Women in WWII

Women responded to the urgent demand for their labor. Almost 5 million women entered the work force. They replaced the men who joined the armed services. Many women worked in offices. Millions more kept the nation’s factories operating around “I will never regret my two years or more in the clock. Some welded, ran huge cranes, and the shipyards. It gave me a good start in tended to blast furnaces. Others became bus life…I decided that if I could learn to weld drivers, police officers, and gas station attendants. like a man, I could do anything it took to The images of Rosie the Riveter, a fictional factory make a living.” worker, became a symbol of American women’s -Nova Lee McGhee Holbrook contribution to the war effort. Quoted in A Mouthful of Rivets (Wise)

In the days after December 7th, 1941, "Remember Pearl Harbor" became a battle cry for all of America as it entered World War II andDuring America WWII began women a war were in theexpected Pacific to Ocean be againstboth housewivesJapan and in who Europe did alland the Africa chores against and Germany.work. In Bythis the way summer their jobs of were1942, even men more disappeareddifficult as almostmany households completely did from not the have work place,modern having day been conveniences drafted or that enlisted make into the US cleaningmilitary. easier. With men Also being the government shipped overseas was by rationingthe thousand, (limitations women of werewhat peopleneeded could to step in tobuy) fill food—sofactory jobs, it was as evenwell asmore to beefdifficult up to hospitals,get the neededand even food lend to acook hand basic to the meals. military. During WWII, over 6 million women took wartime jobs in factories or filling in for men on farms, 3 million women volunteered with the Red Cross, and over 200,000 women served the military as nurses or other needed jobs. Although many women were unused to doing this tough work (and instead after WWI went back to being housewives), to some of the new female factory workers, however, the job boom was a godsend. The depression of the 1930's had left many families still not completely financially stable. Women moved into cities and crammed into tiny apartments with several roommates to make some extra money. For those families that were hit hardest during the depression, the chance for a wife to earn a paycheck while her husband was getting his overseas pay was almost a lucky break.

"Those of us who have seen and know the work they are doing throughout the military establishment of our country and in our foreign stations have only admiration and respect for the spirit, the dignity, and the courage they have shown." – President Franklin Roosevelt African Americans at War On July 19, 1941, the U.S. Air force began aTo program help win in Tuskegee,the war, AlabamaPresident to Roosevelttrain black created Americans the asFair militaryEmployment pilots. AtPractices the time, Committee the Army was(FEPC) segregated, by signing and Executive only whites Order were8802. allowed It said to "there fly. In shall the five be noyears thatdiscrimination followed, 992 in blackthe employment pilots of graduated,workers in receiving defense commissionsindustries or andgovernment pilot wings. because They came of race, from creed, all U.S.color, cities or nationaland wanted origin". to serve In 1943 their country.Roosevelt These greatly black strengthened World War II pilotsFEPC who with fought a new both executive fascism order, and racism#9346. became It required known that as allTuskegee Airmengovernment. contracts have a non- discrimination clause. FEPC was the most significant breakthrough ever for Blacks and women on the job front. FEPC rules applied and guaranteed equality of employment rights. The African American community in the United States resolved on a Double “V” Campaign: Victory over fascism abroad, and Victory over discriminationAs industry atgeared home. up Large for war, numbers factories migrated from poorreplaced Southern “No farms Help toWanted” munitions signs centers. with “Help Racial tensionsWanted, were White” high signs.in overcrowded Such discrimination cities like Chicago; Detroitangered and HarlemAfrican Americans.experienced race riots in 1943. In addition, over 900,000 black soldiers served very bravelyIn 1941, overseas A. Philip in WorldRandolph, War 2,head although of the many still foughtBrotherhood in segregated of Sleeping units (the Car mostPorters, famous called unit for was the aairforce protest unitmarch of theon Washington. Tuskegee Airmen The who never lostgovernment, a plane in their he said,battles “will over never Europe). give the In Negro 1948, 3 yearsjustice after until the theywar, seePresident masses—ten, Harry Truman twenty, fifty desegregatedthousand Negroes and fully on the integrated White House all armylawn.” units.

Government officials worried. After meeting with Rudolph, FDR ordered employers that did business with the government to end discrimination in hiring. As a result, the employmentMexican of skilled black Americans workers doubled A growing Mexican American population also during the war. faced problems. Because of the need for workers, the United States signed a treaty with Mexico in However, as black employment increased, so 1942. It allowed the recruitment of Mexican did racial tension. Thousands of Americans— laborers (workers) to work in the United States. black and white—moved to cities to work in Under this bracero (Spanish term, meaning industry. Competition for scarce housing led to manual labor) program, many Mexicans moved angry incidents. north to work on farms and railroads.

In June 1943, a group of sailors on leave attacked some young Mexican Americans, beating them on the streets. This was due to teens wearing zoot suits (a fashion fad at the time). The incident led to several days of rioting in Los Angeles. Newspapers blamed the violence on the Mexican Americans. Police even left the servicemen along and arrested the victims instead. In her newspaper column, Eleanor Roosevelt argued that riots were the result of “long standing discrimination against the Mexicans in the Southwest.” “This war…has shown those ‘across the tracks’ that we Still, like other groups, Mexican Americans all share the same problems. It has shown them what the Mexican American will do, what responsibility he will take, servedZoot suitbravely riots shownin the militaryabove and during to the World War II. Despite lingering problems at home, Americans and what leadership qualities he will demonstrate. After right. These were the reactions to this struggle, the status of the Mexican American will be were united in their resolve to push on to victory Mexican immigrants and the suits they different. in Europe and the Pacific. wore. -Manuel de la Raza A War Time Economy

During the war, the government rationed (limitations on the amounts of certain goods that people could buy) essential items such as sugar, gasoline, coffee, meat, and even ketchup. Citizens were given ration books to keep track of the “points” allotted to each family.

During WWII, there was a nationwide victory garden program to help combat food shortages. Victory gardens made an important contribution to the home-front effort by producing a significant amount of food (approximately 40 percent of the vegetables consumed in 1943) and by providing a way to contribute to the war effort for those who could not fight on the battlefield.

To help win the war, families, even children, went to the streets to collect scrap metal, paper, rubber—anything that could be recycled to help win the war.

Salvage (saving) in WWII SAVE… CAN BE MADE INTO… 30,000 razor blades 50 machine guns (.30 caliber) 30 lipstick tubes 20 ammunition cartridges 2,300 pairs of 1 parachute nylons 1 pound of fat 1/3 pound of gunpowder 2,5000 tons of tin 5,000 tanks and 190,000 tons of steel

The start of World War II ended the Great Depression as millions went to serve overseas and millions more were needed in all of the wartime industries at home. To help support the war, citizens were encouraged to buy war bonds. This meant that people gave the government money now, and then the government gave them double in a few years (example, if you buy a $50 war bond, you give the government $25 but then in 7 years, the government gives you $50). Companies would earn merit flags from the United States if all of their employees were part of the 10% club (they gave 10% of their paycheck to war bonds). Many household products and the materials that made them were needed to produce military goods. This meant that people had to ration (save and limit the amount they used) . People also did not use regular supplies like rubber, nylon plastic, aluminum, regular grade beef, and used car pools to save gas as all of these raw materials were sent to the army. When the war was over, people had saved up from both serving overseas and at home, and demanded all of the consumer products they could not have the four years of the war and the whole Great Depression. The American economy began to boom! In addition, there was a baby boom as people could now afford to have more children. However, for many of the millions of the returning veterans, life was difficult returning home and readjusting to civilian life and civilian jobs after many