Impact of WW2 (1941-45) Flashcards
1
Q
2
Give two federal acts introduced in WW2
A
- 1940 Smith Act - made it illegal to overthrow the government
- 1940 Selective Service Act - introduced conscription
2
Q
5
Describe some of the government organisations set up during WW2
A
- Office of War Mobilisation created to control supply of goods and prices
- National War Labor Board to set wages
- War Management Commission set up in 1942 to employ workers where they were most needed
- Office of Scientific Research and Development to use scientists for the war effort
- Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply
3
Q
4
Describe the Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply
A
- Set up August 1941
- To control inflation by setting price ceilings
- April 1942, issued a General Maximum Price regulation to freeze prices on all items (terminated 1943 as planned)
- Eventually 90% of food items were subject to price controls
4
Q
4
Describe employment during WW2
A
- 1940 to 1944, unemployment fell from 14.6% to 1.2%
- 1944, 6.5 million women entered the labour force
- By the end of the war, 60% of women were employed
- 1 million AA found jobs in defence plants
5
Q
2
Describe production during WW2
A
- War Production Board (WPB) set up to supervise allocation of strategic resources such as petrol, rubber and steel
- 1941 to 1945, the US produced 86k tanks, 296k aircraft and 15m rifles
6
Q
4
Describe prosperity and equality during WW2
A
- Prices rose by 28% but wages rose by an average of 40%
- Farm income grew by 250%
- 1939 to 1945, GNP rose from $91bn to $167bn
- The highest earners payed 94% tax
7
Q
2
Describe federal spending during WW2
A
- 1941 to 1945, the national debt rose from $41bn to $260bn
- The federal govt spent twice as much 1941 to 1945 as it had in the previous 150 years
8
Q
4
Describe the poor treatment of Japanese-Americans
A
- Chief of the Army West Coast Command, Dewitt, set up 10 ‘relocation centres’
- 100k were forcibly sent there
- The community lost $400m due to looting in their absence
- Rioting in the camp at Manzanar left 2 inmates dead in 1942
9
Q
2
Describe the end of internment of Japanese-Americans
A
- Were allowed to return home in 1944 as fear of attack subsided
- Dec 1944, Supreme Court forbade the internment of loyal Japanese Americans
10
Q
5
Describe female employment during WW2
A
- Female employment peaked at 19 million in 1944
- Eleanor Roosevelt spoke strongly in favour of female war workers
- **1/3 aircraft workers and 50% electronics and munitions workers were women **
- 1942 poll showed 60% of Americans in favour of women helping in war industries
- Some states made equal pay compulsory and others tried to reduce workplace discrimination
11
Q
2
Describe employment discrimination against african american women in WW2
A
- Usually the last to be hired
- ‘Hate strikes’, like those in Packard car factory in Detroit, to protest their employment
12
Q
4
Describe female employment post-WW2
A
- Most returned to trad roles
- Generally excluded from highest, well-paid jobs
- on average, 50-60% of wage that men earned in same role
- A women could still be dismissed from her job when she married
13
Q
3
Describe African American employment in 1940
A
- Census showed 5 million of 13 million AA were employed (40%)
- Black men and women earned less than half their white counterparts
- A survey by the US employment office indicated more than half of the defence industries would not employ AA
14
Q
2
Describe the size of the AA army in WW2
A
- Less than 10k black soldiers in 1940
- over 1.2m in 1945
15
Q
4
Describe the Double V campaign
A
- Created by the Pittsburgh Courier
- Victory at home (civil rights) and abroad (facism)
- Highlighted second-class status of AAs during wartime
- Black newspapers across USA supported campaign
16
Q
4
Describe AA in the air force
A
- Initially not allowed to enlist
- 1940, FDR ordered the air force to recruit an all AA flying unit - the Tuskegee Airmen
- Won acclaim for acting as fighter escorts for US bombers
- By end of war, 600 AA pilots had been trained
17
Q
3
Describe the AA March on Washington Movement
A
- Led by A. Philip Randolph
- Planned march of 100k protesters - would threaten US image as upholder of liberty at wartime
- Protested segregation in armed forces and employment discrimination in defence industry
18
Q
3
How did FDR prevent the ‘March on Washington’ 1941
A
- Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 to set up the Fair Employment Practices Commission
- in return, Randolph called off the march
- Yet encouraged smaller acts of civil disobedience
19
Q
5
Describe the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC)
A
- created June 1941 by Executive Order 8802
- To investigate complaints and take action against employment discrimination
- 1943, Roosevelt issues Executive Order 9346 - gave Commission greater powers and increased budget to $0.5m
- Investigated 8k cases
- success rate of 55-66% across different regions
20
Q
4
Describe discrimination in the army in WW2
A
- ‘Jim Crow army’
- Inferior training, resources and treatment
- Menial jobs
- By spring 1943, only 79k of 504k black soldiers were overseas
21
Q
6
Describe the Port Chicago Mutiny
A
- July 1944 at Port Chicago, California
- Ammunition being loaded on to two vessels detonated
- Killed 323, mostly AA
- Hundreds of AA soldiers went on strike over dangerous conditions
- 50 were arrested and imprisoned
- Navy was desegregated 1946
22
Q
How many AAs were literate by 1945
A
1 in 4
23
Q
4
Describe the Native Americans in WW2
A
- 25k served in the armed forces
- 40k worked in war production
- 1941, Indian Commissioner Collier suggested that reservation life was not suitable for returning service men and that living standards were too poor
- Began a return to assimilation
24
Q
3
Describe the economic domination of the USA by 1945
A
- Bretton Woods system established 1944
- Set up institutions such as IMF
- International currency regime that was pegged to US dollar
25
Q
3
Describe the economic negatives of WW2 involvement
A
- Production of cars for ordinary motorists stopped entirely
- Debt rose
- Taxes levied up to 94% (though gave sense of greater equality)
26
Q
When was the Chinese Exclusion Act repealed?
A
1943
