1. Paying for the War
1.1. The federal government spent more than $300 billion during World War II—more money than it had spent from Washington’s administration to the end of Franklin Roosevelt’s second term.
1.2. How to pay for this huge bill?
1.2.1. Taxes
1.2.1.1. Because most Americans opposed large tax increases, Congress refused to raise taxes as high as Roosevelt requested.
1.2.1.2. As a result, the extra taxes collected covered only 45 percent of the war’s cost.
1.2.2. War Bonds
1.2.2.1. The government issued war bonds to make up the difference between what was needed and what taxes supplied.
1.2.2.2. Buying bonds is a way to lend money to the government. In exchange for the money, the government promises to repay the bonds’ purchase price plus interest at some future date.
1.2.2.3. The most common bonds during World War II were E bonds, which sold for $18.75 and could be redeemed for $25.00 after 10 years.
1.2.2.3.1. Individuals bought nearly $50 billion worth of war bonds.
1.2.2.3.2. Banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions bought the rest— more than $100 billion worth of bonds.
2. The Housing Crisis
2.1. The most difficult task facing cities with war industries was where to put the thousands of workers arriving in their communities.
2.1.1. Tent cities and parks filled with tiny trailers sprang up. Landlords began renting “hot beds.” The worker paid 25 cents for eight hours in the bed, then went to work while the bed was rented to another worker.
2.2. Congress had passed the Lanham Act in 1940. The act provided $150 million for housing.
2.3. President Roosevelt created the National Housing Agency (NHA) to coordinate all government housing programs.
2.4. Nearly 2 million people lived in government- built housing during the war.
3. Women and Minorities Gain Ground
3.1. Under pressure to produce war materials, employers began to recruit women and minorities to work in factories.
3.1.1. Women in the Defense Plants
3.1.1.1. Although the government hired nearly 4 million women, primarily for clerical jobs, the women working in the factories captured the public’s imagination.
3.1.1.2. The great symbol of the campaign to hire women was “Rosie the Riveter,” a character from a popular song
3.1.1.2.1. Images of Rosie appeared on posters, in newspapers, and in magazines.
3.1.1.3. Eventually 2.5 million women worked in ship- yards, aircraft factories, and other manufacturing plants.
3.1.1.4. By the end of the war, the number of working women had increased from 12.9 million to 18.8 million.
3.1.1.5. Although most women were laid off or left their jobs voluntarily after the war, their success permanently changed American attitudes about women in the workplace.
3.1.2. African Americans Demand War Work
3.1.2.1. Although factories were hiring women, they resisted hiring African Americans.
3.1.2.2. Frustrated by the situation, A. Philip Randolph decided to take action.
3.1.2.2.1. He informed President Roosevelt that he was organizing “from ten to fifty thousand [African Americans] to march on Washington in the interest of securing jobs . . . in national defense and . . . integration into the military and naval forces.”
3.1.2.2.2. In response, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, on June 25, 1941.
3.1.3. Mexican Farmworkers
3.1.3.1. In 1942 the federal government arranged for Mexican farmworkers to help with the harvest in the Southwest.
3.1.3.2. The laborers were part of the Bracero Program. Bracero is a Spanish word meaning “worker.”
3.1.3.2.1. More than 200,000 Mexicans came to help harvest fruit and vegetables.
3.1.3.2.2. Many also helped to build and maintain railroads.
3.1.3.2.3. The Bracero Program continued until 1964. Migrant farmworkers thus became an important part of the Southwest’s agricultural system.
4. Racism Leads to Violence
4.1. African Americans left the South in large numbers during World War I, but this “Great Migration,” as historians refer to it, slowed during the Great Depression.
4.1.1. When jobs in war factories opened up for African Americans during World War II, the Great Migration resumed.
4.2. Violent examples
4.2.1. The worst racial violence of the war erupted in Detroit on Sunday, June 20, 1943.
4.2.1.1. Gangs of white and African American teenage girls began fighting. These fights triggered others, and a full-scale riot erupted across the city.
4.2.1.2. By the time the violence ended, 25 African Americans and 9 whites had been killed.
4.2.2. The Zoot Suit Riots
4.2.2.1. In Los Angeles, racism against Mexican Americans and the fear of juvenile crime became linked because of the“zoot suit.”
4.2.2.1.1. A zoot suit had very baggy, pleated pants and an overstuffed, knee-length jacket with wide lapels.
4.2.2.1.2. The zoot suit angered many Americans. In order to save fabric for the war, most men wore a “victory suit”—a suit with no vest, no cuffs, a short jacket, and narrow lapels. To many, the zoot suit was unpatriotic.
4.2.2.2. In June 1943, after hearing rumors that zoot-suiters had attacked several sailors, some 2,500 soldiers and sailors stormed into Mexican American neighbor- hoods in Los Angeles.
4.2.2.2.1. They attacked Mexican American teenagers, cut their hair, and tore off their zoot suits.
4.2.2.2.2. The police did not intervene, and the violence continued for several days.
4.2.2.2.3. The city of Los Angeles responded by banning the zoot suit.
5. Japanese American Relocation
5.1. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, many Americans living on the West Coast turned their anger against Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans.
5.1.1. Mobs attacked their businesses and homes.
5.1.2. Banks would not cash their checks, and grocers refused to sell them food.
5.1.3. Newspapers printed rumors about Japanese spies in the Japanese American community.
5.2. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed an order allowing the War Department to declare any part of the United States a military zone and to remove people from that zone.
5.2.1. Secretary of War Henry Stimson declared most of the West Coast a military zone and ordered all people of Japanese ancestry to evacuate to 10 internment camps further inland.
5.3. Fred Korematsu argued that his rights had been violated and took his case to the Supreme Court.
5.3.1. In December 1944, in Korematsu v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the relocation was constitutional because it was based not on race, but on “military urgency.”
5.3.2. the Court did rule in Ex parte Endo that loyal American citizens could not be held against their will. In early 1945, therefore, the government began to release the Japanese Americans from the camps.
5.4. Despite the fears and rumors, no Japanese American was ever tried for espionage or sabotage.
5.5. After the war, the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) tried to help Japanese Americans who had lost property during the relocation. In 1988 President Ronald Reagan apologized to Japanese Americans on behalf of the U.S. government and signed legislation granting $20,000 to each surviving Japanese American who had been interned.
6. Daily Life in Wartime
6.1. Wage and Price Controls
6.1.1. Both wages and prices began to rise quickly during the war because of the high demand for workers and raw materials. The president worried about inflation.
6.1.2. To stabilize both wages and prices, Roosevelt created the Office of Price Administration (OPA) and the Office of Economic Stabilization (OES).
6.1.2.1. The OES regulated wages and the price of farm products.
6.1.2.2. The OPA regulated all other prices.
6.1.3. Despite some problems with labor unions, the OPA and OES kept inflation under control. At the end of the war, prices had risen only about half as much as they had during World War I.
6.2. Blue Points, Red Points
6.2.1. The demand for raw materials and supplies created shortages.
6.2.1.1. The OPA began rationing, or limiting the purchase of, many products to make sure enough were available for military use.
6.2.1.1.1. Meat and sugar were rationed. Gasoline was rationed, driving distances were restricted, and the speed limit was set at 35 miles per hour to save gas and rubber.
6.2.1.1.2. A person from each household picked up a book of ration coupons every month.
6.3. Victory Gardens and Scrap Drives
6.3.1. Americans also planted gardens to produce more food for the war effort. Any area of land might become a garden—backyards, school yards, city parks, and empty lots.
6.3.1.1. The government encouraged victory gardens by praising them in film reels, pamphlets, and official statements.
6.3.2. Certain raw materials were so vital to the war effort that the government organized scrap drives.
6.3.2.1. Volunteers collected spare rubber, tin, aluminum, and steel. They donated pots, tires, tin cans, car bumpers, broken radiators, and rusting bicycles.
6.3.2.2. Oils and fats were so important to the production of explosives that the WPB set up fat-collecting stations.
6.3.2.3. Americans would exchange bacon grease and meat drippings for extra ration coupons.
6.3.2.4. The scrap drives boosted morale and did contribute to the success of American industry during the war.
7. Benefits of the war
7.1. In contrast to the devastation that large parts of Europe and Asia experienced, American society gained some benefits from World War II.
7.1.1. The war finally ended the Great Depression.
7.1.2. Mobilizing the economy created almost 19 million new jobs and nearly doubled the average family’s income.
7.1.3. The improvement in the economy did not come without cost.
7.1.3.1. American families had to move to where the defense factories were located.
7.1.3.2. Housing conditions were terrible.
7.1.3.3. The pressures and prejudices of the era led to strikes, race riots, and rising juvenile delinquency.
7.1.3.4. Goods were rationed and taxes were higher than ever before.
7.1.3.5. Workers were earning more money, but they were also working an average of 90 hours per week.