US Home Front

1
US Home Front
WWII Efforts at Home
2
Economic Resources

• US Government and industry forged a close working
  relationship to allocate resources effectively.

3
Economic Resources

• Rationing was used to maintain supply of
  essential products to the war effort.

4
Economic Resources

• War bonds and income tax were used for financing
  the war.

5
Economic Resources

• Businesses retooled from peacetime to wartime
  production (e.g., car to airplane manufacturing).

6
Human Resources

• More women and minorities entered the labor force
  as men entered the armed forces.
• Citizens volunteered in support of the war effort.

7
Women during WWII

• Women increasingly participated in the workforce
  to replace men serving in the military.

8
Women during WWII

• Women typically participated in non-combat
  military roles.

9
African Americans in WWII

• African Americans migrated to cities in search of
  jobs in war plants.
• They campaigned for victory in war and equality
  at home.

10
Native Americans

• Communication codes of the Navajo were used.
• Oral, not written language.
• Impossible for Japanese to break.

11
Japanese Internment

• Reasons
• Strong anti-Japanese prejudice on West Coast.
• False belief that Japanese Americans were aiding
  the enemy.

12
Japanese Internment

• Japanese Americans (yes, citizens) were relocated
  to internment camps.
• Not concentration camps
• Primarily affected Japanese on West Coast.

13
Japanese Internment

• US Supreme Court upheld the governments right to
  act against Japanese Americans on West Coast.
• Korematsu v. United States
• Majority Opinion Pressing public necessity may
  sometimes justify the existence of such
  restriction
• Dissenting Opinion I dissent, therefore, from
  this legalization of racism. Racial
  discrimination in any form and in any degree has
  no justifiable part whatever in our democratic
  way of life.

14
Japanese Internment

• A public apology was eventually issued by the US
  government.
• Financial payment made to the survivors.

15
Media Assistance

• US Government maintained strict censorship of
  reporting of the war.
• Public morale and ad/propaganda campaigns focused
  on the war effort.

16
Entertainment Industry

• Produced movies, plays, and shows that boosted
  morale and patriotic support for the war effort.
• Often portrayed the enemy in stereotypical ways.