1. On the Homefront

2. Total War
Total War: all available resources and citizens are mobilized to participate in and support the war effort
Enlistment and drafting of soldiers
Wartime production
Civilian volunteerism
Rationing
Economic support

3. Rationing
Most industries focused on producing goods to support the war effort.
Weapons
Tires
Food
Any “leftover” goods not being sent to soldiers were reserved for civilians at home
Supplies at home were scarce: scarcity = increased price = inflation
Rationing: controlling supply/demand of products to prevent runaway inflation by restricting the amounts of goods that people can get.

4. OPA
Office of Price Administration: Federal government controlled the prices of sugar, meat, rubber, etc.
Also given the power to ration certain goods

5. How Rationing Worked
Ration books with coupons distributed…can only use coupons during certain times
Can only buy certain items on certain days of the week…limited amount per household

6. Volunteerism
“Victory gardens” were planted to supplement rationed food
By 1944 they produced more than 40% of the vegetables grown in the US.
Recycling Drives
Collected scrap metal, clothes, paper, rubber, and even bacon fat (can be turned into glycerin for bombs!)

7. Wartime Economics Existing factories converted to defense factories
War Production Board directed production of defense materials
Increased wartime production put most citizens back to work

8. Paying for it Fighting the war cost $321 billion
Gov’t raised $185 billion through war bonds
Way for the government to “borrow” money from the people to finance the war
People bought bonds, paid the government, then after 10 years could cash them in for their value plus interest
Most of the rest was raised through taxation (payroll deductions)

9. Discrimination in the Military
Units in the military were segregated
Segregated units faced prejudice and discrimination from their white peers
Many minority groups made significant contributions to the US war effort
Tuskegee Airmen
Navajo code talkers

10. The “Double V” Campaign
African Americans were risking their lives on the battlefield, but didn’t have equal citizenship rights at home
Double V: Victory against the Germans, Victory over racism at home
Led by A. Philip Randolph
Worked to increase opportunities for African Americans and reduce discrimination at home and in the military

11. Japanese Internment
After Pearl Harbor, Japanese-Americans were suspected of being potential spies.
As a result of this widespread irrational fear and pre-existing prejudice, the U.S. government ordered over 100,000 Japanese Americans on the west coast to live in internment camps
This is despite the fact that almost 20,000 Japanese-Americans served loyally in the military.
The majority of those interned were U.S. citizens.