Chapter 25 Section 1 Study Guide

How did each contribute to the war effort?

1) Selective Services Act: When the U.S. got involved in World War II, 5 million men had enlisted to fight in the war. This number wasn't great enough for a massive war involving the most powerful nations in the world, though, so the Selective Service System expanded the draft and because of it another 10 million men were enlisted in military services.

2) Women and Minoritites: Because so many white men were fighting in World War II, the government was forced to turn to women and minorities to fulfill the work force needs of the war. The Woman's Auxiliary Army Group was established after a bill endorsed by America's Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall, and it allowed women volunteers to serve in noncombat positions; they WAACs often served as nurses, ambulance drivers, radio operators, etc. They were also granted full U.S. army benefits, and the "auxiliary" status of the group was dropped. Minorities also contributed greatly to the war effort. Although discrimination was prevalent in the military, 300,000 Mexican Americans, 1 million African Americans (who worked in segregated divisions and generally had noncombat roles; this was protested and the African American soldiers were allowed to fight in the last year of the war), 13,000 Chinese Americans, 33,000 Japanese Americans (who sometimes worked as spies and interpreters) and 25,000 Native Americans all volunteered and fought in the war.

3) Manufacturers: Many manufacturers stopped the production of their usual products so that they could produce things that would contribute to the war effort. Automobile factories were reequipped to produce tanks, planes and cars; a mechanical pencil factory started making bomb parts; a soft drink company started filling shells with explosives. Shipyards and defense plants also started to grow exponentially and turned out many more ships and planes than ever: 7 huge new shipyards were built by one industrialist who also built a ship called the Hull 440 which was built in 4 days.

4) A. Philip Randolph: A respected African American labor leader, he protested discrimination in the military and in war production industries by organizing a march on Washington. 100,000 African Americans were to come and march in protest that they didn't have the right to fight and world for their country. To stop the march, which Roosevelt feared would create resentment amongst whites and even result in violence, the president issued an executive order that made employers and labor unions allow blacks to work with them.

5) Office of Scientific Research and Development: The OSRD was created by President Roosevelt in 1941 in order to bring scientists into the war effort. It worked on improving radar and sonar for the detection of submarines, created pesticides such as DDT so that American soldiers would be free of body lice and other nasty creatures. It also helped develop drugs such as penicillin, which saved many wounded soldiers. Most importantly, the OSRD developed the atom bomb after Albert Einstein contacted the president and told him that German scientists had succeeded in splitting uranium atoms and could make a weapon using the immense power given off when that happened. The OSRD then went to work immediately in order to beat the Germans in creating the bomb, starting in 1942.

6) Entertainment Industry: During the war, the entertainment industry made a lot of propaganda films that were in favor of the U.S.'s ally, the Soviet Union, and depicted Nazis as horrible ; this "energized people to join the war effort". After people were sick of depressing films about the war a few years later, the industry started making lighthearted romances and musicals that would allow the audience to forget abut the war briefly.

7) Office of Price Administration: While factories were producing things for the war effort, the amount of things available for consumers to buy was very low; this increase in demand and decrease in supply guaranteed a huge rise in prices. Roosevelt responded by setting up the OPA, which froze prices on goods, stopping inflation, raised and extended the income tax, and encouraged Americans to buy war bonds with their extra money. This kept inflation below 30% (half of what it was during World War I).

8) War Production Board: Ensured that the armed forces and war industries had the necessary materials to win the war. The WPB decided which companies would become makers of materials for the war rather than what they produced in peacetime; it organized drives for tin cans, scrap iron, paper and other materials that could be of use that Americans didn't need.

9) Rationing: The OPA started a system for rationing. Homes would receive coupon books for buying meat, sugar, coffee, shoes and other items. People who worked would carpool and ride bicycles to conserve gas. This ensured that the materials that were needed for the war were available.