Document #1: A War Time Economy

During the war, the government rationed (limitations on the amounts of certain goods that people could buy) essential items such as sugar, gasoline, coffee, meat, and even ketchup. Citizens were given ration books to keep track of the “points” allotted to each family.

During WWII, there was a nationwide victory garden program to help combat food shortages. Victory gardens made an important contribution to the home-front effort by producing a significant amount of food (approximately 40 percent of vegetables consumed in 1943) and by providing a way to contribute to the war effort for those who could not fight on the battlefield.

To help win the war, families, even children, went to the streets to collect scrap metal, paper, rubber- anything that could be recycled to help win the war.

Salvage in WW2

SAVE...

CAN BE MADE INTO...

30,000 razor blades

50 machine guns (.30 caliber)

30 lipstick tubes

20 ammunition cartridges

·2,300 pairs of

Nvlons'

1 parachute

1 pound of fat

1/3 pound of gunpowder

2,5000 tons of tin and 190,000 tons of

steel'

5,000 tanks

The start of World War II end the Great Depression as millions went to serve overseas and millions more were needed in all of the wartime industries at home. To help support the war, citizens were encouraged to buy war bonds. This meant that people gave the government money now, and then the government gave them double in a few years (example if you buy a $50 war bond, you give the government $25 but then in 7 years, the government gives you $50). Companies would earn merit flags from the United States if all of their employees were part of the 10% club (they gave 10% of their paycheck to war bonds). Many household products and the materials that made them were needed to produce military goods. This meant that people had to ration (save and limit the amount they used). People also did not use regular supplied like rubber, nylon plastic, aluminum, regular grade beef, and used car pools to save gas as all of these raw materials were sent to the army. When the war was over, people had saved up for both serving overseas and at home, and demanded all of the consumer products they could not have the four years of the war and the whole Great Depression. The American economy began to boom! In addition, there was a baby boom as people could now afford to have more children. However, for many of the millions of the returning veterans, life was difficult returning home and readjusting to civilian life and civilian jobs after many years overseas. For all of their sacrifice in fighting dictators who tried to rule world, the generation of veterans that fought in World War II was known as “The Greatest Generation”.

Document #2: Women in WWII

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Women responded to the urgent demand for their labor. Almost 5 million women entered the work force. They replaced the men who joined the armed services. Many women worked in offices. Millions more kept the nation’s factories operating around the clock. Some welded, ran huge cranes, and tended to blast furnaces. Others became bus drivers, police officers, and gas station attendants. The images of Rosie the Riveter, a fictional factory worker, became a symbol of American women’s contribution to the war effort.

“I will never regret my two years or more in the shipyards. It gave me a good start in life… I decided that if I could learn to weld like a man, I could do anything it took to make a living.”

--Nova Lee McGhee Holbrook

Quoted in A Mouthful of Rivets (Wise)

During WWII women were expected to be both housewives who did all the chores and work. In this way their jobs were even more difficult as many households did not have modern day conveniences that make cleaning easier. Also the government was rationing (limitations of what people could buy) food—so it was even more difficult to get the needed food to cook basic meals.

In the days after December 7th, 1941, “Remember Pearl Harbor” became a battle cry for all of America as it entered World War II and America began a war in the Pacific Ocean against Japan and in Europe and Africa against Germany. By the summer of 1942, men disappeared almost completely from the workplace, having been enlisted into the US military. With men being shipped overseas, women were needed to step in to fill factory jobs, fill hospitals, and even lend a hand in the military. During WWII, over 6 million women took wartime jobs in factories or filling in for men on farms, 3 million women volunteered with the Red Cross, and over 200,000 women served the military as nurses or other needed jobs. Although many women were unused to doing this tough work (and instead after WWI went back to being housewives), to some of the new female factory workers, however, the job boom was a godsend. For families that were hit hardest during the depression of the 1930s, the chance for a wife to earn a paycheck while her husband was getting her overseas pay was almost a lucky break.

Document #3: African Americans at War

On July 19th, 1941, the U.S. AirForce began a program in Tuskegee, Alabama to train black Americans as military pilots. At the time, the army was segregated, and only whites were allowed to fly. In the five years that followed, 992 black pilots graduated, receiving commissions and pilot wings. They came from all U.S. cities and wanted to serve their country. These black World War II pilots who fought both fascism and racism became known as Tuskegee Airmen.

As industry geared up for war, factories replaced “No Help Wanted” signs with “Help Wanted. White” signs. Such discrimination angered African Americans.

In 1941, A. Philip Randolph, head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, called for a protest march on Washington. The government, he said, “will never give the Negro justice until they see masses-ten, twenty, fifty thousand Negroes on the White House lawn.”

Government officials worried. After meeting with Rudolph, FDR ordered employers that did business with the government to end discrimination in hiring. As a result, the employment of skilled black workers doubled during the war.

However, as black employment increased, so did racial tension. Thousands of Americans—black and white—moved to cities to work in industry. Competition for scarce housing led to angry incidents.

To help win the war, President Roosevelt created the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC). It said, "There shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government because of race, creed (faith); color, or national origin". It required that all government contracts have a non-discrimination claim. FEPC rules guaranteedequality of employment rights. The African American community in the United States agreed on a double "V" campaign: Victory over fascism abroad, and Victory over discrimination at home. Large numbers migrated from poor Southern farms to weapons centers. Over 900,000 black soldiers served very bravely overseas in World War 2. Although, many still fought in segregated units (the most famous unit was the air force unit of the Tuskegee Airmen who never lost a plane in their battles over Europe). In 1948, 3 years after the war, President Harry Truman desegregated and fully integrated all army units.

Document #4: Mexican Americans

A growing Mexican American population also faced problems. Because of the need for workers, the United States signed a treaty with Mexico in 1942. It allowed the recruitment of Mexican laborers (workers) to work in the United States. Under this bracero (Spanish term, meaning manual labor) program, many Mexicans moved north to work on farms and railroads.

In June 1943, a group of sailors on leave attacked some young Mexican Americans, beating them on the streets. This was due to teens wearing zoot suits (a fashion fad at the time). The incident led to several days of rioting in Los Angeles. Newspapers blamed the violence on the Mexican Americans. Police even left the servicemen along and arrested the victims instead. In her newspaper column, Eleanor Roosevelt argued that riots were the results of “long standing discrimination against the Mexicans in the Southwest.”

Still, like other groups, Mexican Americans served bravely in the military during World War II. Despite lingering problems at home, Americans were united in their resolve to push on to victory in Europe and the Pacific.

“This war… has shown those ‘across the tracks’ that we all share the same problems. It has shown them what the Mexican American will do, what responsibility he will take, and what leadership qualities he will demonstrate. After this struggle, the status of the Mexican American will be different.”

--Manuel de la Raza

Zoot suit riots shown above and to the right. These were the reactions to Mexican immigrants and the suits they wore.

Document #5: Young People and World War II

“Growing up during the war presented unusual problems, especially with my mother working so many hours and my father off fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. Many of us in Los Angeles roamed the streets on days when there was no school. There were times when my mother sent us to all-day or even all-night movies. I heard a story that a social worker near the defense plant in downtown Los Angeles counted 45 infant locked in cars in a single parking lot. The newspapers said that arrests of teenagers jumped 20% in 1943 alone. The increase was greater for girls than boys. Many girls became prostitutes. Arrests for that crime climbed 68% in 1943. Among boys, the newspapers said, the most common crime was theft, but vandalism and violence were also problems. Most of my friends and I did what we could do to help in the war effort. We collected our nickels and dimes to buy war stamps and bonds. We took my younger brother’s wagon from house to house collecting old newspapers, tin cans, rubber and scrap metal. I had to join the many other people my age who dropped out of school and go to work. My mom said it was too difficult to make ends meet on her salary alone.” – Anonymous

“We Are Ready—What About You?

Join the Schools at War Program

Sponsored by: The War Savings Staff of the U.S. Treasury Department, the U.S. Office of Education and its wartime commission”