Topic 3 - Impact of World War II

Question 1

Military Service

Answer 1

1941 → 4000 black Americans in military; only 12 officers
1941 Selective Training Act → banned discrimination
Impact → 1.2m black Americans serving by 1945

Question 2

Employment

Answer 2

300,000+ black Americans in war-related industries
Over 5 million black Americans migrated to urban areas due to employment opportunities

Question 3

Race Riots 1943

Answer 3

Detroit → 34 people dead, 25 of them black
Harlem → 6 killed and almost 1,500 stores broken into and looted → cost of damage between $250,000 and $500,000

Question 4

Government action vs discrimination

Answer 4

Fair Employment Practices Commission set up in 1941 → outlawed discrimination in the defence industry

Question 5

Hollywood

Answer 5

Produced propaganda films and escapism from war
Hollywood Canteen → Set up by Bette Davis to provide free meals and entertainment for lonely servicemen

Question 6

War films

Answer 6

1942 Office of War Entertainment → helped film and record wartime activities. War movies such as ‘Why we fight’ and ‘Return to the Aleutians’ supported morale

Question 7

Disney

Answer 7

Became very popular in the 1930s
Taken over by the military → 90% of workforce produced war-related films to improve morale

Question 8

Escapism

Answer 8

Musicals → became very popular, featured glamorous singers and dancers like Betty Gable; and comedians like Abbot and Costello. Boosted morale and depicted the Nazis as evil

Question 9

Unemployment

Answer 9

US reached full employment by 1942 → 1.2% by 1944
Labour shortages → more women joined the workforce
Black Americans in federal govt. → 50,000 to 200,000

Question 10

Women and the war effort

Answer 10

Struggled with juggling childcare and long working hours
Shortage of housing in urban areas → overcrowding
Women’s Land Army set up to deal with food shortages

Question 11

Women and employment

Answer 11

Faced unequal pay and discrimination at work
Women workers served propaganda → Rosie the Riveter
By 1944, over 19 million women in manufacturing jobs

Question 12

Contribution of young people

Answer 12

66% of teenage boys found work for the military
900,000 14-18 year olds employed in 1940, to over 3 million by 1944 → led to complaints about antisocial behaviour

Question 13

Migration

Answer 13

27 million Americans moved during the war
Population of rural areas fell by 29%

Question 14

New industries

Answer 14

Advanced electronics, synthetic materials, pharmaceuticals
1945→US was world’s biggest exporter of synthetic rubber
Mass production of penicillin → saved millions of soldiers

Question 15

Trade unions

Answer 15

Membership increased → 10.5m (1940) to 14.75m (1945)
Disputes taken to a National War Labor Board
1943 Smith-Connally War Disputes Act → allowed federal government to take control of any essential industries

Question 16

Military Industrial Complex

Answer 16

Increasing links between industry and the military
Huge growth in armaments (weapons) industry
33% of US production devoted to war production (1941)