Unit 9: WWII and its Aftermath Chapter 16: The Home Front

1. Unit 9: WWII and its AftermathChapter 16: The Home Front Social and Economic Effects of WWII 3/8/12

2. Wartime Migration of People New Jobs in War Industries Due to wartime demand, jobs in shipyards, aircraft plants, munitions factories, etc. suddenly became plentiful Because of high unemployment during the Great Depression, Americans were eager to take these wartime jobs But, the wartime jobs were not equally plentiful everywhere in the country This resulted in the greatest short term migration of people in American history

3. Migratory Trends In general, Americans moved from rural areas to urban areas, from the East to the West, and from the North to the South The largest gains in population were generally in the Far West and the Southwest

4. The Emergence of Boomtowns � small towns that grew rapidly during the war when wartime factories opened there The development of these boomtowns was problematic because these communities often lacked adequate � Housing Medical facilities Schools Etc.

5. Women and the War Effort Women in the Workforce As millions of men joined the military, new employment opportunities opened up to women Women who were employed before the war eagerly applied for better paying jobs Many women who had worked only in the home now entered the paid workforce for the first time During WWII, many women took jobs that had once been open to men only More than 5 million women eventually worked in factories devoted to wartime production �Rosie the Riveter� became a slang term for all women who worked in wartime factories

6. Women in the Military Over 200,000 women served in non-combat roles in the military during WWII in the � WAAC � Women�s Auxiliary Army Corps WAVES � Women�s Accepted for Voluntary Service WASPs � Women�s Air force Service Pilots

7. The War�s Impact on African Americans African Americans in the Workforce Attracted by jobs in the North and West, over 1.5 million African Americans left the South during WWII Sometimes this mass migration of African Americans led to increased racial tension � Race riots occurred in several Northern and Midwestern cities during the war

8. Civil Rights Achievements during the War Early in the war, African American activist A. Philip Randolph threatened a protest march in Washington, DC The protest was planed in response to the government�s practice of granting defense contracts to companies that refused to hire African Americans In response, FDR issued an executive order declaring �that there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government because of race�

9. African Americans in the Military Approximately 1 million African Americans served in the military during WWII Most notably the Tuskegee Airmen

10. Mexican-Americans and WWII Mexican-Americans in the Workforce Thousands of Mexican Americans found work in wartime industries A 1942 agreement with Mexico allowed Mexican farm workers, known as braceros, to enter the US during the harvest season without going through formal immigration procedures But, the sudden influx of Mexican immigrants to the Los Angeles, CA area contributed to ethnic tensions and resulted in the zoot-suit riots in 1943

11. Mexican-Americans in the Military Over 300,000 Mexican Americans served in the military during WWII

12. Native Americans and WWII Native Americans in the Workforce Thousands of Native Americans left the reservations to work in defense industries

13. Native Americans in the Military Approximately 25,000 Native Americans served in the military In fact, Navajo-speaking Indians were specifically recruited by the US Marine Corps during WWII to serve as code talkers because the enemy could not translate messages sent in Navajo

14. Japanese-Americans and WWII Internment of Japanese-Americans Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, there was a surge in anti-Japanese fear and suspicion Japanese Americans, no matter their citizenship status were thought to be spies for Japan In 1942, this fear and suspicion led FDR to order the relocation of over 100,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast Without any charges or trials, they were forcibly relocated to military-operated Wartime Relocation Camps (WRA camps) in the Western deserts and the Arkansas swamplands

15. Korematsu v. the United States In the 1944 case of Korematsu v. US, the Supreme Court upheld the government�s detainment policy citing that the Japanese represented a �clear and present danger� during the war The Korematsu decision followed the precedent set in Scheneck v. United States (1918) In both cases, the Court ruled that the need for wartime security may result in limitation of civil liberties � constitutional freedoms By 1988, however, the government agreed that an injustice had been done to the Japanese Americans during WWII and awarded $20,000 in compensation to each of the survivors of the WRA camps

16. Japanese-Americans in the Military Despite the harsh treatment of Japanese Americans during WWII, almost 200,000 native-born Japanese served loyally in the American military during WWII

17. The War�s Impact on the Economy WWII brought the US out of the Great Depression by� creating 17 million new jobs (generally in the defense industry) doubling farm prices (because of increased exports)

18. The End of the New Deal? Since WWII brought about an end to the Great Depression, it was finally possible to phase out a number of New Deal programs In particular, many work programs like the CCC, WPA, etc. were eliminated