UNITED STATES AND THE HOME FRONT EQ: HOW DID THE UNITED STATES MOBLIZE THE HOME FRONT?

MOBILIZATION EFFORTS Once the United States entered the war, it had to mobilize, or bring its forces into readiness. In 1940 the government had begun to increase military spending. Army Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall led the mobilization effort. 1940 selective service reinstated American women filled a variety of vital roles in the military. New military bases were needed to train and house soldiers.

ARMED FORCES MOBILIZED FINDING SOLIDERS The government expanded the draft, which had been reinstated in 1940. Millions of young men volunteered. Some 16 million Americans entered the armed forces. WOMEN 10,000 joined the WAVES, a navy program. 1,000 joined the WASPs, an air force program. 150,000 served in the WAC, an army program. Oveta Culp Hobby led the WACs; she was a colonel. MILITARY BASES Most bases were built in rural areas. The military bases transformed parts of the United States. California, Florida, and Texas became home to large numbers of soldiers.

AMERICAN INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE IN WORLD WAR II Troops needed proper equipment to fight World War II. War supplies had to be shipped overseas. Wartime agencies regulated what factories produced, what prices they could charge, and how the nation’s raw materials could be used. Government spending during the war created millions of new jobs. Technology played an important role in World War II. Rationing-fixed allotments of goods needed by military

ROSIE THE RIVETER Factories needed workers at the same time men were leaving to join the armed forces. Women solved the problem. Millions began to work outside the home in industrial jobs. Working women of the war were represented by the symbolic figure known as Rosie the Riveter.

PROBLEMS FACING WORKING WOMEN WORK PLACE ISSUES Faced hostile reaction from workers Worried about leaving their children alone Earned much less than men Began at the bottom because they lacked seniority AFTER THE WAR Government and others assumed women would go back into the home Returning soldiers expected to get their jobs back New campaign encouraged women to leave their jobs

LABOR AND SCIENCE The National War Labor Board was established in 1941 to help settle labor disputes. The Smith-Connally Act passed in 1943- govt could take over important industries The Manhattan Project began a top-secret mission to build an atomic bomb. Physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and other American scientists raced to develop this weapon ahead of the Germans.

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE MILITARY AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE WORKFORCE FREEDOM AT HOME AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE MILITARY Hundreds of thousands served during World War II. They broke down barriers that had long blocked their way. Tuskegee airmen They continued to face discrimination AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE WORKFORCE Found jobs in factories that had been unavailable to them before the war Still faced discrimination A. Philip Randolph called for a march on Washington to protest their unfair treatment

MORE CHALLENGES FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS President issued executive order to outlaw discrimination in government defense jobs. Fair Employment Practices Committee Pittsburg Carrier launched double V campaign Victory in Europe and at home

NAVAJO CODE TALKERS Phillip Johnston grew up on a Navajo Reservation as the son of a missionary. The Marine Corps authorized the recruitment of 200 Navajos to be trained and used as communicators in the Pacific. Requirements: Fluent in Navajo language, Fluent in English language, Learn the Navajo Military Code

NATIVE AMERICAN CODE TALKERS Navajo was a “Hidden Language” It had no written form or symbols It was only spoken in the Navajo Nation in the American Southwest It was impossible for adults to learn

CHALLENGES FACING HISPANIC AMERICAS Demand for farm labor led to the Bracero Program, which gave Mexican workers the chance to work in the United States. Tension over the increasing numbers of Hispanic workers led to the zoot suit riots in June 1943.