Do Now

Do Now• What are some ways the Americans

back home helped out during World War I?

World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

I. World War II EconomyObjective 10.03

A. Military• Selective Services Act - established America’s

first peacetime draft in 1940. • After Pearl Harbor, over 60,000 immediately

volunteered for the Army, so the draft wasn’t as needed.

• “GI” – nickname for American soldiers because their clothes said “Government Issued”

A. Military• Diverse groups of people join:• Nearly 1 million African-Americans

fight, led to full integration of the military in 1948.

• Around 275,000 women serve for the first time – Women’s Army Corp (WAC)• Served as military nurses or as

secretaries.• Native Americans – developed war

time code based on Navajo language and helped transmit messages.

B. War Supplies• War Production Board: same board used in

WWI was used again to transition factories from goods to war supplies.• Now produced military supplies like planes and

ammunition.• Workforce– women of all background were

the people left to work during the war, so they worked in the factories – around 2.5 million women worked.

• Rosie the Riveter – iconic image used to recruit women to work.

• Government spending during World War II is what finally got the U.S. out of the Great Depression.

C. Money• Government raised

income taxes to pay for the war – still takes money out of your paycheck today.

• War bonds: government bonds sold through advertisements, posters, and the endorsements of movie stars. Raised over $60 million this way.

D. Food• Rationing – in order to make

sure all the soldiers were fed, the government limited the amounts of food people could get.• Each household got coupons to

obtain processed/canned foods (using “Blue Points”) and staple foods such as meats, fats, and oils (using “Red Points”).

• Victory Gardens - people started growing their own food in gardens so more food could be shipped to the troops.

•

II. Japanese Internment Camps

Objective 10.03

A. Internment Camps• After Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt feared that

Japanese-Americans had helped the Japanese government and/or might do so during the war.

• Action: FDR issued an order that any Japanese-Americans on the West Coast had to go to an “internment camp” • Internment camp: government-owned camps in rural places.

• Japanese-Americans were forced to leave everything behind (homes, businesses) and go to these camps.

• What topic that we’ve studied does this sound similar to?

Internment Camps

B. Internment Camp Conditions

• Poor living conditions: cramped rooms, no partitions for toilets, very little privacy.

• Little freedom to leave: the camps were surrounded by barbed wire out in very rural areas where there weren’t any people.

Cramped Living Areas

Barbed Wire

C. Korematsu v. U.S.• Fred Korematsu – Japanese-

American, refused to go to internment camp.• Said the camps violated his

constitutional rights – the 5th and 14th Amendment.• Said he was denied the right to a

fair trial and wasn’t being treated equally – they were imprisoning him based on the color of his skin.

• Took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

C. Korematsu v. U.S.• Supreme Court ruling: the government did have the power

to send Japanese-Americans to internment camps.• Said it wasn’t racist and was needed in national crisis.

• Same lesson as before: national security is more important in wartime than individual rights.

III. American Life Post-WWIIObjective 10.03

A. GI Bill• GI Bill (1944)- provided military

veterans: • 1) money for going to college,

training, and • 2) loans for purchasing homes and

property.• Effect: More educated people, so

people made more money and the middle class boomed.

• Effect: More Americans moved to the suburbs – now had the money to buy houses.

B. Levittown• William Levitt mass-

produces homes in the suburbs – whole neighborhoods that looked alike.

• Veterans could now afford homes like these because of the GI Bill.

C. Baby Boomers• People waited to start

having families until after WWII.• Why?

• Between 1945 and 1961, 65 million Americans were born.

• Generation is known as the “Baby Boomers”.

Independent PracticePick two options:1)As a Japanese-American, write a letter to

your local newspaper explaining your position on Japanese-American internment camps and your experience there.

2)As a veteran who is now back home, write a letter to a family friend that explains how you have been affected by the GI Bill.

Exit Ticket1) Which of the following was NOT an effect of

the GI Bill?

a. An increase in the numbers of people who went to college.

b. The development of “Levittowns”.c. Economic boom.d. Implementation of a peace time draft.

Exit Ticket2)How would the Supreme Court ruling in Korematsu v. United States

in 1944 have affected a Japanese American businessman?

a.He would have been allowed to continue operating his business as usual on the grounds that any government interference would be a violation of his civil rights.

b.He would have had his business returned to him and been paid reparations for having been unjustly treated.

c. He would have been immediately arrested and charged with treason against the United States of America.

d.He would have been forced to remain in a government detention center and run the risk of losing his business and home.

Exit Ticket3) How and why did World War II impact

the economic, cultural and political life of the United States? Choose two ways the U.S. was impacted, and 1) say whether it was a economic, cultural or political impact, and 2) say why this impact happened.

Exit Ticket5) Explain two ways how the U.S. got the supplies it needed for World War II, and explain how this change affected the American economy.