1. World War II
U.S. Home Front

2. FDR’s Four Freedoms Speech
Given in Jan 1941.
Four Freedoms: 1.) Freedom of speech and expression, 2.) Freedom of worship, 3.) Freedom from want, 4.) Freedom from fear.
Meant to be a direct challenge to totalitarian governments in Japan and Europe.

3. Transfer to a Wartime Economy
U.S. government began to expand its war production before Pearl Harbor in reaction to German aggression.
Incentives to corporations to build military equipment and transfer to a wartime economy.

4. Full Mobilization After Pearl Harbor
By Summer 1942, almost all major industries and some 200,000 companies had converted to war production.
Automobile companies switched to produce trucks, jeeps, and tanks.

5. War Production Board (WPB)
Created by FDR in January 1942.
Set priorities and production goals.
Controlled distribution of raw materials and supplies.

6. Selective Service and Training Act
June 1940, first peacetime draft in American history.
Negative- rushed through basic training too quickly.
Positive- helped break down barriers between soldiers and create strong sense of kinship.

7. Segregation in Armed Forces
African-Americans had separate training, barracks, mess halls, etc.
Formed into separate military units commanded by white officers.
African-American naval personnel made orderlies and cooks.

8. Women in the Armed Forces
May 1942, Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC).
1943, Women’s Army Corps (WAC) where women could be promoted to high ranks.
Women’s Air Force Service Pilots (WASP)
None served in combat situations.

9. Out of the Depression Wartime economy produced 19 million new jobs.
Nearly doubled the average family’s income.
Employers forced to hire women and minorities to produce.

10. Women in the Defense Plants
Both married and single women filled up jobs in the munitions plants.
Images of “Rosie the Riveter” in posters and magazines around the country.
2.5 million worked in shipyards, aircraft factories, etc.
Provided a sense of empowerment to U.S. women.

11. African-American Demands
Leaders protested directly to Roosevelt.
Demanded equal hiring practices in the defense industry.
FDR issued executive order in fear of large protest march on Washington D.C.
Order stated there should be no discrimination in defense industry based on race, creed, color, or national origin.

12. Mexican Farm Workers
Need for migrant workers to perform the harvests in the Southwest.
Bracero program in 1942 allowed over 200,000 Mexicans to cross over and work the farms or maintain railroads.
Bracero program continued until 1962.

13. Migration across the U.S.
15 million Americans relocated during the war for work.
Many factories built in the deep South and Southwest known as “the Sunbelt.”
Housing crisis created due to population shifts.
Federal government allocated 1.2 billion for public housing, schools, and community centers during the war.

14. Racism and Riots
Racial tension increased during the war in the large cities.
“Zoot Suit” riots in Southern California.
Mexican-American teens adopted zoot suit style but many Anglos found this unpatriotic.
2500 sailors and soldiers attacked Mexican-American neighborhoods throughout the Los Angeles area.

15. Wage and Price Controls
Office of Price Administration (OPA) and Office of Economic Stability (OES) created to control inflation during the war.
OES regulated wages and the price of farm products. OPA regulated all other prices.
War Labor Board (WLB) tried to prevent strikes during the war. WLB helped to settle 17,000 labor disputes.

16. Paying for the War 300 billion spent during WWII.
Roosevelt raised taxes as high as Congress allowed.
Taxes covered 45%.
Individuals and business institutions bought U.S. savings and war bonds to cover the rest.

17. Patriotic Propaganda in Cartoons and Comic Books

18. Manhattan Project Secret scientific project to create an atomic bomb.
Located in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
First bomb exploded in the New Mexico desert.