Home Front in World War II

Objectives Find out how the United States built its military and converted its economy to meet wartime needs. Learn how American women contributed to the war effort. Discover how World War II affected Japanese Americans and other groups of people at home.

Terms and People rationing – the act of setting limits on the amount of scarce goods people can buy intern – temporarily imprison A. Philip Randolph – head of a labor union called the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters bracero – a Mexican laborer

How did the home front respond to American participation in the war? World War II involved the people and resources of each nation on a scale that had never been seen before. Americans at home labored in neighborhoods, factories, and fields to help win the war.

Building the Military The Draft In 1940, Congress passed a draft law, and just days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, it revised the law to require people to serve for the entire war. Men Mobilize More than 15 million American volunteers and draftees served in the armed forces during World War II, including men from every ethnic and religious group and walk of life. Women Mobilize Hundreds of thousands of American women served in the armed forces as nurses or in noncombat roles such as the Women’s Army Corps (WACs). Women pilots ferried bombers from base to base, towed targets, and taught men to fly.

The government established a War Production Board to supervise industry as it hastily converted its output from consumer to military goods. The war quickly ended the Great Depression, because now there were jobs for everyone, including minorities.

Americans planted victory gardens and bought war bonds. Americans were expected to help supply Allied forces with food, clothing, and war equipment. Americans planted victory gardens and bought war bonds. To conserve needed resources, the government imposed rationing. These measures boosted the public’s morale by giving citizens at home a sense that they were helping to win the war.

Because women were needed in industry, they were able to gain better pay and working conditions. The government agreed that women and men should get the same pay for the same job, but some employers found ways to avoid equal pay. Many women gained confidence and independence through their work.

Treatment of African Americans Segregated Units As in past wars, African Americans served in segregated units during World War II. The NAACP and other groups protested against the racial policy of the armed forces and the military nursing corps. Discrimination in Industry Discrimination was also widespread in industries doing business with the government. Some African American leaders pointed out that while the nation was fighting for democracy overseas, it still permitted injustice at home.

Union leader A. Philip Randolph threatened a mass protest unless Roosevelt ended discrimination in the armed forces. Roosevelt ordered employers doing business with the government to support racial equality in hiring. To investigate charges of discrimination, he set up the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC).

Americans—black and white—moved to the cities to work in industry. By the end of 1944, about two million African Americans were working in war plants. Americans—black and white—moved to the cities to work in industry. In 1943, race riots broke out in Detroit, New York, and other American cities. Competition for scarce housing led to angry incidents and even violence.

About 500,000 Mexican Americans served in the armed forces during World War II. Due to the need for workers, in 1942 the United States signed a treaty with Mexico that allowed American companies to hire braceros. As more Mexicans moved north to work on farms and railroads, they often faced prejudice and violence.

Young Mexican Americans in Los Angeles often wore “zoot suits.” In June 1943, bands of sailors on shore leave attacked young Mexican Americans. These incidents sparked several days of rioting. Many blamed the “Zoot Suit Riots” on the Mexican Americans, but the riots were actually the result of prejudice and discrimination.

During the war, Americans became suspicious of people from Axis countries. Some German and Italian Americans were held in government camps as “enemy aliens.” Other German Americans and Italian Americans faced curfew or travel restrictions. Most of these were foreign-born residents who had not yet achieved citizenship.

At the start of the war, about 300,000 people of Japanese origin lived in the United States. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, many Americans feared that Japanese Americans would act as spies. However, during World War II, there were no cases of disloyalty by Japanese Americans. Nevertheless, Americans’ intense anti-Japanese fears led President Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 9066 in February 1942.

The order was used to intern some 110,000 Japanese Americans in small camps for the duration of the war.

Whole families were rounded up for internment and were allowed to bring only what they could carry. They lived in small, barren camps surrounded by barbed wire.

Korematsu v. United States The Supreme Court ruled that military necessity justified internment, although three of the justices dissented. When the war ended, the government released the internees. In 1948, it made a small payment to them for the property they had lost. In 1990, the United States formally apologized and paid each surviving internee $20,000.

One all-Japanese unit became the most decorated unit in U.S. history. Despite the unjust treatment, about 17,000 Japanese Americans joined the army. One all-Japanese unit became the most decorated unit in U.S. history.