WWII: Effects on American Life

Scope of Mobilization

# of people who registered for the draft = 31 million

# of people who served in the armed forces = 15 million

Mobilization for black Americans

Approx. 700,000 black Americans served, in all branches, in segregated units

NAACP, “A Jim Crow army cannot fight for a free world.”

Most assigned to menial duties

Women in the War: Opportunity Approx 350,000 women enlisted in the armed

services

-140,000 WAC (Women’s Army Corps)

-100,000 WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service)

-23,000 members of the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve

-13,000 SPARs (for Semper Paratus [always ready, USCG]

Women in the War: Discrimination Women were barred from combat Social lives of women soldiers were more

strictly regulated than men Most military jobs reflected societal

stereotypes – clerical work, communications, and health care

Workers & the War Effort

When millions of citizens entered military service, a huge hole opened in the American workforce

The backlog of depression-era unemployment quickly disappeared & the US faced a critical labor shortage

Defense industries employed about 7 million new workers, including women

Women & IndustryRosie the Riveter Gov’t planners “discovered” women while

looking for industrial labor Propaganda: “Rosie” Women were given high paying jobs as

riveters, welders, and drill-press operators Women made up 36% of the workforce in

1945 (up from 24% prior to the war) However, women were only “filling-in” while

the men were away Lower pay

Organized Labor

Responded with an initial burst of patriotic unity… “no strike” pledge

National War Labor Board: established wages, hours, & working conditions

Incomes rose as much as 70% despite wage ceilings

However, many unions felt cheated as corporate profits soared in relation to wages

Civil Rights

Just as labor sought to benefit from the war, African Americans manifested a new mood of militancy

Black leaders pointed out parallels between anti-Semitism in Germany and racial discrimination at home

“Double V” campaign: victory over Nazism abroad and victory over racism and inequality at home.

Prior to the war, the fed. gov’t took little action for civil rights

A. Philip Randolph (Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters) – announced a plan to march on Washington in 1941

-Executive Order 8802: “there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or gov’t because of race, creed, color, or national origin.”

-Fair Employment Practices Commission

Economics

Federal defense spending had solved the depression: unemployment disappeared, per capita income more than doubled, despite some dislocations and shortages 70% of Americans reported “no real sacrifices”

Office of Price Administration: gas, rubber, meats, butter, sugar…

Demographics

Military: when men entered the services, families often followed them to training bases or points of debarkation

Lure of high paying defense jobs 15 million Americans moved during the war,

much from rural areas to urban areas

-result: housing strains, inadequate public transportation, another “Great Migration” and with it increased racial tensions

Effects

Civil Rights movement

Feminist Movement

Military Industrial Complex

Nuclear Age