If you were in charge of getting the United States ready for war,

what would be your top 5 priorities?

WWII United StatesWar Boards and Offices

WWII War Offices and Boards

• Office of War Information

• Office of Civilian Defense

• War Production Board

• National War Labor Board

• Office of Price Administration

Office of War Information

• Sold the War to Americans

• Used Media such as:– Advertisements, Newspapers, Radio and

Movies, Comic Books– Hollywood helped sell the war – Stereotyped villains – sadistic Germans,

bumbling Italians, sneaky Japanese

Office of War Information

– Used Propaganda to: • Increase participation in Volunteer/Home Front

Efforts • To understand the progress of the war and

government policy• To raise $, Recruit Soldiers, Get America behind

the War, Conserve Resources

Office of War Information

• Used Propaganda Tools such as– Catchy Slogans– Patriotic words & symbols, – Emotional words & symbols– Demonization of the Enemy– Name Calling– Caricatures and Humor - – Bandwagon– Half-Truths/Lies

Office of War InformationUsed fear, and sometimes racist imagery

Office of War Information

Office of War Information

• Controlled Hollywood Movie Production– Informed the nation about the causes and

reasons for the war• Casablanca

– Encouraged Americans to back the war effort and often encouraged anti-Japanese & anti-German sentiment

• Confessions of a Nazi-Spy, Yellow-Peril

– Increased Morale• Bugs Bunny “Nips the Nip”

Office of Civilian Defense

• Coordinated volunteer efforts. – Asked civilians to contribute 1/hr/day to US.

• Air raid wardens enforced blackouts• Spotters scanned sky for enemy• Victory gardens• Collection of war materials – newspaper,

rubber, aluminum, tin, steel

Office of Civilian Defense

Office of Civilian Defense

Office of Civilian Defense

War Production Board

• Supervised the Nation’s Economy– limiting the production of materials not essential to the

war effort– Convinced manufacturers to switch from making

consumer goods to making military goods– Convinced business to build new plants to increase

production• Paid for some new plants and equipment• Relief from antitrust laws to war-related industries• Guaranteed fixed and large profits

War Production Board

War Production Board

Office of Price Administration– Controlled prices of goods and rents– Rationing – limited the demand on scares

supplies and other products by issuing coupons

• Tires, automobiles, shoes, nylon, sugar, gasoline, fuel oil, coffee, meats and processed foods.

• Almost 90% of retail food prices were frozen• Quota for each family based on number of people

in the household and their needs• Merchants gave coupons to suppliers in order to

restock• One of most controversial elements of war –

Americans could afford more, but not available

Office of Price Administration

Office of Price Administration

National War Labor Board

– Controlled wages and monitored inflation– Gained Labors pledge to avoid strikes during

war– Enforced settlements between companies

and workers over wages, hrs., working conditions

– Insured Women War workers, equal pay for equal work

– Enforced Collective Bargaining

NWLB Rosie the Riveter

NWLB

1. Which war office or board produced the following poster and what was the

role of the office?

2. Which war office produced this poster and what was the role of the

office?

3. Which war office produced this poster and what was the role of the

office

4. Which office produced this poster and what was the role of the

office?

US Economy

• GDP - all the goods and services produced in a year– - more than doubled during the war years

• 17 M new jobs – Unemployment rate dropped to 1.5% from

1932 high of 25%

• Crop prices doubled

Gross Domestic Product WWII

US Economy

• Federal Deficit – the amount the government spends over collected tax revenues (Government Debt)– Up 40% from 1940-1945– Government borrowed money from citizens

– War Bonds = 60% of funds

• Raised Taxes = 40% of funds– Revenue Act 1942 – ALL US citizens

had to pay federal income taxes

Federal Deficit WWII

Labor

• No strike pledge• African Americans move west and north

for Defense Industry Jobs• NWLB enforced settlements between

workers and management• Mine workers, coal, steel and RR went on

strike– Wages froze– Profits rose

Women

• 6M women join workforce

• Difficulty gaining acceptance from male workers

• 60% less pay• No security – lost

jobs when men returned home

African Americans

• Discrimination in America continued

• Demands for equal treatment grew

• NCAA grew• Double Victory Campaign

– Victory in the war– Victory for African American

Civil Rights• Military still remained

segregated

MOWMo Philip Randolph

oEarly leader of civil rights movement

o led movement for African American equality during WWII

oAngered by discrimination in armed forces and exclusion of African Americans from well-paying jobs in war industries

oPlanned protest against government

MOWM

oRoosevelt wanted to prevent embarrassment to US government

oRandolph and Roosevelt compromise– Executive Order 8802

• Govt. agencies, job training programs and defense contractors end discrimination

• Fair Employment Practices Committee – created to investigate violations of 8802

• DID NOT agree to integrate the armed forces

Japanese Internment

• Individual Rights vs. National Security• Individual Rights – “A power or privilege

a person is justly entitled to and that cannot be infringed upon by the government.”

• National Security - A condition of safety for a country brought about by defending it against invasion, espionage, sabotage or control by foreign powers”

Japanese-Americans

• Issei – immigrated from Japan, not eligible to own property or become US citizens

• Nisei – children of Issei, born in the US, US citizens

Japanese Internment

• Executive Order 9066 - authorized the removal of Japanese American’s from west coast to 10 relocation camps

Supreme Court Rulings on Internment

• Early Rulings Supported Relocation– Hirabayashi v. US – Court ruled that a curfew order

affecting only Japanese Americans did not violate civil rights

– Korematsu v. US – Upheld internment – president given extraordinary powers in times of war

• National security over civil rights

• 1988 Public Law 100-383 – made apologies and restitution to individuals of Japanese ancestry who were interned during WWII.– Eligible citizens could receive $20K over 10 yrs in tax

free payments