the war effort
War production created new jobs, stimulated
the economy, and ended the Great Depression
Soldiers: Document A
Soldiers : Document B
Soldiers : Document C
When the USA declared war, the military needed
soldiers to fight a two-front war in Europe and Asia
6 million men
volunteered
for the military
after the Pearl
Harbor attack
10 million
more were
drafted into
service
Hundreds of
training camps
were created,
mostly in the
South
During World War II, everything soldiers were given
was “gov’t issue” so soldiers became known as
Homesickness “GIs”
Bob Hope entertains the troops
among soldiers
was common…
…the USO
brought
celebrity actors,
comedians,
musical acts to Judy Garland sings
for the troops
entertain the
troops
African Americans: Document A
African Americans: Document B
African Americans: Document C
During WWII, African Americans
fought in the military and at home
More than 1 million Black soldiers were allowed to
black soldiers served fight; The “Tuskegee airmen”
in segregated units were recognized for heroism
under the command
of white officers
Tuskegee Airmen
World War II created …The Great Migration
thousands of war- continued as blacks
related factory jobs and moved into Northern
demand for workers… cities and the west coast
African Americans Civil rights leader A Philip
faced racial Randolph threatened to
discrimination in “march on Washington”
segregated units and in to force FDR to help blacks
war-related jobs
As a result, President Roosevelt offered
equal pay for black workers and created
the Fair Employment Practices Commission
Women: Document A
Women: Document B
Women: Document C
World War II led to opportunities for
women in the workforce and military
6 million women
entered the
workforce
in clerical work and in
war-related
industries
World War II led to opportunities for
women in the workforce and military
6 million women
entered the
workforce
in clerical work and in
war-related industries
200,000 women joined noncombat military units
Women Accepted
Women’s
for Volunteer
Army Corps
Emergency
(WACs)Service (WAVES)
Women served as military nurses and photographers
Women’s participation in the war effort led to an
increase in daycare centers and child delinquency
After the war, women
were forced out of
high-paying factory jobs
Japanese Americans : Document A
Japanese Americans : Document B
Japanese Americans: Document C
Americans viewed the Japanese as racially inferior
and used racial stereotypes to describe the enemy
as well as Japanese-Americans
Due to Pearl Harbor, In 1942, President Roosevelt
people feared that issued Executive Order 9066
Japanese-Americans which “relocated” 112,000
Japanese-Americans to
were spying or helping internment camps away from
prepare for a Japanese the Pacific coast
invasion of the USA
The Japanese in internment camps faced
bad living conditions and a lack of civil rights
Japanese internment camp
