#11 Ch 17 S 4 Details: Notes & Read Ch 17 S 4 ______________ 11.7.5 Discuss the constitutional issues and impact of events on the U.S. home front, including the internment of Japanese Americans

Chapter 17: The U.S. in WWII Section 4: The Impact of the War on the Homefront

Standards 11.7.5 11.7 Students analyze America's participation in World War II. .5 Discuss the constitutional issues and impact of events on the U.S. home front, including the internment of Japanese Americans (e.g., Fred Korematsu v. United States of America)

Objectives: Following lecture and reading of this section, students will be able to: Describe the economic and social changes that reshaped American life during WWII Summarize the opportunities and the discrimination American minorities experienced during the war.

Economic Gains Defense industries boom unemployment falls to 1.2% in 1944 average pay rises 10% during war Farmers prosper from rising crop prices, increase in production many pay off mortgages Percentage of women in work force rises to 35%

Rosie the Riveter

Population Shifts The growth of the defense industry sparks the largest migration in U.S. history. Mass migrations to towns with defense industries Many are African-Americans moving from the south to find better opportunities

Social Adjustments Families adjust fathers in military mothers raise children alone and work Families must get to know each other again after fathers return Many couples had rushed to get married before husband went overseas 1944 GI Bill of Rights or Servicemen’s Readjustment Act was implemented: Paid for an education Loan guarantees for homes and new businesses

Civil Unrest Civil Rights Protests Tension in Los Angeles Racial tensions rise in overcrowded Northern cities James Farmer founds Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) works on racial segregation in North 1943 racial violence sweeps across country; Detroit riots worst case Tension in Los Angeles Anti-Mexican “zoot suit riots” involve thousands servicemen and civilians

Internment Japanese Americans were placed in internment camps U.S. Army forces 110,000 Japanese Americans into prison camps during the war Seen as a threat 1944 Korematsu v. United States—Court ruled in favor of internment (military necessity) After the war, Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) pushed for compensation 1988, Congress grants $20,000 to everyone sent to relocation camp only about 5% compensation for what was lost

Japanese Internment camps

#11 Ch 17 S 4 Details: Notes & Read Ch 17 S 4 Margin ?s A-D (4) 11.7.5 Discuss the constitutional issues and impact of events on the U.S. home front, including the internment of Japanese Americans

Americans who lived in places for years moved elsewhere for work. CA had over 1 million newcomers from 1941-44. Burbank grew from 12,000 to 60,000 in the first two years of the war. The mass migrations and rations left the U.S. in a housing shortage and food shortages in restaurants.

Families struggled with separations and changing roles. Fathers in the war, women raising children alone, and young children got used to being left alone. People got married quickly, before soldiers went off to war. Soldiers received “Dear John” letters from their wives or sweethearts when she found someone new.

The GI bill of rights was passed in 1944, to help ease the transition of returning serviceman to civilian life. Discrimination and Reaction African Americans and Mexican Americans fight segregation and discrimination but persist and have decorated units.

During the war, about 330,000 blacks left the south, many moved to the West Coast. They left for jobs and found that between 1940-1944 their skilled positions doubled from 16% to 30%.

Discrimination followed African Americans wherever they went, so James Farmer established the Congress of Racial Equality to confront urban segregation. As new black immigrants moved into already crowded cities, tensions rose. Mexican Americans were faced with the “zoot suit” riots.

The zoot suit was a style of dress adopted by Mexican American youths as a symbol of their rebellion against tradition. The zoot suit consisted of a knee-length jacket, pleated pants nipped in at the cuff, and a broad-brimmed hat. In Los Angeles, the riots began when 11 sailors claimed they were attacked by Mexican Americans.

The charges triggered two nights of violence between servicemen and civilians. Mobs went into Mexican neighborhoods and grabbed any zootsuiters they could ripped off their clothes and beat them. The city responded by outlawing the wearing of zoot suits.

The Japanese American Experience The Japanese were interned, as we mention before, into prison like camps because we worried many Japanese were spies. Some Japanese got out of the camps by volunteering for military service. The Japanese that served were highly decorated with war medals.

Japanese Americans also fought for justice, both in the courts and in congress. In the 1944 Supreme Court decision Korematsu v. U.S. claimed government was justified by evacuating Japanese because of military necessity.

After the war, the Japanese Americans Citizen League (JACL) pushed the government to compensate those sent to camps for their lost property. In 1965, 20 years after the war, congress authorized $38 million in compensation. This was okay but nothing compared to the $400 million that was actually taken.

A New Threat Looms After the war, America would barely have time to deal with the aftermath of the war and to adjust to peace, before it found itself mobilizing against a new enemy- the threat of Communism.

Aircraft Carrier