Letters from the Homefront Your Task

WWII: US Homefront

Letters from the Homefront

Even if you weren’t fighting in World War II, you were still expected to contribute to the war effort at home. Some of these contributions included rationing what you ate/bought, growing your own produce, purchasing war bonds to help the government pay for the war, or even joining the workforce.

The nation mobilized itself entirely to fight a war on two fronts in a way that, today, we have never experienced. The culture, entertainment, and lives of Americans at home during WWII was completely centered around and dedicated to the success of the war. Winning the war abroad started with winning the war at home.

Your Task:

Imagine that you are writing from the US homefront to a loved one fighting in the war. They’ve been gone for some time, and you’ve heard in the news that things might be getting rough for the troops. You’ve decided a good way to lift their spirits would be to send them a letter updating them about what’s been happening at home!

This packet contains several primary and secondary sources from the US homefront during WWII. Using at least four of the sources, compose a letter to your loved one giving them an update of how things are on the homefront.

Letters should be at least one full page long single-spaced. If you do not finish in class, you will need to turn it in tomorrow in class.

Source A:

Source B: Victory Gardens As part of the war effort, the government rationed foods like sugar, butter, milk, cheese, eggs, coffee, meat and canned goods. Labor and transportation shortages made it hard to harvest and move fruits and vegetables to market. So, the government turned to its citizens and encouraged them to plant "Victory Gardens." They wanted individuals to provide their own fruits and vegetables.

Nearly 20 million Americans answered the call. They planted gardens in backyards, empty lots and even city rooftops. Neighbors pooled their resources, planted different kinds of foods and formed cooperatives, all in the name of patriotism.

Farm families, of course, had been planting gardens and preserving produce for generations. Now, their urban cousins got into the act. All in the name of patriotism.

Magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post and Life printed stories about victory gardens, and women's magazines gave instructions on how to grow and preserve garden produce. Families were encouraged to can their own vegetables to save commercial canned goods for the troops. In 1943, families bought 315,000 pressure cookers (used in the process of canning), compared to 66,000 in 1942. The government and businesses urged people to make gardening a family and community effort.

The result of victory gardening? The US Department of Agriculture estimates that more than 20 million victory gardens were planted. Fruit and vegetables harvested in these home and community plots was estimated to be 9- 10 million tons, an amount equal to all commercial production of fresh vegetables. So, the program made a difference.

Kelly Holthus remembers that it was hard to find fresh produce, and it was a way for individuals to do their part on the home front. "It was a great moral thing," he says.

"And for young people like me, it was, you know, I could do my part. I was a part of the effort!"

Source C: Rationing

Ask anyone who remembers life on the Home Front during WWII about their strongest memories and chances are they will tell you about rationing. You see, the war caused shortages of all sorts of things: rubber, metal, clothing, etc. But it was the shortages of various types of food that effected just about everyone on a daily basis.

Food was in short supply for a variety of reasons: much of the processed and canned foods was reserved for shipping overseas to our military and our Allies; transportation of fresh foods was limited due to gasoline and tire rationing and the priority of transporting soldiers and war supplies instead of food; imported foods, like coffee and sugar, was limited due to restrictions on importing.

Because of these shortages, the U.S. government’s Office of Price Administration established a system of rationing that would more fairly distribute foods that were in short supply. Every American was issued a series of ration books during the war. The ration books contained removable stamps good for certain rationed items, like sugar, meat, cooking oil, and canned goods. A person could not buy a rationed item without also giving the grocer the right ration stamp. Once a person’s ration stamps were used up for a month, she couldn’t buy any more of that type of food. This meant planning meals carefully, being creative with menus, and not wasting food. More than 8,000 ration boards across the country administered the program.

Source D: War Bonds

Issued by the U.S. Government, they were first called Defense Bonds. The name was changed to War Bonds after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Known as debt securities for the purpose of financing military operations during war time, the bonds yielded a mere 2.9 percent return after a 10-year maturity.

Living in the United States with a median income during World War II meant earning about $2,000 a year. Despite the war’s hardships, 134 million Americans were asked to purchase war bonds to help fund the war. Stamps also could be purchased, starting at 10 cents each, to save toward the bond. The first Series ‘E’ U.S. Savings Bond was sold to President Franklin D. Roosevelt by Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau. The bonds sold at 75 percent of their face value in denominations of $25 up to $10,000, with some limitations. The war bonds actually were a loan to the government to help finance the war effort.

The War Finance Committee was in charge of supervising the sale of all bonds, and the War Advertising Council promoted voluntary compliance with bond buying. The work of those two organizations produced the greatest volume of advertising in U.S. history. In the name of defense of American liberty and democracy, and as safe havens for investment, the public was continually urged to buy bonds.

An emotional appeal went out to citizens by means of advertising. Even though the bonds offered a rate of return below the market value, it represented a moral and financial stake in the war effort. The advertisements started with radio and newspapers, then later added magazines to reach the masses. The bond campaign was unique in that both the government, as well as private companies, created the advertisements.

Those who contributed advertising space felt they were doing even more for the war effort; then there were organizations that made up their own war bond advertisements to reflect their patriotism. The government recruited New York’s best advertising agencies, famous entertainers, and even used familiar comic strip characters to further their appeal to America. In their advertisements, the New York Stock Exchange urged purchasers not to cash in their bonds. More than a quarter of a billion dollars worth of advertising was donated during the first three years of the National Defense Savings Program. Massive advertising campaigns used any means of media possible, and the campaign was a huge success. Word spread quickly; polls indicated after only one month that 90 percent of those responding were aware of war bonds. Bonds became the ideal channel for those on the home front to contribute to the national defense.

Bond rallies were held throughout the country with famous celebrities, usually Hollywood film stars, to enhance the advertising's effectiveness. Free movie days were held in theaters nationwide with a bond purchase as the admission. Such popular Hollywood stars as Greer Garson, Bette Davis and

Rita Hayworth completed seven tours in more than 300 cities and towns to promote war bonds. The "Stars Over America" bond blitz, in which 337 stars took part, surpassed its quota and netted $838,540,000 worth of bonds.

One promotional cardboard had slots for 75 quarters, to equal $18.75. When it was full, one could turn it in to the post office for a $25 war bond that matured in 10 years. Local clubs, organizations, movie theaters and hotels also did their part with their own advertisements. Then there was the Civilian D-Day on June 6th, 1944, when thousands of ads flew from the sky over Chicago to capture the attention and hearts of potential contributors. Even the Girl Scouts became involved with each scout donating one stamp. Those stamps, starting at 10 cents each, were then traded into the national organization for the purchase of war bonds.

Norman Rockwell created a series of illustrations in 1941 that became a centerpiece of war bond advertising. The Saturday Evening Post reproduced and circulated them, much to the public's approval. While Rockwell was the most notable artist of war bonds, Irving Berlin was the most celebrated composer. Famous for his "God Bless America," he wrote a song entitled "Any Bonds Today?" and it became the theme song of the Treasury Department’s National Defense Savings Program. The famous Andrew Sisters were among the primary performers of this historic song.

One of the most successful single events was a 16-hour marathon radio broadcast on CBS, during which nearly $40 million worth of bonds were sold. The marathon featured singer Kate Smith, famous for her rendition of "God Bless America." Patriotism and the spirit of sacrifice could be expressed with war bond purchases. Millions jumped aboard the war bond effort. The sports world did its part as well, holding special football and baseball games with a war bond as the price of admission. An unusual baseball game took place in New York City with the New York Yankees, the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Each of the teams came to bat six times in the same nine-inning game. Their final score was the Dodgers 5, Yankees 1 and the Giants 0, and the U.S. Government was $56,500,000 richer in war bond sales. At the end of World War II, January 3, 1946, the last proceeds from the Victory War Bond campaign were deposited into the U.S. Treasury. More than 85 million Americans — half the population — purchased bonds totaling $185.7 billion. Those incredible results, due to the mass selling efforts of helping to finance the war, have never since been matched.

Source E: Women in the Workforce

From the outset of the war, it was clear that enormous quantities of airplanes, tanks, warships, rifles and other armaments would be essential to beating America’s aggressors. U.S. workers played a vital role in the production of such war-related materials. Many of these workers were women. Indeed, with tens of thousands of American men joining the armed forces and heading into training and into battle, women began securing jobs as welders, electricians and riveters in defense plants. Until that time, such positions had been strictly for men only.

A woman who toiled in the defense industry came to be known as a “Rosie the Riveter.” The term was popularized in a song of the same name that in 1942 became a hit for bandleader Kay Kyser (1905-85). Soon afterward, Walter Pidgeon (1897-1984), a Hollywood leading man, traveled to the Willow Run aircraft plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan, to make a promotional film encouraging the sale of war bonds. One of the women employed at the factory, Rose Will Monroe (1920-97), was a riveter involved in the construction of B-24 and B-29 bombers. Monroe, a real-life Rosie the Riveter, was recruited to appear in Pidgeon’s film.

During the war years, the decrease in the availability of men in the work force also led to an upsurge in the number of women holding non- war-related factory jobs. By the mid-1940s, the percentage of women in the American work force had expanded from 25 percent to 36 percent.

Source F: Movies Go to War

Throughout World War II, American moviegoers were treated to a steady stream of war-related programming. The movie-going experience included a newsreel, which lasted approximately 10 minutes and was loaded with images and accounts of recent battles, followed by an animated cartoon. While many of these cartoons were entertainingly escapist, some comically caricatured the enemy. Among these titles were “Japoteurs” (1942) featuring Superman, “Der Fuehrer’s Face” (1943) starring Donald Duck, “Confessions of a Nutsy Spy” (1943) with Bugs Bunny, “Daffy the Commando” (1943) with Daffy Duck and “Tokyo Jokie-o” (1943).

Documentaries such as the seven-part “Why We Fight” series, released between 1943 and 1945 and produced and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Frank Capra (1897-1991), included Axis propaganda footage and emphasized the necessity of America’s involvement in the war, as well as the importance of Allied victory.

As for the main program, movie theaters showed non-war-related dramas, comedies, mysteries and Westerns; however, a significant segment of feature films dealt directly with the war. Scores of features spotlighted the trials of men in combat while demonizing the Nazis and Japanese who perpetuated the conflict. “Wake Island” (1942), “Guadalcanal Diary” (1943), “Bataan” (1943) and “Back to Bataan” (1945) were a few of the titles that centered on specific battles. “Nazi Agent” (1942), “Saboteur” (1942) and “They Came to Blow Up America” (1943) portrayed America’s enemies as spies and terrorists. “So Proudly We Hail!” (1943) and “Cry ‘Havoc’” (1943) recorded the heroics of women nurses and volunteers at faraway battlefronts. “Tender Comrade” (1943), “The Human Comedy” (1943) and “Since You Went Away” (1944) focused, respectively, on the trials of average American women, communities and families while exploring the very real fear that a loved one who went off to war might never return. The struggles of citizens in occupied countries were portrayed in such films as “Hangmen Also Die!” (1943) and “The Seventh Cross” (1944).

Meanwhile, some of Hollywood’s top stars joined the military. Many appeared in government- produced training films and morale-boosting short subjects. Others participated directly in the fighting. Clark Gable (1901-60), the beloved, Academy Award-winning actor, served as a tail-gunner with the U.S. Army Air Corps and flew combat missions over Germany. James Stewart (1908-97), another equally adored Oscar winner, had enlisted in the corps even before Pearl Harbor. He eventually became a B-24 combat pilot and commander and also flew missions over Germany.