mobilizing the home front rosie the riveter. home front in what way have those of us not in the...
TRANSCRIPT
Home Front
• In what way have those of us not in the current US wars been affected?
• In what way have we contributed to the current wars?
-Gold Star Mothers
How did FDR build national morale after Pearl Harbor? What did he say Americans
were fighting for?Four Freedoms• Freedom of speech, expression,
worship, from want, from fear• Government created Office of
Civilian Defense (OCD)• Citizen encouraged to give“an
hour a day for the USA”• Echoing Wilson’s reason’s for
WWI– “To make the world safe for
democracy.”• Any contemporary comparisons?
What were some of the ways the average American could voluntarily contribute to the
war effort?• OCD allowed numerous voluntary
jobs• Air raid wardens- enforced
blackouts• Spotters- scanned sky for bombers• Victory Gardens- home (anywhere)
gardens that helped save food for soldiers
• Produced 40% of all vegetables• Scrap Drives- collected metal,
rubber, aluminum, etc.
What role did the media play in war effort?• Government created Office of War
Information to keep citizens informed• Encouraged newspapers, radio
stations, movies industry to help keep Americans informed and moral high
• Hollywood rushed to make movies (John Wayne)
• Portrayed Americans as heroes, “Japs” as evil, Germans as barbarians
• Little Orphan Annie encouraged readers to collect scrap metal
• Superman promoted war bonds, the Red Cross
What role did the War Production Board play in the war effort?
Where would this program fall on the economic spectrum?
How was the American economy affected by the war?
• It boomed
• GNP ($ value of all goods and services produced in 1 year) – From 90.5 billion(1939) to 211.9
billion (1945)
• Created 17 million more jobs
• Crop prices doubled
• Cost of living rose 15% by 1942
What role did the National War Labor Board play in the war effort and where would this agency fall
on the political spectrum?
• Controlled wages and monitored inflation• Allowed wages to rise 15% (COLA)• April ’43 = ordered “Hold the line”• A wage freeze• Office of Price Administration set ceiling
on all prices• Where is the government on the political
spectrum?
How did the US government pay for the war? • Spent $321 billion (1941-45• 2xs spending from previous 150
years• Taxes =40%
– Revenue Act (1942) required almost everyone to pay income taxes
– Withheld $ from weekly payroll• Borrowed the rest• War Bonds-certificates that
promised principal and interests (10 years)
• Used actresses, comic books, etc. to encourage the public to buy
• Americans saved $129 billion by 1945
Describe labor relations during the war.
• Large unions=no strike pledge
• National War Labor Board
• Arbitrated disputes between management and labor
• Seized uncooperative plants
• United Mine Workers went on strike in 1943 over wages
• FDR nationalized the mines
• Miners got raise and returned to work
Who was Rosie the Riveter and is she an accurate portrayal of how women were
viewed during the War?
• Symbolic label of working women in traditionally male jobs during WWII
• Worked as welders, riveters, mechanics
• 6 million women worked
• Paid 60% less than men
• Released from job when war ended
