Life on the Home Front:Early February 1942: the end of automobile production in the United States

Last car on February 4th

Automobile plants were retooled within weeks to produce tanks, planes, boats, and command cars.

Please view this as a slide show!

Factories were quickly converted for war production:

Mechanical pencil factoryBomb parts factory

Changed to

bedspread factory

Changed to

Mosquito netting factory

Changed to

Soft drink factory Factory filling the bombs

Shipyards and defense plants expanded rapidly: By the end of 1942, Henry J. Kaiser had built seven massive new

shipyards. Those shipyards built Liberty ships (cargo carriers), tankers, troop transports, and “baby” aircraft carriers at an astonishing rate.

Henry Kaiser had reporters come to watch his workers assemble a Liberty Ship in just four days!

A liberty ship being built in a shipyard.

Labor’s Contributions:By 1944 and despite the draft, nearly 18 million workers were laboring in war industries.

More than 6 million of these new workers were women. War industries were reluctant at first to hire women, but the women soon proved they could use welding torches or riveting guns as well as any man.

Women still only earned 60 percent as much as a man doing the same job!

Minority workers: Defense plants also hired more than 2 million minority workers during the war years.

Before the war, 75% of defense contractors simply refused to hire African-Americans, while 15% hired them to perform menial jobs.

A march on Washington was planned and only canceled when President Roosevelt issued an executive order that defense industries must NOT discriminate against race, creed, color, or national origin when hiring.

Mobilization of Scientists:Roosevelt created the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) to bring scientists into the war effort.

The OSRD improvements:• Radar• Sonar (a new technology to detect submarines underwater)• Encouraged the use DDT to use against insects (US soldiers free of body lice)• Pushed the development of penicillin

OSRD biggest achievement:

Secret development of a new weapon, the atomic bomb

Changes in Entertainment:Spending on entertainment doubled between 1941-1945 because Americans were back to work.

Between 60 million and 100 million Americans went to the movies each week.

Hollywood made many war-oriented propaganda films. Many heroic movies that glorified the US and its allies, and “hiss and boo” films that stirred up hatred for the enemy.

As the war continued, people became tired of propaganda and war films so Hollywood made more escapist films like musicals, romances, and comedies.

Look at the poster below. On a separate piece of paper, explain how the home front supported the war effort. Use the information you have learned from class and this powerpoint.