chapter 25 america & world war ii section 1 mobilizing for war
TRANSCRIPT
Converting the Economy
• The U.S. industrial output was twice that as Germany and 5x that of Japan.
• Best way to mobilize the economy was to give industry an incentive to move quickly.
• Gov’t signed cost-plus contracts agreeing to pay a company whatever the manufacturing cost, plus a guaranteed % of the costs as profit.
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
• Set up during the Depression.
• Made loans to companies to help them with the cost of converting to war production.
American Industry
• After Pearl Harbor, almost all major American industries and 200,000 companies converted to war production.
Tanks Replace Cars
• *Don’t Write*
• The automobile factories turned to the production of trucks, jeeps, and tanks.
• The also built artillery, rifles, mines, helmets, pontoon bridges, cooking pots, and other supplies, producing nearly 1/3 of the military equipment that was manufactured during the war.
Liberty Ships
• Henry Kaiser built the Liberty Ship, a basic cargo ship used during the war.
• They were welded instead of riveted, making them cheaper and easier to build and difficult to fall apart and sink.
War Production Board
• Set priorities and production goals to control the distribution of raw materials and supplies.
Selective Service & Training Act
• 1st peacetime draft in American history.
• Numbers were overwhelming at first.
• Named GIs, after their uniforms meaning “Government Issue,” went through basic training for 8 weeks.
A Segregated Army
• At the beginning of the war the military was completely segregated.
• A.A. were organized into their own military units with white officers.
Double “V”
• A.A. were disfranchised, meaning they were often denied the right to vote.
• The Pittsburgh Courier, launched the Double “V” campaign stating A.A. should join the army to win a double victory abroad and at home.
Tuskegee Airmen
• The army air force created the 99th Pursuit Squadron, an A.A. unit.
• They played a most important role in Italy.
Women’s Army Auxiliary Corp
• 1st time women were allowed in the military.
• By 1943 they became part of regular war operations.
• Replaced by the Women’s Army Corp.
Americans Go To War
• 1941 the American troops were untrained and had little experience.
• They did, however, suffer the fewest casualties in combat of all the major powers.