The USA 1941-48

How much did the war effort cost

$4 billion

How did the USA increase in global production during the war?

The USA became almost half of the global weapons production

How did America benefit from the war in economic terms? (3)

1) More than half a million new businesses set up during the war e.g., Coca-Cola

2) It ended unemployment

3) Farmers finally started enjoying better times as the USA exported food to its allies

What did Americans have to give up for the war? (5)

1) Clothes were made simpler to save material

2) Production of tennis and baseballs stopped as they needed the material

3) They accepted rationing on gasoline and food

4) Hunting and fishing was banned

5) Professional baseball was stopped and the players were conscripted

What did the Americans do to keep busy? (3)

1) Planted victory gardens

2) Went on air-raid patrols despite never being bombed

3) Proved the War Production Board with 5 million tons of metal scraps in 3 weeks after they asked for 4 million in 2 months

How did bonds with the war effort?

Americans all together invested $129 billion to the war effort with the promise that they'd be paid back after the war. This was good for the government as it showed the Americans started to trust them more in contrast to after the crash

How did Japan help with propaganda in America?

The government used the attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7th 1941 to convince the public to support the war effort

How did the entertainment industry help with propaganda in America?

Hollywood glorified the USA and its troops and vilified the enemies. It also allowed them to escape the harsh reality of the war keeping spirits high.

How did the war change the control the government had on social affairs?

During 1940 and 1945 the federal government spent nearly 2x as much as It had spent in the preceding 150 years

What was the Victory Tax?

Established in 1942, the tax was raised on people's incomes and their savings meaning they had to pay taxes on luxury goods and there were no complaints in contrast to the 1930s as everyone thought it was necessary.

How did willing industrialists help with the war effort?

January 1942, Roosevelt set up the War Production Board set up by William Knusden. He believed the country wouldn't be able to produce the goods it needed without the help of factory bosses. He asked other industrialists how they could best meet war production and asked which companies would produce what

How did General Motors contribute?

They produced heavy machine guns and thousands of war products

How did the Chrysler Corporation contribute?

They produced anti-aircraft guns

How did General Electric contribute?

It increased its production of turbines by 300x in 1942

What percentage of the American companies went to how many firms?

80% to 100 firms

Who ended up doing most of the work for the large firms?

Thousands of smaller companies subcontracted to supply tools, materials and equipment. The large firms saw this as a way to make lots of money.

How many men and women worked in the American armed forces?

16 million

How many people worked in factories?

14 million

How many did General Motors alone take in?

750 000

How many workers migrated from the south to the industrial north? How many new workers did California gain?

4 million. 1.5 million

What was a positive impact US labour unions had on the war effort?

They didn't go on union strikes and accepted federal government control + Roosevelt's control on wages. Also they managed to get allowances for female workers to help with childcare.

What was a "negative" impact US labour unions had on the war effort?

Union membership rose from 9 million in 1941 to 15 million in 1945 because they had more of a cause to fight for like demanding improved working conditions.

How many women were hired during the war?

Nearly 1 million

How many working women were there before the war?

12 million

During the war, how many joined the armed forces and how many joined the workforce?

300 000 joined the armed forces. 7 million joined the workforce.

What did women do in the armed forces? (4)

1) WASPs tested every type of warplane and did delivery runs from the factories to the airfields.

2) Worked difficult welding jobs in awkward parts fo aircraft bodies

3) Made fuses

4) 60% of the US plant managers said that the women were their best workers

What did women do when they were not enlisted/unemployed? (4)

1) Entertained soldiers at USO canteens

2) Volunteered as nurses' aides

3) Gave blood

4) Kept up morale

Who was Howard Zinn?

Air veteran who was determined to tell the truth about the war that the media failed to portray. He was an anti-war campaigner and wrote 'A People's History of the United States' in 1989

What did Zinn expose about American labour? (3)

1) There were 14 000 strikes involving 6 770 000 workers

2) In 1994 alone, 1 million workers went on strike

3) Post-war strikes continued with 3 million in the first half of 1946

What did Zinn expose about joining the military? (3)

1) Out of the 10 million drafted for the war, 43 000 refused to fight (3x the proportion of conscientious objectors in WW1)

2) Out of the 43 000, 6 000 went to prison (4x the proportion in WW1)

3) The government lists about 350 000 cases of draft evasion so there may have been more

What did Zinn expose about the opposition to the US involvement in the war?

1) The Socialist Workers Party were an organised group entirely opposed to war

2) In 1940, the Smith Act prohibited talking or writing that would lead to the refusal of duty in the armed forces. It also made it illegal to participate in any ideas that call for the overthrow of the government

3) In Minneapolis 1943, 18 members of the Socialist Workers Party were convicted for doing this and the Supreme Court refused to review their case

What were some obstacles women had to face in the armed forces?

1) Most women were confined to traditionally female roles as jobs

2) Women earned up to 60% less than their male counterparts

3) Congress resisted Roosevelt's plans to ensure equal pay

4) Factories made little to no effort to provide child-care facilities and when they did, the services were unreliable

What was the internment of Japanese Americans?

120,000 JAs from Cali, Washington, Arizona and Oregon interned in 1942

What did the internment entail? (3)

1) Transportation to internment camps in remote areas where many lost their property or forced to sell it

2) No account of whether they were American born (Nissei) or not (Issei)

3) Japanese subject to hate crimes in other US states

What inequalities did African Americans face in the workforce?

400,000 migrated from the south and got their wages double to $1000 but still half what white workers earned

Who was Philip Randolph?

African American campaigner who threatened to organise a march of 50,000 people to Washington to demand to end workforce discrimination

What was Executive Order 8802

Signed in 1941 by Roosevelt, it ordered employers who were supplying goods for the war effort to end discrimination

What was the Packard electronics situation?

In 1942, 3000 white workers walked out when 3 African Americans had their jobs upgraded

What was the African Americans experience during the war effort?

>1 million joined but they weren't allowed to join in combat until 1944 and before then they had only been used for transporting supplies, cooking, or labour

What were the Detroit Race Riots of 1943?

Both white and AA migrants working in the Detroit war industries. Competition for resources and services leading to tension and finally on 20th June 1942 the riots broke out continuing for 2 days and moving 6000 troops into the area. Police killed 34 (25 of which were AAs) and $2 million worth of property were destroyed. It was due to discrimination

What was discrimination like in the navy during the 1940s?

Only 58 AAs risen to officer rank and exclusively AAs were assigned the dangerous jobs of loading ammunition on to ships for war zones.

What is Executive Order 9981?

Passed by Harry Truman asking for equality in the armed forces

What is 5120.36?

Banning segregation in living accomodation in the military