World War II and Japanese Internment

The Impact of Federal Spending on California:

During the war, federal spending got the United States out of the Great Depression. California (with its location on the Pacific Coast) greatly benefitted from the enormous amount of spending. During the war (1941-1945), the federal government spent $360 billion, California got 10% (over $35 billion). In one year, the state received 8.5 billion dollars. In comparison, the federal government spent $3 billion in 1930, but California received $191 million. This injection of revenue fueled the state’s economy, which was felt in all parts of it. Before 1939, California was still in recovery, and the population continued to increase, so an overabundance of labor countered any income increase. Personal Income barely exceeds the 1930 level of $5 billion (which meant per capita income decreased); however, by 1945, personal income reached $15 billion, even though the population still increased by 30%.

Increase in Military Installations

One of the areas impacted by federal dollars was military installations. The few pre-war military installations in the state were greatly expanded during the war, and new ones were created: Pendleton (Marines), Beale AFB, Roberts, McClellan AFB (Sacramento), Travis AFB (Fairfield), Oakland Army Base, and Naval Shipyard. These new bases also brought more Americans with higher salaries to local economies. Also, grants and subsidies helped personal and public investment in those regions. Almost overnight, the state’s manufacturing increased in ship and aircraft production.

Wartime Shipyards

Before 1942, Henry J. Kaiser was best known for supplying concrete for the Hoover Dam and other similar projects. He also constructed the Bay Bridge in the 1930s. By 1942, Kaiser’s ingenuity would impact shipbuilding. He opened new shipyards in Oakland, Vallejo, San Pedro, and Sausalito to supply the war against Japan. Like what Henry Ford did for antimanufacturing (with the Model T), Kaiser standardized production in shipbuilding with his Liberty Ships. Every ship was the same, which cut the amount of time for production from 51 to 14 weeks. His shipyards worked 24 hours, with three shifts for employees. By 1943, a new freighter came off the line every 10 hours (it is easy to say his company helped win the war in the Pacific).

At its peak, civilian employment was 300,000, which created a labor shortage (meaning unemployment was zero, and companies were still looking for people). To entice new people, he advertised throughout the county, especially the South, where he offered higher wages and better healthcare to the African American men in the cotton fields where they earned $1.25 a day (Kaiser offered $10 a day). Due to the higher wages, African Americans moved to the Bay Area during the war. The non-white population sored (Richmond and Vallejo experienced an increase of 2% to 14% of the cities’ people). The new people stretched the resources (schools and infrastructure) because the cities were not prepared to increase the population. Therefore, the temporary housing stayed and became slums long after the war.

The Rise of the Aircraft Industry

Besides shipbuilding, the aviation industry experienced a significant boost in spending. Before the war, the aircraft industry was minor and relied on federal, not private, investments. There were early pioneers in California during this period. First, Glenn Martin established one of the earliest plants in 1909 because of the weather and open land. Another company, Lockheed (today called Lockheed Martin), was opened in 1916 by Allen and Malcolm Lougheed in Santa Barbara but then moved to Burbank, where they changed their name Lockheed. Moreover, Donald Douglas, a young engineer, found investors like Harry Chandler and other businesspeople (banks would not give him a loan) in the 1920s to build a factory in Santa Monica (designed several planes for the Army). Finally, T. Claude Ryan, a former Army flyer, established the first daily scheduled passenger line from San Diego to LA. His company designed the Spirit of St. Louis (Charles Lindbergh’s plane across the Atlantic in 1927).

The Impact of the War

By 1939, the country was underprepared, and the factories could produce a little less than 6000 planes a year. At the start of the war, FDR soon demanded 50,000 planes a year. At the time, this was an outrageous demand, but production by 1944 was twice that number. California experienced a sharp increase in this change. For example, the state aviation manufacturing workforce increased from 1,000 in 1933 to 280,000 by 1943. Many of those employees were women, which made up 40% of the Southern California workforce (this form of employment made them more confident and independent since it was denied to them before the war).

Moreover, this industry also accounted for nearly 60% of the federal money that came to the state. The government guaranteed all costs with a small profit to the companies (so these companies did not walk away with a lot of money). Four of the country’s largest airplane factories were located near Los Angeles, with two others in San Diego. Southern California’s weather was perfect for test flights and working conditions, but the location was dangerous since the country was fighting Japan in the Pacific. These factories were camouflaged to protect against a surprise air attack.

World War II impacted various groups living within the United States. Women, African Americans, Koreans, Native Americans, and Japanese Americans all had different experiences.

Rosie the Riveter

War mobilization sparked an unprecedented growth in women’s employment to fill industrial jobs left by men. Government and private ads celebrated the independent women worker with images like Rosie the Riveter, the female industrial labor painted by Norman Rockwell as a muscle-bound and self-reliant woman. With men away at war, thousands of women were hired as electricians, steamfitters, and welders. The Richmond shipyard workforce consisted of 25% women. Women filled industrial, professional, and government jobs previously barred to them. They forced some unions like the United Auto Workers to confront equal pay for equal work, maternity leave, and childcare. Many women who had a “taste of freedom” working men’s jobs for male wages hoped to remain in the workforce after the war.

Yet, the government, employers, and unions saw women’s work as only a temporary wartime necessity. Though ads told women working in factories that they were “fighting for freedom,” their language promoted victory, not women’s rights or independence. After the war, most women war workers, especially those in high-paying industrial positions, lost their jobs to men. However, 4 million lost their jobs between 1944-46. Indeed, war ads informed Americans that their work would help secure the “American way of life” after the war—traditional families, with the women at home and men at work, enjoying household appliances and consumer goods.

African Americans

Since African Americans were excluded from unions, the United Negro Labor Committee was created to demand better insurance and voting privileges. The war impacted the attitudes of many Americans towards civil rights. In 1942, the Pittsburgh Courier, a black newspaper, called for the “Double V” Campaign, a victory over enemies abroad (Japan and Germany) and racism. As you may recall, there was a large migration of African Americans to the state during the war. Many believed they would escape the Jim Crow South to California, but they realized that the challenges and racial stereotypes remained while the location changed. Tarea Hall Pittman helped newly arrived blacks to understand the challenges they would soon face.  One African American woman, Frances Albrier, completed twice the required number in training for being a welder and was denied employment at the Kaiser plant in Richmond.

At the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Vallejo, an incident occurred with the all-black unit. On July 17, 1944, the worst disaster during the war occurred when two ammunition ships and a train exploded, killing 320 people (2/3 were African American sailors). Handling munitions is one of the most dangerous jobs because of the chance of a deadly mistake. Due to this danger, many white men in the Navy refused to work it, so the Navy gave African Americans the assignment. After the blast, 50 surviving members refused to return to work, citing unsafe working conditions and improper training. They were convicted of mutiny and went to a military prison. The efforts to overturn the convictions went nowhere. These men did not mind unloading ammunition but wondered why they were the only ones doing this dangerous work. Later, the Navy did admit that racial prejudice did exist.

During the war, African American experiences helped establish the formation of the modern civil rights movements that the country experienced in the 1950s and 60s. The U.S. government criticized Hitler’s racial theories, which led to the United States' reexamining itself.

Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos during the War

The “Tiger Brigade” was a segregated unit in the California National Guard. Simultaneously, the Filipinos (the Philippines were still part of the United States) served in two regiments in the Pacific. Also, Japanese Americans served in the 442nd Regimental Team in the European theater (they were not trusted to fight against Japan), where they suffered heavy losses in Italy's invasion (later, these men received awards). The U.S. Marines recruited a Native American unit, which became known as the Code Talkers (there is a movie with the same name that was good). They used the Navajo language for codes in the Pacific because the Japanese did not know their language. Hundreds of Navajos served alongside their fellow soldiers to relay messages on the battlefield.

Moreover, to demonstrate their loyalty, Latinos enlisted in record numbers. The large Latino population in the United States experienced historical hatred and segregation, so they saw the war as a chance to prove to the country they were “All In.” In comparison to other units, the number of casualties in these units was higher. Representing 10 percent of the population in LA, Latinos made up 20% of all deaths.

Deep Distrust and Origins

The War in the Pacific was more racial than the European theater, and it revived old stereotypes like Asians being ruthless, sly, and sinister. Also, Americans believed they held permanent loyalty to Japan (even those born in the United States). On February 19, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that declared that all Japanese descent persons were to be imprisoned, without trial, and behind barb wire walls with men guarding them. Before this was signed, many Californians pushed for it. For example, the Sacramento Bee owner, McClatchy, formed the California Joint Immigration League in 1921. Its members are made up of prominent state and labor leaders, such as Ulysses S. Webb (author of the state’s alien law) and Earl Warren (state attorney general). Earl Warren helped convince FDR of the order because he started to believe the false rumors after Pearl Harbor, but he was not the only one.

Pearl Harbor created an atmosphere of fear that consisted of false rumors of treasonous Japanese American attacks in Hawaii that persisted after the Pearl Harbor attack. Stories were spread throughout the state, making Californians fear anyone of Japanese descent. For example, stories of a vegetable truck blocking a road, or one truck rushing into an airfield and knocking the tails off one plane, or even a huge arrow cut in the sugar cane to tell the bombers where to go.

The United States was uncertain what it would do in the following weeks after the attack. For example, General John DeWitt (Head of Western Command) opposed action against Japanese Americans, even though the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce asked him to intern all Japanese in LA. It did not matter if they were citizens; however, something changed his mind. An investigation by Justice Owen Roberts created the Roberts Report, which laid blame on two individuals who failed their duties, but it also stated a spy network on Oahu had been a part of it. Federal officials used this as evidence of Japanese American disloyalty, even though there was no evidence to support espionage or sabotage claims, which was not known until after the war. With Robert’s Report in hand, DeWitt reported to the War Department and repeated some of the most influential Californians (mayor of LA, Warren, and others) calls for internment because they felt they lived amid enemies. DeWitt now sent a report recommending “people of all Japanese descent” to be considered enemies, around 112,000 (2/3 were American born). Attorney General Biddle tried to draft an argument about how this was unconstitutional, but the EO was signed before he finished.

In response to the Pacific Coast pressure, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942. The EO 9066 authorized the secretary of war “whenever he or any designated Commander deems such action necessary or desirable, to prescribe military areas… from which any or all persons may be excluded.” The first question, where would they go? On March 2, all Japanese were to be voluntarily removed from the western halves of the Pacific States and the southern half of Arizona, and by the end of the month, it was no longer voluntary. Before the camps were constructed, they were sent to improvised stations (horse tracks, stables, fairgrounds. Eventually, ten internment camps were erected. At the time, they were called relocation centers and not concentration camps because of the negative connotation. Their internment destroyed the family dynamic because kids were running around being independent.

The justification was that it was a military necessity to remove them from the Pacific Coast for fear of an invasion (remember, Americans believed all 112,000 were loyal to Japan and would aid them in an invasion). The truth, the Japanese never contemplated an invasion because it is a nearly impossible event (even D-Day was a high-risk venture that worked, but Ally officials were concerned it would fail). American military officials, even DeWitt, knew it could not happen because, after the Battles of Coral Sea (May 4-8 1942) and Midway (June 4-6), the Japanese lost some of their essential aircraft carriers, thus rendering an air attack nonexistent. Moreover, the historical racism against Asians helped fueled removal support. For example, only those German Americans and Italian Americans declared dangerous were taken to camps, but the whole population was not affected (even during World War I). Also, Japanese Americans living in Hawaii were able to stay. Thousands lived near military installations, but no reported attack took place. These people worked on these bases and made up the bulk of the labor (no sabotage occurred).

In 1944, the Supreme Court heard the Korematsu Case about the legality of the order. The defendant, Fred Korematsu, refused to leave his Bay Area home and defended his action stating it violated his civil liberties because the EO was based on race. The majority of the court ruled that this was not based on race since it applied only to the Japanese and not all Asians. Therefore, the court ruled that internment was constitutional. In 1988, the United States Congress and President Ronald Reagan authorized an official apology to all 60,000 surviving Japanese Americans affected by internment.