FDR knew long before the attack on Pearl Harbor that the U.S. was headed for war. He outlined his feelings to the American people during a fireside chat in December 1940. During that address, he focused on the necessity of supporting Britain's war efforts or we would be defending ourselves against the Axis powers here at home. As we learned last time, the U.S. declared war on Japan the day of the the attack on Pearl Harbor. This meant that the U.S. needed to mobilize its military. Here are some important points to consider while you work through this lesson:
- Who were the Axis powers?
- Who were the Allied powers?
- What implications would the war have on the economy?
- How would the war reshape the social structure of the United States?
- In what ways did women contribute to society and the war?
- How did the government pay for the war?
- How was propoganda used to sway the actions and attitudes of Americans?
Even though the United States had committed to war, they did not have enough man power to go on a heavy offensive. In order to increase the number of people in the Army, FDR outlined the Selective Service Act. Click the following link to listed to FDR's radio address regarding the Selective Service Act.
http://media.nara.gov/mopix/audio/ww2/200-201A.mp3
The Selective Training and Service Act required all males aged 21 to 36 to register for military service. A draft was then conducted from the pool of registered males, and a selected number were required to serve for one year.
Civil Rights did not become a hot button issue until after the conclusion of WWII. The country was divided on many levels, mainly race and gender. With sepearate facilities and often times, exclusion, African Americans faced harsh segregation in the United States. World War II became an inclusive arena where all races and genders relied upon each other. For the first time in American society, everyone served a vitale role in winning the war both at home, and overseas.
For the first time in mass numbers, women came out of the common role as a housewife and mother to serve a vital role on the assembly lines. Women served a variety of roles. Below is a video produced by the U.S. government in 1943, outlining those roles women served.
Propoganda posters became a common piece of Americana during WWII. The government used posters to promote their ideals about current issues. Many were suggestive, while others were informative. One of the most common purposes were to inform American citizens to remain quiet about American interests in WWII. The government felt there were many spies in the U.S., if everyone kept quiet about critical items such as military strategy, we would not be helping our enemies.
The Allied Powers were led by FDR and the United States as well as Winston Churchill and Great Britain. The Axis Powers were led by Hitler in Germany, Mussolini in Italy, Tojo of Japan, and Stalin of the USSR. These leaders would lead their countries through the second World War.
With the U.S. still recovring from the Great Depression, and much of the countries finances tied up in the New Deal programs, FDR had to make a serious financial commitment. In order to win the war, FDR pledged to use any means necessary to finance the war. In response federal spending went from 8.9 billion in 1939 to nearly 95.2 billion by 1945. That kind of increase was driven by many factors. An increase in the Gross National Product allowed for an increase in income. That increase allowed the United States to spend more . In addition, higher taxes paid for nearly half of the war effort. For much of the war, the U.S. was spending on deficit. The national debt rose from 43 billion in 1940 to nearly 259 billion in 1945. While the unemployment rate remained low, a large deficit made for an unstable economy. Inflation rose rapidly throughout the war and FDR established the Office of Price Administration (OPA) to counter act the unstable prices. The U.S. learned how inflation can cripple an economy, and the OPA set out to control inflation. The OPA was also in charge of rationing American goods. Today we have the luxury of going to a store and picking up large quantities of any goods we want. During WWII, the OPA had to ration the products on our shevles because products also had to be available to the troops serving overseas.
The following audio clip is a sound recording of Harriet Elliot, Associate Administrator, Consumer Division, Office of Price Administration (OPA), as she explained how to conserve products needed for the war effort