Unit 9: World War II Topic 3

Rosie the Riveter

Popular propaganda image in WW2 depicting a strong female worker to encourage women to join the work force

Double V Campaign

WWII Policy supported by several prominent black newspapers, stating that blacks in America should work for victory over the Axis powers but at the same time work for victory over oppression at home; black leaders remained frustrated during the war by continued segregation of the armed forces.

Executive Order 8802

Signed by FDR after black leaders threatened to march on Washington; it promoted more equality because the order prohibited discrimination in government and in business that received federal contracts

Congress of Racial Equality

an interracial group founded in 1942 by James Farmer to work against segregation in Northern cities.

A. Phillip Randolph

African American civil rights movement threatened march on Washington calling for equal rights ; he pressured FDR to pass E.O 8802

Tuskegee Airmen

First African American military pilots who trained at the Tuskegee flying school in the US Army Air Corps and flew missions in World War II. They escorted pilots on bombing missions and became famous for shooting down over 200 enemy planes.

code talkers

Navajo troops who used their language to send messages in a code the Japanese were never able to break

1943 repeal of Chinese Exclusion Act

This allowed Chinese to immigrate for the first time since Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Zoot-Suit Riots of 1943

Series of riots in 1943 during World War II that exploded in Los Angeles, California, between white sailors and Marines stationed throughout the city and Latino youths, who were recognizable by the zoot suits they favored

Japanese internment

Thousands of people of Japanese descent (many U.S. citizens) living on the West Coast were forced into camps; many lost their homes, businesses & belongings; this was done to keep them from spying.

Korematsu v. United States

1944 Supreme Court case where the Supreme Court upheld the order providing for the relocation of Japanese Americans.

mobilization

the process of assembling troops and supplies and making them ready for war

War Production Board

government agency that decided which companies would make war materials and how to distribute raw materials

Office of Price Administration

fought inflation by freezing prices on most goods

Office of War Mobilization

Federal agency formed to coordinate issues related to war production during World War II

Emergency Stabilization Act

Allowed the president to stabilize wages during WWII; employers began offering other benefits, like health insurance, to attract workers since they could not raise salaries.

Revenue Act of 1942

An act that expanded the number of people paying income taxes from 3.9 million to 42.6 million. These taxes on personal incomes and business profits paid half the cost of World War II.

War Bonds

Certificates sold by the United States government to pay for the war.

deficit spending

situation in which a government spends more money than it takes in

Office of War Information

government agency that encouraged support of the war effort during WWII through propaganda

Rationing in WWII

Americans at home forced to conserve materials in all aspects of life to support the military; use of coupons to ensure limits on resources like meat, sugar, gasoline, rubber

victory gardens

Gardens that citizens planted to raise their own vegetables, so that food could be sent to the troops.