Impact of WW2 on the US 1939-45 Flashcards
US joining WW2
On 7th December 1941 the Japanese launched an attack on the American fleet on Pearl Harbour
This resulted in the death of 2,400 Americans
Within 4 days the USA was at war with Germany and Japan
Raising money for war
US raised money for the war by raising taxes and selling bonds to the public
Those buying the bonds were guaranteed their money back plus a rate of interest
By the end of the war, Americans had bought bonds totalling $129 billion
Changes in the role of Government
Roosevelt set up the wartime production board under the industrialist William Knudson, to organise and provide for the needs of war and especially the needs of the armed forces
To help promote support for the war, the government set up schemes such as the Office for Civilian Defence which asked the American people to give “an hour a day for the USA”
By 1945, the government employed almost 4 million civilian workers, almost double the number f 1941
Big businesses and war effort
Roosevelt was determined to make use of leading US businessmen to provide for the needs of war
Roosevelt called in industrialists to ask for their advice on meeting the demands of wartime production and to decide which companies would produce particular goods e.g. General Motors produced heavy machine guns
The vast majority of contracts went to larger firms
Traditional industries such as coal, iron and steel greatly expanded due to government contracts
Wartime production
The USA was the arsenal of the Allied powers
Roosevelt believed that to win a war, you had to have more of everything than your opponents
In 1939, USA had 300 planes, in 1944 USA built 96,000 planes in one year alone
Between 1941 and 1945 American factories produced 250,000 aircraft, 90,000 tanks, 350 naval destroyers, 200 submarines and 5,600 merchant ships
By 1944, the USA was producing almost half the weapons in the world
Economic benefits
USA was the only country involved in WW2 that became stronger economically
More than half a million new businesses were set up
American farmers enjoyed much better times as US exported food to help Allies
General Workforce benefits
As a result of conscription about 16 million men and women served in the US armed forces. This left a lot of jobs open on the home front, putting an end to the serious problem of unemployment.
In 1939, unemployment stood at 9.5 million. By 1945 it had fallen by 670,000
14 million people worked in factories e.g. General Motors took on an extra 750,000 workers during the war
Almost 4 million workers migrated from the South as there was lots of work in the North
Women
Already 12 million working women in USA before the war and a further 7 million joined workforce during war
They took on jobs which they had previously been excluded from e.g. 1/3 of aircraft workers were women and ½ of workers in munitions and electronics were women
