Transcript The Home Front - Burlington County Institute of Technology

 The war effort stirred patriotism and promoted
economic recovery
 New opportunities for women and minorities would
spur stronger efforts to ensure equal rights after the
war
 Once industry exhausted the available men, women
found jobs for the taking
 Government and industry launched a campaign urging
women to do their part
 In time, women made up 1/3 of the workforce
 Many women found jobs that fell out of the traditional
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realm of women’s work
¾ of women working in industry were married
Rosie the Riveter-symbol of working women
The experienced gained helped create opportunities
for their daughters
Increased the building of day cares
 Many jobs remained segregated
 Double V Campaign- victory against Fascism abroad
and victory against discrimination
 FDR hoped to put civil rights on the back burner
 Executive order 8802- assured fair hiring practices in
any job funded with government money (Fair
Employment Practices Committee)
 WWII helped set the Civil Rights agenda
 Population shifts occurred during war years
 Bracero Program- bringing laborers from Mexico to
work on American farms
 Wartime migration led to racial violence in many
cities
 Zoot Suit Riots- Mexicans and Mexican Americans
dressed in stylish “zoot suits”
 Baggy pants and long jackets
 Off duty sailor attacked “zooters”
 Mexicans were arrested, not the sailors
 Fear spread after Pearl Harbor
 New policies towards immigrants and aliens from the
Axis nations
 Required to register with the government, submit to
finger printing, and list organizational affiliations
 Germans, Italians, Japanese forced to evacuate the
West Coast temporarily in the Winter of 1942
 Once public fears subsided, Germans and Italians were
removed from the list
 Executive Order 9066- designated certain areas as war
zones for which anyone might be removed for any
reason
 Issei- Japanese Immigrants
 Nisei- native born American citizens of Japanese descent
 Forced to sell property and allowed only necessary items
 Interment- temporary imprisonment of members of a
specific group
 Japanese men, women, and children were transported to
camps in isolated locations
 Schools were underfunded
 Living conditions were minimal
 Not until 1988 did the government off an apology and
$20,000 to surviving internees
 442nd Regimental Combat Team- all Nisei team
became the most decorated military unit in American
History
 Increased production of war goods created a scarcity of
consumer products
 Shortages led to price increases, many fear inflation
 Office of Price Administration
 Controlled wages, set prices
 Rationing- coupon books that limited the amount of
certain goods one could buy
 Black market- illegal sale of restricted goods
 Office of War Information- worked closely with the
media to encourage support for the war
 Spotlight common needs, minimize racial and economic
divisions, downplay poverty and crime
 Films and media highlighted the need to defeat
fascism
 Encouraged by the government and media, Americans
voluntarily contributed to the war effort
 “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, and do without”