Transcript Mobilizing for Defense

Mobilizing for
Defense
Mr. White’s US 2
History
Main Idea, Big Questions, and
Objectives
Main Idea: In order to win World War II, the
United States government took direct control
over industry, the economy, and many aspects
of daily life. This was known as mobilization.
Big question: What would you be willing to
sacrifice or do to protect your country?
After this section, we should be able to:
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Describe the sacrifices of the American people
during the war effort
Examine the impact of racism on the American war
effort and society
Americans Join the War Effort
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Immediately after the
attack on Pearl Harbor,
men began showing up to
volunteer
Over 5 million would
volunteer over the course
of the war
Over 10 million others
would be drafted using
the Selective Service Act
You’re in the army now…
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After volunteering or being drafted, new recruits
would enter basic training
Goal of basic training was to take an untrained
recruit and make them into a soldier
Men would learn how to use their weapons,
hand-to-hand combat, and other knowledge
they would need in combat
Women Join The Effort
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Women couldn’t serve in
combat roles, but could
help in other ways
US0 – held dances,
entertainment, social
gatherings, showed
movies
WAC – Women’s Army
Corps; these women filled
non-combat jobs such as
office workers, etc., to
free up men who could
be in combat
Discrimination in Recruiting
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Black troops – Over 1 million
served, but weren’t allowed to
serve in combat roles until last
year of the war
Over 300,000 Mexican
Americans joined armed forces
Asian Americans, including
many Japanese Americans,
volunteered as well
Over 25,000 Native Americans
served, some of whom were
“code-talkers” that were used
to keep Japanese from
breaking code
Industry Shifts to War Production
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Industries quickly shifted
over to war production
after Pearl Harbor
Automobile production
completely stopped; all
auto factories turned to
war production
Factories were putting
out as many as one
bomber every hour; some
shipyards were putting
out one cargo ship every
four days
Women in the Workforce
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Of the 18 million people
employed in defense
industries by the end of
the war, over 6 million
were women
At first, people were
reluctant to hire women;
didn’t think they could
handle factory work
However, women became
widely sought after, since
they worked for less
money than men
Scientists and the Manhattan
Project
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President Roosevelt created
the Office of Scientific
Research and Development to
research new technologies
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Radar
Sonar
Penicillin
Most significant achievement
was developing the atomic
bomb
Albert Einstein helped design
this weapon that would help
win the war
The Federal Government Takes
Control
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Fewer consumer products were available
as the war went on; most production was
for the war
Prices started to creep upwards because
of low supply
Federal government stepped in; froze
prices on most consumer goods
War Bonds
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Americans were
encouraged to purchase
war bonds
War bonds were loans
bought by citizens
Government got money
to support the war, and
Americans would get paid
back that money with
interest after the war
War Goods Drives
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War Production
Board planned drives
for many goods
needed in the war –
scrap iron, tin cans,
paper, rags, and
cooking fat
Children were sent
out scouring for
these materials
Rationing
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The federal government began
to restrict the amounts of
certain goods that people
could buy
Ration books were issued, with
coupons that allowed families
to buy certain goods, but
limited how much they could
buy
Meat, shoes, sugar, coffee,
and gasoline were rationed
Gas rationing was particularly
hard on some people
This was used to free up
materials for the war effort
Main Idea, Big Questions, and
Objectives
Main Idea: In order to win World War II, the
United States government took direct control
over industry, the economy, and many aspects
of daily life. This was known as mobilization.
Big question: What would you be willing to
sacrifice or do to protect your country?
After this section, we should be able to:





Describe the sacrifices of the American people
during the war effort
Examine the impact of racism on the American war
effort and society
Wrap-up
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So…
One of the sacrifices that the American
people made to assist in the war effort
was…
 One of the ways that racism impacted
the war effort for the United States
was…
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