Chapter 9 Section 4 The War at Home

Big Questions Describe how and why Americans had to sacrifice during World War II? Give specific examples of what Americans did to sacrifice. What are three ethnic groups or minorities that faced discrimination, segregation, or racism during World War II? Describe what types of discrimination they faced and what they did to help the United States even though they were not seen as equals.

Key Terms Propaganda Double V Campaign Office of War Information Executive Order 8802 Income taxes Tuskegee Airman War bonds Code Talkers Deficit spending Repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act War Production Board Zoot Suit Riots Rationed Executive Order 9066 Victory Gardens Internment Camps Rosie the Riveter 442nd Regimental Combat Team Women’s Army Corps (WAC)

Support for the War From beginning of war, U.S. government realized it needed to maintain strong public support, national morale and a strong sense of patriotism for the war effort. To do this, gov. funded a huge propaganda campaign run by the gov. created Office of War Information

Under this organization, artists were paid to design patriotic war posters, movie theaters play news clips that showed the war in a positive light and ads were placed on the radio and on magazines

Paying for the War For the U.S. to have money and resources for the war, Americans had to sacrifice. World War II cost the U.S. $300 billion To help pay for the war, Americans paid more income taxes. For the first time, the gov. started withholding taxes from people’s checks The gov. also raised $185.7 billion selling war bonds to citizens. Actors, posters, and ads encouraged people to be patriotic and buy war bonds.

From bonds and other borrowing the U. S From bonds and other borrowing the U.S. also saw a huge increase in deficit spending or spending more money than we had coming in. By the end of the war the U.S. national debt had gone from $40 billion in 1939 to $258.6 billion in 1945

Sacrificing for the War Even before the war broke out, the U.S. realized the need for large numbers of soldiers. In 1940, the U.S. Congress authorized the first peacetime draft in U.S. history The draft board registered 31 million young men between ages 18- 64 of which 16 million actually served in the military

War meant the economy had to quickly shift from peacetime to wartime production To make the wartime adjustment, Pres. FDR created the War Production Board which was in charge of directing all raw materials and resources from production of consumer goods to production of materials for waging war

People had to give up many things since all resources were rationed Everything from flour, potatoes, meat, butter, sugar and gasoline was rationed for use in the war Certain items were assigned points and each person was issued a booklet that had stamps. Once a person used up all of their points they could no longer purchase that item until they got more points

Since food was also rationed for the war, the gov Since food was also rationed for the war, the gov. encouraged people to grow victory gardens which would grow their own food

Women and Minorities During World War II With so many men going off to fight in the war, women of all races had to fill in and take jobs usually reserved for men A popular song about Rosie the Riveter became the symbol for women all over the U.S. to serve their country by going off to work

Women also served in the military during the war (275,000 volunteers) in units like the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) Women served in every role in the military, home and abroad, except for combat

African-Americans Many minorities faced discrimination during the war and blacks were no different. Many African-Americans called for what they labeled the Double V Campaign. Victory overseas and victory against racial discrimination and segregation at home. This caused was helped when FDR issued Executive Order 8802 which prohibited racial discrimination in employment in the national defense industry…this opened up jobs to all races

Minorities played a big role in fighting in the war as well 1 million blacks volunteered or were drafted to fight…noncombat at first but as time went on, they fought with honor and bravery in segregated units One such unit was the Tuskegee Airman which served as an all- black squadron of fighter pilots that successfully protected every single bomber they escorted during the war

Native Americans Many different tribes sent soldiers to fight in the war and many were honored…despite also facing discrimination at home One group were the Navajo people who helped the Marines develop a coded language used for communication in the Pacific fight against the Japanese Over 300 Navajo Marines served as radio operators known as code talkers The code was never broken by the Japanese

More Discrimination Many other groups faced discrimination during the war such as the Chinese and Hispanics Chinese faced quite a bit despite the Repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act

Hispanics even faced violence when trying to find employment and serve in the war One example of this was in Los Angeles in 1942 known as the Zoot Suit Riots (U.S. sailors fought with young Mexican-Americans in the streets for nearly a week) Even with the discrimination, minorities still served and remained loyal to the U.S.

Japanese Internment The Japanese faced the worst of the discrimination during World War II The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor made people fear and suspicious of Japanese Americans In February of 1942, President FDR signed Executive Order 9066 which forced 110,000 Japanese Americans from their homes into internment camps

Most of those sent to the camps were American citizens The camps were under military guard and no rules were set up to determine if someone was a threat or not…all Japanese Americans had to go Inmates of camps were only allowed to bring belongings they could carry so many lost everything Since many camps were in deserts of the western U.S., the inmates had to deal with harsh climates, cramped living conditions, and poor healthcare.

Even though Japanese Americans lost their freedom and were mistrusted, many wanted to prove their loyalty to their country Young members of the camp joined the armed forces to help fight the Axis powers. Most served in the famous 442nd Regimental Combat Team which served in Europe and received more medals and award than any other unit of its size in U.S. history

Big Questions & Key Terms Describe how and why Americans had to sacrifice during World War II? Give specific examples of what Americans did to sacrifice. What are three ethnic groups or minorities that faced discrimination, segregation, or racism during World War II? Describe what types of discrimination they faced and what they did to help the United States even though they were not seen as equals. Propaganda Double V Campaign Office of War Information Executive Order 8802 Tuskegee Airman Income taxes Code Talkers War bonds Repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act Deficit spending War Production Board Zoot Suit Riots Rationed Executive Order 9066 Victory Gardens Internment Camps Rosie the Riveter 442nd Regimental Combat Team Women’s Army Corps (WAC)