National War Labor Board- the workers, the owners of the companies, and the government came together to ensure that workers did not go on strike.
-The US Homefront
Women's role
worked in the factories for the men who were fighting in the war; factories were a key factor in why the allies won the war
Rosie the Riveter = represented women saying we can help in this war and won't get building muscles
Nursing was a common job for woman also
Others = waitresses, taxi drivers, farm workers, typist, secretary job, nursing, factory workers, laundrist etc.
They tried to recruit women by telling them 'the more you work, the faster your loved ones can return home to you.'
Women's army core = women just help out with everyday jobs that the men could not do while they were overseas.
WAVES (Women's Navy) = they wouldn't fight on the seas but they would do everything that was non-combat like
WASP (women's army service pilots) = they would test plans and work on them
WAC (Women's army core) = any type of work that didn't involve combat
Factories-War Production Board
Tried to encourage mass production of goods; this United States production of goods for the allies was probably the #1 reason why we won WW2
Make as much stuff as you could; don't waste time while you're working
National War Labor Board = all about workers and owners working together and put aside their differences and work together so that no strikes would break out. "Because together we win"
War bonds
An investment where you would lend money to the government; you would eventually make interest on this and earn money back
The more money you had, the more war bonds you invested in
This paid for the war; People Purchased war bonds in order to help the government fund the war financially.
Japanese relocation camps
Made because the government were fearful of Japanese spies and we couldn't trust them
It was like a concentration camp for the Japanese but there were very few deaths/killings from sickness and some violent acts (not many) and it was nothing close to the Jews concentration camps; they were able to play sports, go to school, get jobs and get paid.
The Japanese-Americans we caught were actually innocent. The only Japan spies we caught were Caucasian
These camps were mostly in the west; many in California
On October 1, 1993, President Bill Clinton officially wrote an apology for forcing the Japanese-Americans into camps; this letter also made an Act to make mends with them and make things right; they were given money
Propaganda
Persuading people to do something
Examples= Getting people to buy war bonds, Enlisting yourself in the military during WW2, Made U.S. look great and Germany look bad, 'Do your part' to work (women etc)
Urgency was a key thing with propaganda; do it TODAY
Posters, songs, movies, phrases etc
War rationing-Office of Price Administration
Set up to prevent the rich from hording all the food
In the spring of 1942, food rationing was set into motion
Involved food stamps: Red/Blue stamps
Made it so each family during the war could only have so much food/oil/gas/silk/nylon per week; it made sure everybody got something
Each family was allowed 5 gallons of gas per week; this amount ranged depending on your occupation (doctors, truck drivers, war workers got more than a normal civilian)
Each family was issued a war rationed book which kept track of their food intake and guaranteed them food every week.
There were illegal activities going on though; selling gasoline for money, copying stamps, giving stamps to friends/family etc.
Horse meat was not rationed
Hollywood in WWII
Hollywood had a very big influence on the public during WW2. They used films as a form of propaganda to portray the enemy as being incompetent and stupid. They portrayed the US look smart and victorious. Bob Hope and the USO tour: A tour of comedians, musicians, actors ect. who go overseas to entertain the troops to keep morale high.
The story of "Kilroy was here"
Was started on a ship by a man who was simply trying to make his mark and ensure that he got paid for his hours. The symbol became very popular on the sides of US ships ect.
US Fighting:
-US in Africa
War took place in North Africa from June, 1940 to May, 1943. Germany, Vichy France, and Italy vs. Great Britain and Free French. US got involved later in May of 1942.
Took place in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts, also in Morocco, Algeria and ended in Tunisia.
They were fighting for resources and control of African colonies as well as the Mediterranean.
They landscape there was very flat. The desert climate made it very difficult to get water to troops. Tanks played a very large part in the fight in Africa.
Operation Torch- Code name for the huge invasion of northern Africa by US forces. Occurred in 1942.
Erwin Rommel- The greatest general that Germany had during the war in Africa. He was called the "Desert Fox". Was later killed by the Nazi's in consequence of his involvement in a plan to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
General George Patton- Led the US in Africa.
-US in Italy
-D-Day
-US bombing of Germany
-VE Day and the story of Germany surrendering: May 8th 1945. Victory in Germany, ended the war in Europe. Hitler had committed suicide so the surrender was given by his successor. This was a very celebrated event.Occurred on Harry Truman's 60th birthday
-Battle of Coral Sea: May of 1942. General Nimitz lead the US through this battle.
-Battle of Midway: Most important naval battle in the pacific. Took place in June of 1942, Magic alerted us that this attack was going to occur which gave us time to prepare.
-Battle of Iwo Jima: February and March of 1945. One of the bloodiest battles of the war, Very high casualties. Japan lost almost 21,000 (90%) men because they were trained to fight to the death. It was a US victory, but we lost 6,821 men. It was an amphibious attack.
-Battle of the Philippines: The Philippines were an American controlled island. The US was ordered to flee to Australia because the Japanese force on the island was to great for them to handle. General McArther made a famous speech in Australia in which he vowed to return.
-Battle of Okinawa: Lasted for 82 days. Started in April and ended in mid June of 194?. Very high Japanese casualties. The US victory was important because it was so close to Japan which would make bombing them very easily.
-Hiroshima bombing- Used a plane known as a U 235. Paul Tibbits flew the plane that dropped the bomb. The bomb was known as "little boy". August of 1945. About 80,000 people died instantaneously. Later on another 150,000 people died from burns and radiation poisoning/cancer.
-Nagasaki bombing- The bomb was nicknamed "fat man". Was a Plutonium based bomb. Was an imploding bomb. This bomb was much more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb, but caused less damage because of the mountainous landscape of Nagasaki. They missed their target because they were going to run out of gas. They ran out of fuel just upon their landing.
-VJ Day and the story of Japan surrendering- Known as Victory over Japan day, the day that Japan officially surrendered. Occurred shortly after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. August 14th/15th of 1945. Marked the end of WW2.
-Yalta Conference- February 1945. Was an 8 day conference where Churchill, Stalin, and Franklin Roosevelt tried to devise a plan to get Hitler and Germany to surrender. They decided to split Germany into 4 occupation zones.(US, GB, France, USSR). Stalin promised to hold free elections in Eastern Europe while at the conference(which did not happen). He also promised to join the war against Japan after the war with Germany was over(followed through with this promise, but did not join in the war against Japan until the day after the first atomic bomb was dropped). One other thing that was decided at the Yalta conference was to hold a conference in San Francisco to set up the United Nations.
-Potsdam Conference- Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin, and the new leader of Great Britain. They all decided that it was necessary to punish Germany, to prevent a war of this magnitude from happening again. Split Germany to four different zones. Demilitarization, denazification, democratization. Prosecution of Nazi war criminals.
The Manhattan Project- Oppenhieimer(chosen by groves to be his assistant) and Groves(main man in charge) were put in charge of the Manhattan Project. Alamogordo, New Mexico: location where the first bomb was set off. It was explained to the press as an explosion of waste materials. The "Trinity" Test was the second bomb that was set off as a test. It turned the sand to dust and they could not visit the site for days due to radiation.
Comments