Chapter 18, Section 1

Mobilizing for War

NOTES:

1. Describe 3 or more ways that ordinary

Americans contributed to the war effort.

2. How did the government pay for the war effort?

3. What effect did shortages have on the

economy?

4. Write a journal entry (1-2 paragraphs) detailing

daily life from the point of view of an American

on the home front in the early 1940s.

Mobilization

Define these terms

Selective Training & Service Act

GI

Office of War Mobilization

Victory Garden

Make a list of ways that the U.S.

mobilized for WWII

Setting the Scene

As early as 1940, FDR was preparing citizens for war

He said that Axis nations such as Germany posed a “direct threat to the security of the US”

“We must be the great arsenal of democracy

He asked businesses to support Britain’s defense efforts or face the possibility of war being waged on US soil

Setting the Scene

FDR knew that the outcome of the war

in Europe depended on the US’s ability

to produce the following:

Planes, tanks, guns, uniforms, and other war

materials for the Allies

Mobilizing the Armed

Forces FDR knew that building up the military

was key

Defense spending went from $2 billion to $10 billion in less than year

September of 1940, Congress passed the Selective Training and Service Act

Required all males aged 21 to 36 to register for military service

A limited number of men would be selected from this pool to serve a year in the army

Four Freedoms

FDR gave this speech, outlining the following freedoms that US troops would be fighting for:

Freedom of speech and expression

Freedom of every person to worship God in his own way

Freedom from want (need)

Freedom from fear

This speech was given January 6, 1941

Norman Rockwell

The GI War

16 million Americans served

GI= “Government Issue”

Far from home

“What I’d give for a piece of blueberry

pie”

Diversity and Gender in Military

300,000 Mexican Americans served in WWII

25,000 Native Americans

400 Navajo radio operators=“code talkers”

500,000 African Americans

Until 1942, African Americans were limited in their role

As casualties increased, they were now called into more active roles

Mostly segregated units

Women

350,000 American women volunteered

for military service

Officials used women in all areas except

combat

Clerks, typists, airfield control tower

operators, mechanics, photographers,

drivers, and ferrying planes around the

country

Preparing the Economy for War

US entered war when production levels

of the other Allies had dropped sharply

British and Soviet production was

affected by German bombing

Japanese attacks in Pacific threatened

to shut off rubber, oil, and tin supplies

FDR pushed industries to move quickly

into the production of war equipment

War Production

January, 1942: gov’t set up the War

Production Board

Directed the conversion of peacetime industries

into industries that produced war goods

Halted production of civilian goods such as cars,

lawn mowers, and many other products

○ Ford Motor Company built B-24 bombers instead

of cars, for example

Armed forces decided which companies would

receive contracts to manufacture military

hardware

Office of War Mobilization

Served as a super-agency in the

centralization of resources

Led by James Byrnes: he was often

called the “assistant president” due to

his decision-making powers

Some said Byrnes ran the country while

FDR ran the war

Business Incentives

Government established “cost-plus”

system for military contracts with

businesses

Military paid development and

production costs

Also added a percentage of costs as

profit for the manufacturer

Production Levels

By 1945, the US had produced:

300,000 airplanes

80,000 landing craft

100,000 tanks and armored cars

5,600 merchant ships

6 million rifles, carbines, and machine guns

41 billion rounds of ammunition

WOW! That’s a lot of production!

“There’s a war on you know!”

Wartime Work Force

Massive unemployment levels dropped due to need to produce!

Wages greatly increased as well (50%)

Union membership rose again: 1.5 million workers joined unions in 1941

14.8 million total workers in unions

Workers and employers agreed to no strikes during war

But as cost of living went up, strikes were more common due to wages not matching the COL

How does the US pay for the

War? US Gov’t vowed to “spend

whatever was necessary” to sustain the war effort

Federal spending went from $8.9 billion in 1939 to $95.2 billion in 1945

GNP more than doubled in that time

Overall spending of federal gov’t between 1941-1945 was about $321 billion This was 10X as much as was

spent for WWI

How does the US pay for the

War?

Higher taxes paid for 41% of war costs

US Gov’t borrowed the rest of the

money from banks, private investors,

and general public

The US Treasury issued bonds to help

finance war, which brought in $186

billion

National debt went from $43 billion in

1940 to $259 billion in 1945

Daily life on the Home Front

30 million moved during war

Population grew by 7.5 million, high birth

rate, start of the “Baby Boom”

Better spirits w/ end of Depression

Daily life on the Home Front

Rationing of goods were put in place

Other items were just not available

Metal, nylon, rubber

Food supply was short of the demand

Supplies of sugar, tropical fruits, and

coffee were cut off due to enemy

occupation of foreign countries

Office of Price

Administration Set up in April 1941

It’s job was to control inflation by limiting prices and rents

Overall, the OPA was successful for the most part: cost of living rose, but not as bad as in WWI

Also oversaw rationing of goods such as: Meat, butter, sugar, coffee, canned fruit, shoes,

gas

Consumers had coupon books with points to use

WWII Propaganda

Mobilizing for War

NOTES:

1. Describe 3 or more ways that ordinary

Americans contributed to the war effort.

2. How did the government pay for the war effort?

3. What effect did shortages have on the

economy?

4. Write a journal entry (1-2 paragraphs) detailing

daily life from the point of view of an American

on the home front in the early 1940s.