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9 The Second World War

Photori Images/SuperStock

Encouraged to fill in for men during the war, many women worked critical jobs in factories and mills.

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American Lives: Rosie the Riveter: Margarita Salazar McSweyn

Pre-Test

1. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which removed Japanese aliens and American citizens of Japanese descent from their homes on the West Coast of the United States. T/F

2. The most important strategic successes in Europe for the Allies came from ground attacks like D-Day and not through the air. T/F

3. Allied leaders signed the peace treaty ending World War II at the Yalta Conference in February, 1945. T/F

4. A labor shortage during the war led to millions of women working in factories. T/F 5. The purpose of the Manhattan Project was to develop a fleet of silent fighter jets. T/F

Answers can be found at the end of the chapter.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

• Describe how U.S. foreign policy shifted in response to the crisis in Europe. • Understand the events that led the United States to enter World War II. • Explain the ways that various groups, including women, African Americans, and

Japanese Americans, experienced the war differently. • Understand the strategies that the Allied Powers used to conduct the war in Europe and

the Pacific. • Explain the measures put in place at the war’s end to reduce the likelihood of future

conflict.

American Lives: Rosie the Riveter: Margarita Salazar McSweyn

Margarita “Margie” Salazar was 25 years old when the United States entered World War II. The following year she left her traditionally female occupation for a job at a Lockheed assembly plant in Los Angeles, becoming one of more than 4 million women who left their occupations and homes to fill industrial jobs tied to wartime production. Women like Salazar were exem- plified by Rosie the Riveter, a character popularized by a government advertising campaign. They worked in defense industries as welders, riveters, aircraft assemblers, and in other male- dominated occupations. For the first time they enjoyed higher wages and the ability to step out- side the occupations and experiences society had proscribed as women’s sphere. For the dura- tion of the war, women were encouraged to take on new roles to aid the nation’s war effort.

Salazar was born in New Mexico July 20, 1916, and her large family moved to Los Angeles when she was an infant. She spent most of her youth in a largely Mexican American neighborhood, where social activities revolved around the church and a Mexican social club. She attended Sul- livan Beauty College and worked as a beauty operator (beautician) until the war broke out.

Courtesy Everett Collection

This World War II poster depicting Rosie the Riveter encouraged American women to show their strength and patriotism by working for the war effort. Margarita Salazar McSweyn was one of the many women inspired by Rosie the Riveter.

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Pre-Test

2. The most important strategic successes in Europe for the Allies came from ground attacks like D-Day and not through the air. T/F

3. Allied leaders signed the peace treaty ending World War II at the Yalta Conference in February, 1945. T/F

4. A labor shortage during the war led to millions of women working in factories. T/F 5. The purpose of the Manhattan Project was to develop a fleet of silent fighter jets. T/F

Answers can be found at the end of the chapter.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

Japanese Americans, experienced the war differently. • Understand the strategies that the Allied Powers used to conduct the war in Europe and

the Pacific. • Explain the measures put in place at the war’s end to reduce the likelihood of future

conflict.

American Lives: Rosie the Riveter: Margarita Salazar McSweyn

Courtesy Everett Collection

Seeing advertisements in English and in Spanish for women to work at the Lockheed airplane assembly plant, Salazar thought the job would allow her to do her part for the war effort, and she relished the higher wages the job offered. Aiming to protect the wage rates for returning veterans, labor unions advocated for women war workers to be paid the same rate as men. Salazar recalled, “I thought it’d be a whole new experience” (as cited in Gluck, 1987, p. 85). Wearing the required pants, sensible shoes, and hair net, Sala- zar at first filled in for a variety of assembly positions within the factory but eventually moved to the tool- dispensing shed because she found it difficult to stand for a full shift.

Salazar’s patriotism extended beyond her Lockheed job. She volunteered for the Civil Defense Corps, a federally organized volunteer force that worked to mobilize the civilian population in response to poten- tial threats. The federal government strongly encour- aged Salazar’s involvement in the volunteer group as well as her work at the Lockheed plant. As a part of the nation’s total war program, it was essential that American citizens do their part to contribute to the war effort, and with so many young men entering mil- itary service, it was vital that women step in to keep the nation’s war production running smoothly.

Before the war’s end, Salazar, along with many other young women, sought to leave her aircraft job for a less strenuous white-collar job. The Lockheed plant work was hard. Long days spent standing on her feet, dirty conditions, and heat made it difficult to endure, and she wanted out. Because her labor was so vital to the war effort, she had to provide Lockheed with a doctor’s cer- tificate before she could quit. She ultimately took a position as a clerk in a beauty supply store.

Had Salazar remained at the assembly plant, her job would have ended with the war. Women war workers were encouraged to return to their homes or traditionally female jobs to make room for the thousands of returning veterans in search of work. For Salazar and millions of women, their World War II experiences permanently altered their social and work lives. Her world expanded beyond the “pink-collar ghetto” of beauty work and her Mexican American neighborhood. Mar- rying a veteran in 1945, she returned to the workforce in the 1950s when her children reached school age and filled a dual role as white-collar worker and homemaker. Maintaining links to family and cultural tradition, Salazar’s war experiences showed her there were other choices, which she exercised to expand her world (Gluck, 1987). She died in 1989.

For further thought: 1. What benefits did women receive from their wartime work experiences? 2. How did women’s war work increase or change their expectations for equal treatment

at work?

American Lives: Rosie the Riveter: Margarita Salazar McSweyn

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Section 9.1 The Road to War

9.1 The Road to War

During the 1930s the United States focused inward to solve its mountain of economic prob- lems. International relations were forced to the back burner, but President Franklin D. Roosevelt did reach out in hopes of securing new trading partners. His Republican predeces- sors refused to recognize the Soviet Union, or Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the single-party Communist state that emerged from the Russian Revolution. But Roosevelt, see- ing a potential market for American trade goods, exchanged ambassadors with the Soviets. It was the beginning of an uneasy alliance between the Communist Soviet Union and capitalistic United States, one that lasted only so long as both parties needed a partner and eventually eroded in the face of global conflict.

During the Depression years, much of Roosevelt’s foreign policy focused on interests in the Western Hemisphere. In another effort to shore up trade and end the nation’s economic mal- aise, Roosevelt promoted the Good Neighbor Policy, which ended the pattern of American intervention in Latin American affairs. The policy asserted that the United States recognized the sovereignty of Latin American countries. The longtime occupation of the Dominican Republic came to an end, and a new treaty with Cuba dissolved the Platt Amendment that had granted the United States the right to intervene in that nation’s affairs (Pike, 1995). The relax- ation of concerns about Latin American affairs lasted until the onset of the Cold War, when protection of the region once again became a grave concern.

Fascism and New World Leaders As the United States struggled to redefine foreign relations and establish new trading partners, European nations similarly reevaluated their place in the world. Two important European nations, Germany and Italy, witnessed the emergence of totalitarian or Fascist governments.

Fascism was the result of radical right-wing ideologies whose proponents saw it as a viable conservative response to threats to the economic and social order. Fascism thus became a violent middle-class attempt to suppress working-class aspirations. It proposed a social unity that eliminated political parties and trade organizations. If, from the perspective of national unity, an individual or group was considered counterproductive, it was eliminated (Curtis, 2003). The tenets of fascism were thus diametrically opposed to those of democracy, and this was one reason the United States came to see the Fascist movement as a threat.

Championing the Fascist state were new leaders who took control in Italy and Germany. Benito Mussolini organized the Fascist Party movement in Italy and came to power in 1922. His party promoted a national regime that promised to improve Italian culture and society, harkening back to its roots in ancient Rome. Mussolini’s charismatic personality led many to believe that he offered the best route to save the Italian nation in a time of struggle. In order to succeed, he urged Italians to strive for a “true Italian” ideal that required citizens to abandon individualism and to see themselves as a component of the state. Italians flocked to his movement, and his cult-like status helped to inspire other would-be Fascist leaders (Haugen, 2007).

In Japan the growth of ultranationalism in the early 20th century supported the rise of milita- rism, seeing that nation’s military gain important government influence. Officers of the army

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Section 9.1 The Road to War

and navy occupied the nation’s highest offices, including prime minister. In 1931 conflict with neighboring China over economic and political treaties resulted in a Japanese invasion of that nation’s Manchuria region. Facing international criticism, Japanese militarists abandoned international cooperation and withdrew Japan from the League of Nations in 1933.

After years of conflict, by 1937 Japan was at war with China. Occupying the coastal region, Japanese military personnel wreaked havoc on the civilian population, outraging the United States and other nations by murdering and raping thousands during the capture of the Chi- nese capital at Nanking (Payne, 1995).

In 1933 another Fascist government appeared in Europe with the rise to power of Adolf Hitler as the leader of the National Socialists, or the Nazi Party, in Germany. His ascen- dency stemmed from a weakened democratic government that was unable to pay German war debts from World War I. At the conclusion of that conflict in 1919, under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was ordered to pay more substantial reparations than other members of the Central Powers, including some $33 billion to cover damages to civilians and property, and it was forbidden from rebuilding its military. The economic consequences meant German citizens suffered severely, including through the years of the Great Depression.

Hitler presented a way to regain national pride and resurrect the struggling German econ- omy, and he capitalized on these needs to attain political power. Similar to Social Darwinism, he proposed Nazism, arguing that White people, especially Aryans from Europe, formed a master race. Under his leadership the Nazis employed a particularly radical interpretation of eugenics, the notion of improving the genetic quality of the human race, to degrade other races and unite Germans. His ideas sought to link White Germans of all classes together, creat- ing a racialized nationalism.

Hitler was appointed chancellor in 1933 and effectively intimidated his opposition and the German Parliament into giving him absolute powers. As a dictator, he used his police force to persecute Jews, Roma, homosexuals, the physically and mentally disabled, and other minor- ity groups because he believed that the German race was superior and he did not want to “dilute” or “weaken” his nation with outsiders he considered “inferior.” He blatantly violated the Versailles treaty and began a process of rearming the nation. Europe and the United States ignored his actions through the first several years of his dictatorship, believing that little would come of his reign. These leaders of Italy, Germany, and Japan pushed the world to war over the course of the 1930s (Carr, 1985).

SuperStock

Benito Mussolini (left) and Adolf Hitler (right) led the fascist movement in Europe.

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Section 9.1 The Road to War

Appeasement and the Road to War Several key events pushed the world along the path to war. Territorial expansion and interna- tional aggression were early factors in the rising belligerency. In 1935 Mussolini’s army moved into Africa, conquering Ethiopia. One year later, Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland (western Germany), in direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles, which specified the region was to remain unfortified. In 1936, in the midst of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), Hitler and Mussolini sent support to Gen. Francisco Franco, who eventually emerged as the victor. Franco went on to head a new Fascist regime in Spain and closely allied with Germany and Italy.

Unrest also proliferated in Asia throughout the 1930s. China and Japan formally went to war with one another in 1937, following Japan’s invasion of Manchuria. Japan formed an alliance with Nazi Germany, and eventually Italy, initially aimed at forging an alliance against attack from the Communist Soviet Union. The group became known as the Axis Powers. This alli- ance provided important support for each growing power, as they invaded and controlled significant parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe (LaFeber, Polenberg, & Woloch, 2008).

In 1938 Hitler continued his military conquests in Europe by uniting Ger- many with Austria; then he took the Sudetenland, the northern and west- ern areas of Czechoslovakia, which was populated heavily with German speakers. This raised great concerns throughout Europe, most notably in France and Britain, that Germany was out to grab substantial amounts of European territory as it had during World War I.

Instead of forcing Germany to return the territory, Britain and France adopted a policy of appeasement, making politi- cal or material concessions in order to avoid war or conflict. After German occupation of the Sudetenland, France and Britain negotiated a formal prom- ise with Hitler in the Munich Agreement that he would not seek additional territory. Signed at the end of September 1938, the agreement left Hitler angry and the Czechoslovakians dismayed because they had not been party to the dis- cussion. But British prime minister Neville Chamberlain was strongly in favor of this approach (Judt, 1998).

Between 1937 and 1939 Britain, with France in agreement, continued to support appease- ment in order to avoid conflict with the Germans. The United States watched the international events from afar. The League of Nations, which was supposed to maintain collective security, failed to stop the buildup of a German empire and fighting force. Historians have long debated

Associated Press

In an attempt to avoid further conflict in Europe, France and Britain entered into the Munich Agreement with Germany. This agreement stated that Hitler would not invade additional territories.

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Section 9.1 The Road to War

the effects of appeasement. Some argue that the wait-and-see attitude of the policy allowed Hitler and the other Axis Powers to increase their military strength and shore up national support. On the other hand, other scholars argue that there was little else Chamberlain could do, especially with the United States unwilling to get involved (MacDonald, 1981).

Barely a year after signing the Munich Agreement, Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslova- kia, while Mussolini attacked Albania. Both Fascist regimes were heading eastward across Europe. Hitler also signed a nonaggression pact with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, previously his sworn enemy. Declaring that the two nations would not attack each other for a period of 10 years, it also included a secret provision that outlined how the Soviets and Germans would divide Eastern Europe in the future and ensured that Hitler could invade Poland with- out opposition from Stalin.

Seeing no prospects for peace, Britain and France abandoned the policy of appeasement and promised Poland support if Germany launched a full attack. Germany invaded Poland on Sep- tember 1, 1939, just days after signing the pact with the Soviets. Britain and France declared war on Germany just 2 days later, officially beginning World War II.

Over the following year, Germany waged blitzkrieg, or “lightning war,” throughout Europe. Employing mass numbers of troops, tanks, and armaments supported by air strikes, the Ger- man fighting force moved quickly and effectively to surprise and destroy unprepared or ill- equipped regions in Europe. It was remarkably effective, as Hitler’s armies overran Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and Netherlands, all between April and May 1940. One month later, German soldiers raised a Nazi flag over Paris, and on June 22, 1940, France surrendered.

The blitzkrieg emerged as a German tactic only in fits and starts (Jackson, 2003). But given its success during the early stages of the war, it became part of the official German war

strategy, and the country’s military commanders consciously used it for the first time in a campaign against the Soviet Union.

While the blitzkrieg concentrated on continental Europe, German forces also targeted Britain in a series of bombing raids known as the Battle of Britain. Aiming to gain superiority over the British Royal Air Force (RAF), the attacks began on July 10, 1940, and lasted 31⁄2 months. Germans first tar- geted British ships, shipping installa- tions, and airfields, but bombing raids eventually moved across the nation and included the city of London, which was substantially damaged.

German bombers such as the one shown here became a common sight during the 3-month-long Battle of Britain.

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Section 9.1 The Road to War

The British fought back, with RAF planes shooting numerous German flyers from the skies. Especially in cities, RAF radar and a successful air raid warning system allowed civilians to take cover, significantly reducing casualties. Nevertheless, as many as 40,000 civilians died. The full campaign persisted until the end of October, with the RAF significantly reducing the German air force, or Luftwaffe, but some raids continued into the next spring.

American Isolationism and Neutrality Amidst the challenges of the Great Depression, most Americans, like their leaders, paid little attention to Japanese aggressions and the rise of fascism in Germany and Italy. At the close of World War I (see Chapter 6), the United States chose not to join the League of Nations, and in the decades since that war’s end, many Americans came to believe that U.S. involvement in the war had been a mistake.

One reason some questioned U.S. actions was the belief that arms manufacturers seeking profit had guided the nation into war. A Senate committee operating between 1934 and 1936 investigated these allegations and produced the Nye Report, uncovering the potential profit motives behind U.S. involvement. The public was also shocked to learn that during its neutral period from 1915 to 1917, the United States loaned Britain and its allies nearly $2.3 billion, thereby having a vested interest in ensuring a British victory. These revelations helped spark isolationist sentiment among the U.S. public.

Congressional actions during the 1930s reflected this desire to remain free of foreign dis- putes and conflict. A high tariff on imported goods, enacted in 1930 and remaining through- out the decade, insulated consumers from foreign markets. A series of Neutrality Acts issued in 1935 and 1937 forbade American travel on belligerents’ ships and outlawed the sale of arms or any war-related implements to countries at war (Doenecke & Stoler, 2005). Con- gress hoped that these measures would allow Americans freedom of the seas and help avoid involvement in European conflicts.

For ethnic Americans, and especially recent immigrants, perspectives on world events varied. Some Italian Americans and German Americans celebrated the growing patterns of national- ist pride in their homelands but were concerned by the rise of Fascist dictators at the heads of those movements. Vilified for their ethnicity during World War I, Germans had largely assimilated into the dominant U.S. culture by 1940, but they looked on with interest as events unfolded in Europe. More recent arrivals, Italians often found their loyalties divided. Irish Americans tended to maintain an anti-British stance (Jeffries, 1996).

For some Americans already obsessed with a fear of communism, the rise of Hitler in Germany offered a potential counterpoint to the Soviet Union. Few could have predicted the scope of the global conflict to come (see Figure 9.1).

Figure 9.1: European Axis and Allied Powers

World War II alliances formed around the Allies and the Axis Powers, and the United States became an important part of the Allies after Pearl Harbor.

S O V I E T U N I O N

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Section 9.1 The Road to War

Figure 9.1: European Axis and Allied Powers

World War II alliances formed around the Allies and the Axis Powers, and the United States became an important part of the Allies after Pearl Harbor.

S O V I E T U N I O N

G E R M A N Y

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As war broke out in Asia and Europe, the United States struggled to remain isolated from it and renewed the Neutrality Acts in an attempt to avoid the escalating conflict. Although as many as 90% of Americans supported isolationism in 1937, that support declined each time Hitler took an aggressive step in Europe. Signaling a wavering of America’s neutral stance, in 1939 Congress approved the sale of arms to Britain on a “cash and carry” basis. Credit was not to be extended, and any war materials purchased had to be transported on British ships. Pop- ular opinion changed even more abruptly following the surrender of France in 1940, which left Britain to wage war against Germany alone.

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Section 9.1 The Road to War

Amid the turmoil abroad, the U.S. presidential election of 1940 approached. Breaking with a tradition established by George Washington, Roosevelt became the first president in history to seek a third term in office. Besides citing the nation’s economic concerns, he argued that the international situation was too delicate to risk a leadership change.

The Republican Party nominated New York businessman Wendell Wilkie to challenge Roosevelt. Wilkie’s campaign pointed out that Roosevelt failed to bring the nation out of the Depression and was walking the United States close to involvement in international conflict, but the nation was not ready for change during such tumultuous times. Although Wilkie found some support in the Midwest, Roosevelt was easily reelected with nearly 55% of the popular vote and a landslide in the Electoral College, 449 to 82.

Following the election, Roosevelt asked Congress for $1 billion in additional defense fund- ing. He also pledged 50 decommissioned U.S. Navy destroyers to new British prime minister Winston Churchill. At Roosevelt’s urging, Congress passed the Lend–Lease Act, which autho- rized military aid to various countries and assumed they would somehow be able to repay the costs at a later date. Although his presidential campaign had promised to keep the United States out of the foreign conflict, this military buildup and support for the Allies was in direct contradiction to the Neutrality Acts. The last of those acts, passed in 1939, had allowed the United States to provide arms to the Allies, but only on a cash and carry basis.

Under the Lend–Lease program, billions of dollars’ worth of arms were sent to Britain and China, and eventually the Soviet Union when Hitler renounced his nonaggression pact with that nation. America, in Roosevelt’s words, had become the “great arsenal of democracy.” As late as January 1941 the president still hoped to keep America out of war. But in his annual address to Congress, he outlined Four Freedoms that people all around the world should enjoy: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear (Jones, 2009). He argued that threats to other democracies created a threat to U.S. freedom and democracy, and he broke with isolationists by arguing that the United States needed to provide support for the Allies.

Among those allies under immediate threat were the Chinese. The Japanese invasion of Indochina in September 1940 cut off arms supplies to the Chinese army and made the Asian situation critical. Roosevelt responded by freezing Japanese financial assets in the United States and halting trade, including the all-important shipment of American oil. In order to protect its assets in the Pacific, including Hawaii and the Philippines, from Japanese encroach- ment, the United States began to manage the Asia situation carefully.

Animosity against the Japanese was linked to more than that nation’s aggressive actions against the Chinese. In 1937 a Japanese attack on a U.S. naval vessel, the Panay, while it was protecting American interests and property along the Yangtze River in China increased ten- sions between the nations. Although the Japanese claimed the incident was a mistake, it served to turn U.S. public opinion against Japan.

Pearl Harbor On December 7, 1941, the Japanese responded to increasing tensions between the nations by bombing the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, aiming to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet

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Section 9.2 The Home Front

before the Americans could consider striking Japan. Early that Sunday morning, Mitsuo Fuchida, the flight commander of a Japanese Zero airplane, approached Pearl Harbor and radioed “Tora! Tora! Tora!” (as cited in McNeese, 2010a, p. 11), which signaled that the Japa- nese air force had successfully approached the American island undetected (the word tora means “tiger”). Over the course of the next 2 hours, hundreds of Japanese planes, including torpedo bombers, dive bombers, fighters, and horizontal bombers, targeted the U.S. Pacific Fleet headquartered there.

The surprise attack sank or destroyed 21 important ships and killed more than 2,400 Americans. Japan lost just 29 aircraft. Within hours of the bomb- ing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese attacked U.S. holdings in the Philip- pines, marking a second assault on American military forces. Later that same day, Japan continued its assault with attacks on Guam, Midway, and Hong Kong (Lord, 2001).

By a margin of 477 to 1, Congress approved a declaration of war on Japan on December 8, 1941, formally enter- ing World War II. Only pacifist Jeanette Rankin (the only woman in the Con- gress) voted no. Three days later, on December 11, the other two Axis Pow- ers, Germany and Italy, declared war against the United States (James & Wells, 1995). U.S. isolation was laid to rest, and the nation put its energies and its military might alongside the Allied Powers of Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union.

9.2 The Home Front

In the days following the attack on Pearl Harbor, many Americans feared the Axis Powers would attack the U.S. mainland. After declaring war on the United States, Hitler sent German submarines, known as U-boats, to patrol along the Atlantic coast. For months U.S. pilots tried to demolish them, but the submarines destroyed a number of American ships, threatening to disrupt the transport of war materials to Europe. By mid-1943 the U.S. Navy ended the sub- marine threat, but many still worried that the war that besieged Europe would soon overrun the United States. Fears that the Japanese might attack on the Pacific coast also persisted.

Another fear was sabotage from within. Military forces were placed on high alert, and gov- ernment buildings, defense factories, and even important bridges were placed under guard. Machine guns were attached to the White House roof and placed on other prominent build- ings in New York and other cities. The nation turned toward mobilizing both the military and civilian forces needed to participate in the largest war in human history, though to much relief domestic threats failed to materialize (James & Wells, 1995).

Library of Congress/SuperStock

The battleships USS West Virginia (foreground) and USS Tennessee sit low in the water and burn after the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

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Section 9.2 The Home Front

Mobilizing for War World War II was not just a military effort. The war also changed the lives of every American at home. The United States had no organized civil defense system, and although some indus- tries had converted to producing weapons and other materials for the Allies, the scope of mobilization required to participate in the growing global conflict was staggering. Full coop- eration from the nation’s citizens was critical to the mobilization of industry and to the reor- ganization of many aspects of the economy and society.

Americans were urged to do their part by rationing products and commodities essential to the war effort or made scarce due to the conflict. Gasoline and rubber tires were among the first products to be rationed, with a 35-mile-per-hour speed limit imposed to conserve fuel. By mid-1942 food staples and especially sugar were subject to government ration, and government-issued ration books tracked consumers’ purchases of important commodities. Coffee came under ration after German U-boat attacks disturbed shipments from Brazil, and other foods such as butter, oils, cheese, and meat came under ration plans to reserve supplies to feed military personnel. Silk, used in crafting parachutes, became almost impossible to obtain, as did nylon for women’s stockings, and new leather shoes came under ration. Local ration boards distributed the ration books, which contained stamps exchangeable for a cer- tain commodity. For many commodities, such as coffee and sugar, consumers received equal ration coupons. For others, such as tires and automobiles, consumers had to make application and prove their need to make the purchase.

Dollar-a-Year-Men Mobilizing the economy for wartime production effectively ended the Great Depression by providing needed jobs. Roosevelt created a new agency, the War Production Board, in Janu- ary 1942 to coordinate retooling and production across multiple industries. Former Sears, Roebuck & Company executive Donald Nelson was tapped to head the agency, whose tasks included converting automobile factories to tank manufacturing and convincing industrial- ists such as Henry Ford to build more than 1,000 B-24 bombers (Eiler, 1997).

Businesses were offered incentives to participate in the war effort; the federal government funded development and production costs, and industries received a guaranteed profit on the tanks, airplanes, and arms they produced. The war greatly enhanced the power of the big businesses that drove the wartime production and also swelled the government’s involve- ment in the economy. Most government spending went to war production industries. Federal employees also grew from 1 million to 4 million during the war’s duration.

Much of the mobilization effort concentrated on securing essential wartime materials, often from the American people. This included scrap metal, with collections of cans and razor blades to forge war equipment, and women’s silk and nylon hosiery, which was used to make parachutes and rope, but one of the most important materials in the war was rubber. Used primarily for tires and tank treads, rubber was in short supply during the war because the Japanese cut off supplies from the Dutch East Indies.

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Section 9.2 The Home Front

A typical rubber drive occurred in Dayton, Ohio, in May 1942. Local gas and service sta- tions supplied 75,000 pounds of old tires, and Dayton mayor Frank M. Krebs contributed his garden hose. Several schoolchildren scoured the county collecting old automobile belts and car floor mats. A local shoe repair shop turned in its supply of rubber heels for the soles of shoes (Dayton History Books Online, 2000).

Nelson drew on other experienced executives to head various segments of war produc- tion. Called dollar-a-year men because they agreed to run various agencies or industries for this token salary, many remained on the payroll of their prewar companies but over- saw conversion to war production. The number of these executives ranged from 310 in 1942 to more than 800 by the war’s end. The expert technical and business knowledge of the executives was essential to the smooth operations of wartime industries, but some questioned their motives, claiming that their real interest lay in making a personal profit (Klein, 2013).

Labor and the War If the war was good for business, it was equally good for workers. During the conflict incomes soared, especially for those engaged in work related to war production. In some cases the boost in earnings were sufficient to pull families into the middle class. Another important innovation at work was the introduction of employer-paid health insurance plans, although in some cases those benefits were provided in lieu of monetary raises.

The surge in work and the return to employment brought a massive influx of new members into labor unions, including the AFL and the CIO. In 1942 the Roosevelt administration estab- lished the National War Labor Board (NWLB), a resurrection of the organization that had managed the nation’s labor force in World War I. Composed of business executives and labor leaders, the NWLB was authorized to mediate labor disputes and establish labor policies for the duration of the conflict.

In exchange for a no-strike pledge by employees, the NWLB negotiated settlements with employers who continued to fight against unionization drives in industries such as steel and auto production. This government settlement finally brought union protection to workers in resistant segments of those industries. During the war, union membership surged to its highest level in history, with more than 15 million American workers protected by collective bargaining in 1945 (Lichtenstein, 2010).

In spite of the no-strike pledge, industries still faced a number of work stoppages. Wage stag- nation in the face of expanding profits for war industries led some workers to walk off the job. Eventually, Roosevelt empowered the NWLB to control wages and prices, making it a power- ful part of the wartime administration and ensuring continued production (Kersten, 2006).

An important component of the workforce during the war was the migration of men and women for employment. Millions of people moved for work opportunities that developed

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Section 9.2 The Home Front

during the war. War industries located production in urban areas, such as Detroit, where auto plants retooled to manufacture vehicles, airplanes, and armaments.

Among those migrating for work were African Americans from southern states. An estimated 60,000 African Americans moved to Detroit between 1940 and 1946, approximately dou- bling the number of African Americans in that city’s workforce. In Chicago, another city with important wartime industries, a similar influx of 60,000 African Americans swelled the work- force between the attack on Pearl Harbor and mid-1944 (Atleson, 1998). Rural White men also funneled into wartime industries, but in fewer numbers because many were drafted or joined the military and because increasing demands on the farm economy allowed many to be exempted from the draft so long as they worked in farming.

Women at Work and War Women also participated in the migration. Massive numbers of women worked in industries from which they were previously excluded because of their gender. Rosie the Riveter symbol- ized this new, hardworking, industrial American woman. She was fictional but represented the ideal government worker, including being loyal, efficient, and patriotic. Despite the tough- ness she displayed, the sight of a feminine, pretty woman taking on industrial work inspired many young women who were eager to help out in the war effort.

The reality of wartime work was anything but glamorous. Ethel Jerred of Ottumwa, Iowa, applied for a job in a local meatpacking plant while her husband was at war. The plant offered her a choice: a traditional women’s position that paid 59 cents an hour, or 72 or more cents for a job in the men’s departments of kill and cut, fresh meat packing, or meat wrapping. She took a job on the men’s floor and recalled, “My first check was sixty-two dollars, and I thought I was wealthy. That was the most money I’d ever made in one week” (as cited in Stromquist, 1993, p. 127).

Most women war workers were like Margarita Salazar McSweyn and Ethel Jerred. They were patriotic Americans who sought both to improve their eco- nomic status and serve their country. Many resented the loss of their higher wages at the conflict’s conclusion, when they were expected to return to lower paying “women’s work.”

Those who continued to work after the war usually did so out of economic need. Many sought positions using their war- time training, but women were almost universally excluded from skilled indus- trial trades after 1946. The postwar jobs available to women tended to be in cleri- cal or sales work and paid on average 43% to 52% less than industrial work (Kesselman, 1990).

Underwood Photo Archives/SuperStock

Women who worked in industrial jobs usually performed by men were paid as much as 50% more than those who remained in clerical or sales positions, and many hoped to hang on to those higher paying positions after the war.

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Section 9.2 The Home Front

Women also served in the military as nurses and pilots, and in other noncombat military positions. For the duration of the conflict, as many as 400,000 women served in military or associated positions. Among the women’s units were nurse corps of the army and navy, the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), and navy corps known as WAVES. The marines and coast guard also had women’s reserve units. Another group, Women Airforce Service Pilots flew impor- tant noncombat missions but were not formally enlisted in the military (Cole, 1995). Outside the military, women also held important positions with the American Red Cross and Civil Air Patrol.

African American women were among those enlisting in the WACs, and more than 6,200 served. They received separate training and lived in segregated housing but served in many of the same roles as White women. Female African American officers trained alongside their White counterparts, and by late 1943 training programs for other specialist positions were also integrated, but housing remained segregated. The army nurse corps also saw more than 500 African American women serve in both the U.S. and European theater. The navy retained a ban on African American women’s enlistment until late 1944, but by the end of the conflict African American women also served in the WAVES and the navy nurse corps (Honey, 1999).

The involvement of women in the military during World War II formed a major turning point in female military service. Their enlistments were “for the duration” plus 6 months to help ease the transition of returning veterans at the war’s end. Mary Hamilton of Mannington, West Virginia, enlisted as a nurse in the WAC soon after finishing her nurse training in 1945. Sent to the European theater, in Germany she tended to the needs of servicemen and service- women returning from the field. She remained in service in Europe for a year beyond the war’s conclusion.

Although some were hesitant to accept women in military roles, women’s willingness to vol- unteer helped ease pressure on the dwindling numbers of men available for the draft. Women served bravely in almost every noncombat role by the end of the war.

The Draft In September 1940, more than a year before the United States entered the war, Congress enacted the first peacetime draft. German aggression and growing victories in Europe and the Luftwaffe’s continued air bombing of Great Britain made preparations for the nation’s defense wise, even if the United States managed to remain neutral. Within a month of its enactment, 16 million men aged 21 to 35 registered for the Selective Service. Seeking only 900,000 recruits in the first round of drafts, Selective Service officials imposed qualifica- tions on military service. African Americans were initially excluded from the marines and army air corps. On the advice of psychiatrists, homosexuals were also disqualified. Eventually 2.5 million African Americans did register for the draft and were subject to conscription into segregated units.

Once the United States entered the war, the military became less concerned with disqualifying large groups of Americans. Between 1939 and 1945 more than 17 million men and women served in the armed services. Of the men serving, 61% were draftees. White men formed the largest number of service members, but other groups made important contributions. More

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Section 9.2 The Home Front

than 901,000 African Americans and significant numbers of Mexican Americans, women, Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, and Native Americans also served (see Table 9.1) (Berube, 2010).

Table 9.1: Male military service divided by ethnicity

Ethnicity Number of soldiers

Hawaiian 1,320

Filipino American 11,506

Chinese American 13,311

Native American 20,000

Japanese American 33,000

Puerto Rican* 51,438

African American 901,896

*Other Latino numbers cannot be discerned since they were not counted separately by ethnicity or segregated in units.

Source: National WWII Museum, n.d.

Patriotic Dilemmas and Military Service Americans of various ethnic groups contributed importantly to the Allied war effort, even when that service came in racially segregated units. Some ethnic minorities were drafted, but many volunteered for service in the military or in programs that aided the war effort. Most faced further discrimination and were initially assigned to menial tasks instead of combat roles. Some, such as Japanese Americans, faced a true patriotic dilemma when thousands of their fellow citizens as well as recent immigrants were interned for fear they were disloyal.

African American Military Service African American military participation was limited to 10% of military enrollment, but their eventual enlistment of just over 900,000 was a bit short of that number. The African Ameri- cans who served in the war were segregated into African American units led by White offi- cers. African American soldiers were also more likely to be in service branches, such as the quartermaster, engineer, and transportation corps.

African Americans joined for patriotic reasons, but also used the war to press for equal rights. These included military rights equal to those afforded to White soldiers and access to jobs that had formerly been for “Whites only.” Roy Wilkins, the editor of the NAACP’s Crisis maga- zine, explained the issue like this: “This is no fight merely to wear a uniform. This is a struggle for status, a struggle to take democracy off of parchment [the Constitution] and give it life” (Wilkins, 1940, p. 375).

Everett Collection/SuperStock

The Tuskegee Airmen were an all– African American unit that was crucial to winning the war in Europe. Here a fighter pilot and two airmen make repairs to a P-51D Mustang.

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Section 9.2 The Home Front

African American officers called their goal the Double V—or double victory against fascism abroad and racism at home (James, 2013). For example, on April 12, 1945, the same day that Roosevelt died, the U.S. Army took 101 African American officers into custody for directly refusing an order from a superior officer. This was a serious charge because, if convicted, they could face the death penalty, but a compromise was eventually reached and the charges were

dropped. The violation stemmed from their refusal to sign orders to accept segregated housing and rec- reational facilities. Their protest was one of the final events that pushed toward the desegregation of the U.S. military, although that did not formally occur until 1948.

Like American women in the war, African Ameri- cans also took advantage of new opportunities. One of the best examples was the African Ameri- can pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group, the famed Tuskegee Airmen, and the same officers arrested in the segregated housing protest. In total, Tuske- gee Airmen flew 15,000 sorties and shot down more than 200 German aircraft (Moye, 2010).

However, while these men were willing to die for their country, they were not eligible for many military honors for their service. Though many deserved it, no African American received the Medal of Honor, the highest military award for bravery. President Bill Clinton corrected this error 50 years later, bestowing the medal on seven Afri- can Americans who served in the war, but just one, Vernon Baker, was still alive (Latty & Tarver, 2004). The most highly decorated African American at the time of the conflict was Doris “Dorie” Miller, a Navy

cook aboard the USS West Virginia on the morning of the attack at Pearl Harbor. For brave actions during and after the attack, he was awarded the Navy Cross in 1942.

Native Americans in Service Native Americans contributed much to the American war effort, with 20,000 serving in the military, many as volunteers. Several hundred Native American women served in WAC and WAVES units. Most famously, Native American soldiers from the Navajo tribe employed their unique language to send military messages that the Japanese could not decode. Others, both men and women, left the relative poverty of the reservation for high-paying industrial jobs in war industries. Most who left the reservation never returned.

Unlike African Americans, Native Americans were not drafted into segregated units. The war provided a chance for them to mingle with Whites of varying backgrounds and to learn job skills that would be important in the postwar era. Service also made them eligible for veter- ans’ benefits, including funding for school tuition and government-assured mortgage loans.

than 901,000 African Americans and significant numbers of Mexican Americans, women, Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, and Native Americans also served (see Table 9.1) (Berube, 2010).

Table 9.1: Male military service divided by ethnicity

Ethnicity Number of soldiers

Hawaiian 1,320

Filipino American 11,506

Chinese American 13,311

Native American 20,000

Japanese American 33,000

Puerto Rican* 51,438

African American 901,896

*Other Latino numbers cannot be discerned since they were not counted separately by ethnicity or segregated in units.

Source: National WWII Museum, n.d.

Everett Collection/SuperStock

The Tuskegee Airmen were an all– African American unit that was crucial to winning the war in Europe. Here a fighter pilot and two airmen make repairs to a P-51D Mustang.

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Section 9.2 The Home Front

The Bracero Program As millions of men and some women entered the military, the remaining workforce was not enough to meet the growing demand for labor. The push for women to leave their ho