A lot of women took on bigger roles in the workforce during World WarII. Taxes also increased by a good amount during the war. Finding a job
was no longer a struggle during WWII.
Many women took jobs infactories that their husbands had left behind. They also find some jobs
in banks and different types of sales. Federal government jobs, which
were held by men before, were now held by some women. Around one
million women worked for the government during the war. Some women were
even payed close to what the men were payed for their jobs. At many of
the factories, the equipment had to be adjusted to fit the skill level
that woman had for operating the equipment. Women also volunteered for
organizations such as the Red Cross. A lot of women and their families
moved to the coasts so they could live at military bases with their
husbands.
After some discussion, the congress agreed thatAmericans would have to pay higher taxes to support the war effort. In
1944, every employed American were paying income tax; whereas, in 1940,
only ten percent of the U.S. workforce were paying income tax. Pretty
much all of the what the factories made, were going to be used for the
military. At the end of the war, most of the soldiers came back and
took the jobs that women had once held. Obviously, most of the women
were not happy with this.
FEPC
The FEPC was a federal executive order requiring companies with government contracts not to discriminate on the basis of race or religion. Itassisted African Americans in obtaining jobs in industry. Underpressure from A. Philip Randolph'sgrowing March on Washington Movement, on June 25, 1941, PresidentRoosevelt created the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) bysigning Executive Order8802. It said "there shall be no discrimination in the employment ofworkers in defense industries or government because of race, creed,color, or national origin". In 1943 Roosevelt greatly strengthened FEPCwith a new executive order, #9346. It required that all governmentcontracts have a non-discrimination clause. FEPC was the mostsignificant breakthrough ever for Blacks and women on the job front.During the war the federal government operated airfield, shipyards,supply centers, ammunition plants and other facilities that employedmillions. FEPC rules applied and guaranteed equality of employmentrights. Of course, these facilities shut down when the war ended. Inthe private sector the FEPC was generally successful in enforcingnon-discrimination in the North, it did not attempt to challengesegregation in the South, and in the border region its intervention ledto hate strikes by angry white workers.[9]
African American: Double V campaign
The African American community in the United States resolved on a Double V Campaign: Victory over fascism abroad, and victory over discrimination at home. Large numbers migrated from poor Southern farms to munitions centers. Racial tensions werehigh in overcrowded cities like Chicago; Detroit and Harlem experienced race riots in 1943.The derogative name jig was coined during this time.[10] The Pittsburgh Courier created the Double V Campaign after readers began commenting on their second class status during wartime.
Internment of Japanese Americans
In 1942 the War Department demanded that all enemy nationals be removed from war zones on the West Coast. The question became how to evacuate the estimated 120,000 people of Japanese citizenship living inCalifornia. Roosevelt looked at the secret evidence available to him:[11]the Japanese in the Philippines had collaborated with the Japaneseinvasion troops; most of the adult Japanese in California had beenstrong supporters of Japan in the war against China. There was evidenceof espionage compiled by code-breakers that decrypted messages to Japan from agents in North America and Hawaii before and after the attack on Pearl Harbor. These MAGICcables were kept secret from all but those with the highest clearance,such as Roosevelt. On February 19, 1942, Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066which set up designated military areas "from which any or all personsmay be excluded." The most controversial part of the order includedAmerican born children and youth who had dual U.S. and Japanesecitizenship.
In addition to the Japanese, thousands of civilian Germans and Italians were interned; some with their families, some taken from their families. They were given hearing, but had no representation of theirown. These internees were picked up by the FBI based on recordscompiled prior to and at the beginning of the War.
In February 1943, when activating the 442nd Regimental Combat Team—a unit composed mostly of American-born American citizens of Japanese descent living in Hawaii—Roosevelt said, "No loyal citizen of theUnited States should be denied the democratic right to exercise theresponsibilities of his citizenship, regardless of his ancestry. Theprinciple on which this country was founded and by which it has alwaysbeen governed is that Americanism is a matter of the mind and heart;Americanism is not, and never was, a matter of race or ancestry." In1944, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the legality of the executive order in the Korematsu v. United Statescase. The executive order remained in force until December whenRoosevelt released the Japanese internees, except for those whoannounced their intention to return to Japan.
Italy was an official enemy, and citizens of Italy were also forced away from "strategic" coastal areas in California. Altogether, 58,000 Italians were forced to relocate. They relocated on their own and were not put in camps. Known spokesmen for Mussoliniwere arrested and held in prison. The restrictions were dropped inOctober 1942, and Italy switched sides in 1943 and became an Americanally. In the east, however, the large Italian populations of thenortheast, especially in munitions-producing centers such as Bridgeport and New Haven faced no restrictions and contributed just as much to the war effort as other Americans.
Some labor unions were established during the war.
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