The Home Front

Dec. 9, 1941 FDR’s

message…

Revenge

What strains did war place on families?

• Housing shortages…• Rationing…• Balancing work and households…• Lack of child care…• Latchkey kids…• Juvenile delinquency…• High school drop-outs…

Ration coupons for meat, milk, sugar, cheese, coffee, butter, and gasoline

Family Life on the Home front Between 1940- 1943 more than a million more

couples married than if had there been no war By 1946 divorces skyrocketed Housing Shortage-Federal Gov. build 2 million

new homes Juvenile Delinquency increased during the war By 1944 High School enrollments decreased by

1.2 million “Back to School Campaign” More books, magazines and baseball 60% of Americans viewed movies per week

Other war time trends?

• Marriage rate up…• Incomes up….• Divorce rate up…• Public health improved…• Death rate down…

“Economic conditions are ripe for a rush to the alter”

Japanese Internment Fear of invasion and lack of loyalty

0.1% of US Pop. Executive Order 9066

civil rights were suspended the army began rounding up Japanese citizens

Japanese Americans West Coast were given one week transported to camps in UT, CO, AK, ID,AZ,WY,

and CA. 120,000 people

Internment Notice:

FDR issued Executive

Order # 9066

Topaz Internment Camp

442nd Japanese American Unit

KIA  WIA MIA  TotalNaples-Foggia Campaign

139 442 3 584

Rome-Arno Campaign

239 1,016 17 1,272

Rhineland Campaign-Vosges

160  1,220 42 1,422

Rhineland Campaign-Maritime Alps

 11  102  2  115

Po Valley Campaign

 101  922  3  1,026

Total   650  3713*  67  4,419*

KIA  = Killed In Action (includes Died Of Wounds)WIA =442nd Regimental Combat Team Facts Wounded In Action (includes Injured In Action)*Includes 15 WIA/IIA in 442nd Anti-Tank Company at Southern France Campaign (invasion)

Source: U.S. Army Mediterranean Theater of Operations Information-Education Section.  The Story of the 442nd Combat Team, Composed of: 442nd Infantry Regiment, 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, 232nd Combat Engineer Company,  1945.

F. KorematsuIn 1942

convicted of “being in a place from which all

persons of Japanese

ancestry were excluded”

In 1988 survivors

were awarded $20,000.

Korematsu with

reparations check.

1998 President

Clinton awards the Presidential

Medal of Freedom

Results of Internment Japanese Americans lost homes and

businesses valued at $500 million Korematsu vs the US (1944) The Supreme

Court upheld the relocation on the grounds of national security

In 1988 the US Congress gave reparations of $20,000 to each internee and a public apology to each of the 60,000 surviving victims

The citation in part read…“Fred Korematsu challenged our Nation’s conscience, reminding us that we must uphold the rights of our own citizens even as we fight tyranny in other lands.” President W.J Clinton

Civil Rights & Race Riots

Why was the goal of fighting for democracy in Europe viewed as hypocritical to most African Americans?...

What was the “Double V” campaign?

• Destroy racism at home and abroad• Victory on battlefield and over racial

discrimination• Black support of war hinged upon

America’s commitment to racial justice

How was A. Philip Randolph a leader in civil rights?

• President of the Sleeping Car Porters Union…

• Organized a march on Washington demanding that the gov’t open jobs in the defense industry to blacks

• Met with FDR and demanded– An end of segregation & discrimination in gov’t hiring. – An end to segregation in the military.– An end to discrimination & segregation in all employment.

• Executive Order 8802…• Fair Employment Practices Commission…

Discrimination and Reaction Between 1940 and 1944 the % of African

Americans working in skilled or semi-skilled jobs rose from 16% to 30%

In 1942 civil rights leader James Farmer founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to combat urban segregation

Detroit Race Riot of 1943 – 3 days, 9 whites, and 25 blacks were killed, FDR sent in troops

A. Phillip Randolph’s efforts resulted in the FEPC “Double V Campaign” started in Pitt. Pa

What were the goals of the NAACP?

• Anti – lynching and poll tax legislation• End discrimination in the military• End black disenfranchisement• Membership grew from 50,000 in 1940

to 450,000 in 1945

Police and blacks at the Sojourner Truth Homes in 1942

Detroit 1943

White mob overturns a car belonging to a black man

What did blacks gain by the war experience?

• More blacks are voting…• Other countries are aware of racism in

the U.S…• The U.S. appears hypocritical….• High expectations from blacks…• 1 million blacks in the military – slowly

begins to integrate…

Objective…Describe how racial

intolerance on the home front effects

Hispanics.

Zoot Suit Riots 200,000 Mexican Americans were legally

brought to the US to work – Braceros Many Mexican Americans lived in barrios In 1943 Mexican Americans wore “Zoot

Suits” as a symbol of rebellion On June 4th, 11 sailors claimed they were

attacked, mobs violence erupted between servicemen and Zoot Suits, many young Mexican were beaten and jailed unjustly with 700 injured

Objective…Describe how the war

effort affected popular culture

How did the war affect popular culture?

• “country” and “rhythm and blues” migrated North

• Patriotism and the concept of the “good war”…

• Sentimental…• Anti-fascist…• Super – hero – comics…