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Daily Life on the Home Front

Angela Brown

Chapter 15 Section 2

Learning Targets

• Describe some features of American popular culture during WWII.

• Explain how shortages and controls affected everyday civilian life.

• List some of the ways the government enlisted public support.

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Wartime Popular Culture

• 1941 24% American families had incomes of less than $1000 a year – less than 20% by 1945

• measure of optimism – birthrate doubled 1930s rates 1940-1945 population grew by 7.5 million

• Americans were suddenly making more money than they needed for necessities – couldn’t spend it on cars, trucks, or home appliances due to war.

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Books and Movies

• Robert De Graff founded new Pocket Books Company in 1939.

• Thought more Americans would read if books were less expensive, more widely available, and easy to carry.

• 34,000 of first books sold – Soldiers even carried them into combat – after the war the market for paperback’s continued

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Books and Movies

• 60% of U.S. population went to movies every week

• Hollywood made movies for civilians and soldiers (Frank Capra / Casablanca)

6http://www.uwec.edu/DC/AP/IFS/pastfilms/images/films/casablanca.jpg

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Baseball

• 4000 of 5700 major and minor league baseball players were in military service.

• Americans still flocked to games – some placed ads in newspapers to fill rosters

• Women had a chance to play ball professionally.• 1943 Philip Wrigley founded All- American girls

softball league became All- American Girls’ Baseball in 1945.

8http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/leagueoftheirown/alotowncastbig.jpg

9http://blog.chosun.com/web_file/blog/200/25200/3/1944_Rockford_Peaches.jpg

10http://www.aagpbl.org/images/profiles/teams/43.jpg

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• Rockford Peaches (Illinois) and Southbend Blue Sox (Indiana) had to attend charm school and wear impractical skirted uniforms.

• Games drew hundreds of fans.

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Popular Music

• As in WWI, many popular songs encouraged hope and patriotism

• “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” – based on story of Navy Chaplain took over anti-aircraft gun at Pearl Harbor after the gunners had been killed

• 1942 film, Holiday Inn, Bing Crosby sang Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” – became a sentimental favorite for both soldiers and civilians

13http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/bobhope/images/vc74.jpg

14http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/64/Dvd-cover-white-christmas.jpg/180px-Dvd-cover-white-christmas.jpg

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Shortages and Controls

• Americans lived with shortages throughout the war.

• Metal used in typewriters and zippers went into guns.

• Rubber for girdles went into tires.

• Nylon made parachutes instead of stockings.

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Saved cloth – men’s suits no longer had vests, patch pockets or trouser cuffs – women skirts were shorter and narrower.

• Sugar scarce when Philippines fell to Japanese.• Shipping lanes closed = no tropical fruit or

Brazilian Coffee• Government used tough measures to head off

inflation.

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• Office of Price Administration (OPA) – given authority to freeze rents and prices – 1941 began rationing = fair distribution of scarce items

• 1943 OPA assigned points values to sugar, coffee, meat, butter, canned fruit, and shoes.

18http://www.oldchesterpa.com/ww2/images/gas_stamp_1.jpg

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“Is this trip necessary?”

• Consumers received ration books of coupons worth a certain number of points for categories of food and clothing

• Once used they had to wait for more rationing books or trade coupons

• Gasoline rationed – 3 gallons a week signs asked, “Is this trip necessary?”

20http://www.oldchesterpa.com/ww2/ration_cards.htm

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Enlisting Public Support

• Tried to create sense of patriotism and participation in the war effort while convincing citizens to accept rationing and conserve resources

• Office of War Information – 1942 to work with magazine publishers, advertising agencies, and radio stations – hired writers and artists to create patriotic posters and ads.

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• Victory Gardens – Sec of Ag. suggested that families plant home gardens to make up for the farm produce sent to feed the soldiers.

• City/Suburbs planted tomatoes, peas, and radishes in backyards, empty parking lots, and playgrounds.

• 1943 Victory Gardens produced one third of countries fresh vegetables.

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Propaganda

http://www.historicpelham.com/images/BlogImages/Poster1.jpghttp://www.interactivist.net/gardens/images/h_victorygarden.jpg

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http://homefront.mrdonn.org/rationbooks2.jpghttp://www.historicpelham.com/images/BlogImages/Poster2.jpg

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• People tested their readiness for possible bombing raids through “blackouts”.

• Women knit scarves and socks or rolled bandages for the red cross.

• Shortages produced efforts to recycle scrap metal, paper, and other materials.

• People collected tin cans, pots and pans, razor blades, old shovels, and old lipstick tubes.

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http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govinfo/collections/wwii-posters/img/ww1647-25.jpg

http://www.library.gsu.edu/spcoll/spcollimages/av/lane/jpeg/LBCB039-104b.jpg

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• Virginia volunteers raised sunken ships from Wyoming took apart an old steam engine to use the parts.

• People saved kitchen fats because the glycerin could be used to make powder for bullets or shells.

• Historians have questioned whether items collected were used in war – collection drives kept adults involved in war effort

Exit Slip:1. What prevented Americans from spending

the high wages they earned in wartime jobs?

2. What was the main goal of the Office of War Information?

3. The goal of wartime rationing was…

4. Campaigns to collect scrap metal, kitchen fats, and other materials were promoted mainly to…

5. What effect did victory gardens have on the home front?

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