Unit 5 Lesson 3: Fighting on the Home Front

Question 1

What speech did Eleanor Roosevelt give in 1940 and why?

Answer 1

During this time, Eleanor Roosevelt was First Lady as the wife of President Franklin Roosevelt. She gave calling for Americans to unite and to devote themselves to serving their country.

Question 2

At what gathering did Eleanor Roosevelt make this speech?

Answer 2

the 1940 Democratic National Convention

Question 3

What does FDR’s decision to send Eleanor Roosevelt to make an important speech say about Eleanor and their relationship?

Answer 3

FDR trusted Eleanor Roosevelt with important work, and Eleanor Roosevelt had a public speaking and public relation skills that assisted FDR in his bid for reelection as president.

Question 4

Although U.S. leaders had sought to avoid armed conflict, the country was not entirely unprepared for war. Elaborate

Answer 4

Production of armaments had increased since 1939, when contracts for weapons had begun to trickle into American factories. Following the passage of the Lend-Lease Act in 1941, war production increased even more.

Question 5

However, when the United States entered the conflict, the majority of American factories were still engaged in civilian production. There were doubts as to whether American businesses would be motivated enough to convert their factories to wartime production. What did the government do to encourage cooperation?

Answer 5

. To encourage cooperation, the government agreed to assume all costs of development and production and guaranteed a profit on the sale of what was produced.

Question 6

To encourage cooperation, the government agreed to assume all costs of development and production and guaranteed a profit on the sale of what was produced. How did this affect profits

Answer 6

This arrangement resulted in 233 to 350 percent increases in profits over what the same businesses had been able to achieve from 1937 to 1940.

Question 7

Who benfited from wartime production

Answer 7

As the country switched to wartime production, the top 100 U.S. corporations received approximately 70 percent of government contracts. Big businesses prospered.

Question 8

As in World War I, the government turned to bond drives to finance the war. How mcuh did they earn throguht this? What role did kids have?

Answer 8

As in World War I, the government turned to bond drives to finance the war. Millions of Americans purchased war bonds, raising more than $185 billion. Children purchased Victory Stamps and exchanged full stamp booklets for bonds.

Question 9

To prepare for war what did the federal government do about tax

Answer 9

The federal government also instituted the current tax-withholding system to ensure collection of taxes.

Question 10

Selective service legislation had been passed in September 1940 what did it do?

Answer 10

instituting a draft and requiring all men from ages 21 to 45 to register

Question 11

Besides the selective service act, what drove peole to war?

Answer 11

after Pearl Harbor, many men flocked to recruiting offices to enlist in the armed forces.

Question 12

How did American factories benefit by switching to wartime production?

Answer 12

The U.S. government gave factories incentives, such as guaranteed profits, to switch to wartime production.

Question 13

How did the U.S. government raise money to finance wartime spending?

Answer 13

The government sold war bonds and instituted the current tax-withholding system.

Question 14

As in World War I, the gap in the labor force created by departing soldiers meant opportunities for

Answer 14

women

Question 15

. In particular, World War II led women to take jobs in

Answer 15

defense plants and factories around the country

Question 16

For many, these jobs provided opportunities to move into occupations previously thought of as exclusive to men, especially in the aircraft industry. How did the aircraft industry look by 1943

Answer 16

By 1943, the aircraft industry was composed mainly of female workers.

Question 17

Did most woemn work in the defense industry? If not where did they work?

Answer 17

Most women did not work in the defense industry, however. The majority took over other factory jobs that had been held by men. Many worked in offices as well.

Question 18

What jobs did African American women take during WW2

Answer 18

African American women (most of whom had previously been limited to domestic service) took over white women’s lower-paying positions in factories. Defense plants also hired some African American women.

Question 19

What were the wages for women like?

Answer 19

Although women earned more money than ever before, it was still far less than men received for doing the same jobs.

Question 20

How did people see the entry of women into the workforce?

Answer 20

Many Americans saw the entry of women into the workforce as a positive thing. They also acknowledged that working women, especially mothers, faced great challenges.

Question 21

To try to address the dual role of women as workers and mothers, Eleanor Roosevelt stepped in. What did she do?

Answer 21

She urged her husband, President Franklin Roosevelt, to approve the first U.S. government childcare facilities under the Community Facilities Act of 1942.

Question 22

Impact of childcare facilities under the Community Facilities Act of 1942

Answer 22

. Eventually, seven centers were built, serving 105,000 children.

Question 23

What did the frist lady urge industry leaders to do

Answer 23

The First Lady also urged industry leaders, such as Henry Kaiser, to build model childcare facilities for their workers.

Question 24

Did the first lady solve allt he problem working women faced?

Answer 24

. Still, these efforts did not meet the full need for childcare for working mothers

Question 25

Tens of thousands of women served in the war effort more directly. how many womenjoined the military

Answer 25

Tens of thousands of women served in the war effort more directly. Approximately 350,000 joined the military. Many served as nurses, both at home and abroad.

Question 26

What did women enlsited in the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) do?

Answer 26

Women who enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) took on military jobs that had traditionally been performed by men. They drove trucks, repaired airplanes, and performed clerical work to free up men for combat.

Question 27

what do women in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) do?

Answer 27

t. Those who joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) flew planes from factories to military bases. Some of these brave women were killed in combat or captured as prisoners of war.

Question 28

What other jobs did women take on that invloved the militray

Answer 28

Many women worked in a variety of civil service jobs. Others worked as chemists and engineers, developing weapons for the war. This included thousands of women who were recruited for the Manhattan Project, developing the atomic bomb.

Question 29

As in World War I, the federal government urged Americans to plant gardens. Why did they ask citizens to do this and what were these gardens called?

Answer 29

Americans responded eagerly, planting so-called victory gardens in their backyards and in vacant lots. Some Americans volunteered to work on farms.

Question 30

The government also instituted **rationing** to ensure that America’s fighting men were well fed. How did citzens know what to ration?

Answer 30

Civilians were issued ration booklets. These books of coupons enabled them to buy limited amounts of meat, coffee, butter, sugar, and other foods. Wartime cookbooks helped housewives prepare tasty meals without use of the limited items. Other goods were rationed as well, including shoes, liquor, cigarettes, and gasoline.

Question 31

Could Americans ride their cars freely during this time

Answer 31

With a few exceptions, Americans were only allowed to drive their automobiles on certain days of the week.

Question 32

How did most react to the ration laws

Answer 32

Most people complied with these regulations, but some illegally bought and sold rationed goods on the black market.

Question 33

Civilians on the home front also recycled and conserved, and they participated in drives to collect items needed for the production of war materiel. ELbaroate, what did housewives and kids do to help?

Answer 33

l. Housewives saved cooking fats, which were needed to produce explosives. Children collected scrap metal, paper, rubber, silk, nylon, and old rags. Some children sacrificed beloved metal toys in order to “win the war.” Civilian volunteers, trained to recognize enemy aircraft, watched the skies along the coasts and on the borders.

Question 34

“Salvage Scouts” were enlisted to search for what material?

Answer 34

: scrap metal (iron and steel)

Question 35

Military and other war demands caused a shortage for civilians of what food items?

Answer 35

canned fruits and vegetables

Question 36

How many African Americans served

Answer 36

Approximately 2.5 million African Americans registered for the draft. About one million African Americans served.

Question 37

How did the usage of Africna Americans in battle change

Answer 37

At first, African American soldiers were used as support troops and not sent into combat. By the end of the war, however, African Americans were serving in the infantry and flying planes.

Question 38

Nevertheless, racial tensions often erupted in violence. There were incidents at or near several military bases in the South, for example. Expalin what happened with Gneral Eisenhower

Answer 38

General Eisenhower asked African American leaders to investigate complaints of the mistreatment of African American servicemen on active duty. The information they gathered laid some groundwork for the postwar civil rights movement.

Question 39

Second great migration

Answer 39

Beginning in 1940, millions of African Americans began leaving the southern states to escape Jim Crow laws and seek better opportunities in northern states. This is known as the Second Great Migration, following as it did the first Great Migration, which occurred in the early 1900s.

Question 40

Why were so many African Americans egar to leave their jobs in the South

Answer 40

Factories in the North preparing for war offered jobs that paid more than did the agricultural jobs open to African Americans in the South.

Question 41

In the 1940s, about 1.5 million African Americans left southern states to move north and west. Where did they settle

Answer 41

They settled primarily in cities, where factories supporting the war effort were located. Although racism certainly existed in northern states, many African Americans were eager to escape the outright hostility and lack of economic opportunities they faced in the South.

Question 42

What cities did Africna Americans go to during the Second GReat Mirgration

Answer 42

More than 1 million African Americans, better than half of them women, settled in cities such as Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Detroit to work in manufacturing plants experiencing a boom in business due to billions in government contracts given out to help the United States prepare for World War II.

Question 43

As the U.S. economy revived, African Americans wanted to ensure that their service to the country earned them better opportunities and more equal treatment. In 1942, what did African American labor leader A. Philip Randolph do

Answer 43

. In 1942, African American labor leader A. Philip Randolph pressured Franklin Roosevelt with a threatened “March on Washington.” The president responded by creating the **Fair Employment Practices Committee. **

Question 44

What was purpose of the **Fair Employment Practices Committee**

Answer 44

Its purpose was to see that there was no hiring discrimination in the defense industries. The committee was effective in requiring defense contractors to hire African Americans. However, it was not able to force corporations to place African Americans in well-paid positions.

Question 45

During the war, what did the the newly formed Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) do

Answer 45

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) used sit-ins to desegregate certain public spaces in Washington, D.C.

Question 46

What was one of CORE's goals and what did this goal align with

Answer 46

One of CORE’s goals was to make it impossible for the enemy to produce anti-American propaganda that accused the United States of racism. CORE’s actions kept with the goals of the **Double V campaign**.

Question 47

What was the Double V campaign

Answer 47

The Pittsburgh Courier, the largest African American newspaper at the time, began this campaign in 1942, calling upon African Americans to accomplish the two “V”s. The first was victory over America’s foreign enemies, and the other was victory over racism in the United States.

Question 48

Why would protecting against propaganda about racism be an important goal for the United States?

Answer 48

One reason that Americans supported the war was because they believed it was a just war. Racism is unjust, so propaganda about racism could have damaged Americans’ ideas about their position fighting for justice.

Question 49

How did the two “V”s of the Double V campaign connect to each other?

Answer 49

Both “V”s related to overcoming an unjust enemy. By pairing the “V”s, the campaign helped emphasize that racism was unjust and should be overcome.

Question 50

The Mexican American population in Southern California grew during the war, why was that

Answer 50

due largely to increased numbers of Mexican agricultural workers in the fields. They replaced the white workers who had left for better-paying jobs in the defense industries or to serve in the military.

Question 51

By mid-1942, a joint U.S.-Mexico program had begun. What did this program do

Answer 51

It brought thousands of impoverished Mexicans into the United States to work as braceros, or manual laborers.

Question 52

Where did most MExicans brogut to UD by the joiny progrsm live

Answer 52

Forced by racial discrimination to live in areas called barrios, such as those of East Los Angele

Question 53

many Mexican American youths sought to create their own identity. What did they start wearing

Answer 53

They began wearing distinctive outfits known as zoot suits, which featured colorful outsized jackets and trousers.

Question 54

Many native-born Americans denounced Mexican American men as being unwilling to serve in the military. Was this true

Answer 54

This was in spite of the fact that 350,000 Mexican Americans either volunteered to serve or were drafted into the armed services.

Question 55

. In the summer of 1943, “zoot suit riots” occurred in Los Angeles. What was this about

Answer 55

Carloads of white sailors, encouraged by other white civilians, stripped and beat groups of young men wearing the suits. In retaliation, young Mexican American men attacked and beat up sailors. Sailors and civilians responded by attacking young Mexican Americans on the streets, in bars, and in movie theaters. More than 100 people were injured.

Question 56

. A few months after the attack, President Roosevelt signed **Executive Order 9066** what did this do

Answer 56

which gave the army power to remove people from “military areas.” The order’s stated intent was to prevent sabotage or espionage.

Question 57

The army used the Executive Order 9066 to do what

Answer 57

The army used this authority to relocate more than 120,000 Japanese Americans living along the Pacific coast and in parts of Arizona to internment camps. Two-thirds of these people had been born in the United States. T

Question 58

Hirabayashi v. United States

Answer 58

This case addressed the curfew placed on Japanese-Americans as well as the relocation of Japanese-Americans to internment camps. The court ruled that the curfew was legal, but did not address relocation.

Question 59

, Fred Korematsu

Answer 59

. One man, Fred Korematsu, was arrested for defying the order to report to an internment camp. He sued the government on the basis that the order to relocate was unconstitutional. His case made it all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1944, the Supreme Court ruled that relocation of Japanese-Americans was legal, thus upholding Executive Order 9066.

Question 60

The experience of internment was deeply traumatic

Answer 60

Families were sometimes separated. People could only bring a few of their belongings and had to abandon the rest of their possessions. The camps themselves were dismal and overcrowded. No interred Japanese Americans were found guilty of sabotage or espionage.

Question 61

Despite the harsh treatment they faced, many Japanese Americans sought to enlist in the military. How did Draft boards react to this

Answer 61

Draft boards, however, often rejected them as “undesirable aliens.”

Question 62

But as the war went on, some Japense americans were reclassified as eligible for service. How many fough in the war and what was the 442nd Regimental Combat Team,

Answer 62

In total, nearly 33,000 Japanese Americans served in the military during the war. Of particular note was the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, nicknamed the “Go For Broke.” The team finished the war as the most decorated unit in U.S. military history.

Question 63

Who else was put in internment camps

Answer 63

Approximately 16,000 Germans and German Americans were also placed in internment camps, as were 2,373 persons of Italian ancestry

Question 64

Did Native Americans join the war?

Answer 64

Native American men and women voluntarily joined the armed forces to serve during World War II at a rate much higher than that of the general population. The rate of enlistment was as high as 70% in some tribes.

Question 65

Did NAtive Americans serve in segreated units

Answer 65

like African American troops, Native Americans did not serve in segregated units.

Question 66

Navajo “code talkers”

Answer 66

Navajo “code talkers” famously helped the military send coded messages in their tribal language that could not be interpreted by enemies of the U.S.

Question 67

How did many Native Americans who did not serve in the armed forces supported the war.

Answer 67

Many Native Americans who did not serve in the armed forces supported the war effort by joining the workforce to help construct military facilities and work in factories that produced goods for the military.

Question 68

What jobs did Native American women have

Answer 68

Just as in the general population, Native American women took advantage of the shortage of labor traditionally provided by men and went to work in factories and took over other jobs usually reserved for male employees. During the war, the average Native American saw their income triple.

Question 69

uring the war, the average Native American saw their income triple.What did this elad to

Answer 69

This led many to leave reservations permanently. Populations on reservations fell during and after the war.

Question 70

Why was Federal funding for reservations cut

Answer 70

Federal funding for reservations was cut to pay for the war effort, but this was driven by anti-Native American sentiment rather than purely economic concerns.

Question 71

The Office of War Information and other government agencies used propaganda campaigns to:

Answer 71

* drum up patriotism and unite Americans behind the Allied cause * encourage Americans to support the war financially by buying war bonds * boost Americans’ morale * encourage Americans to take manufacturing jobs, especially in defense industries * improve production in defense and other industries * promote volunteerism * encourage the conservation of certain products * urge Americans not to share any information that could help the enemy

Question 72

Rosie the Riveter

Answer 72

Tough yet feminine, Rosie became a symbol of women in the workforce and in jobs traditionally done by men. For many women, she represented a newfound sense of independence.