WWII

Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC)

•Army that was created May 14, 1942, during World War II to enable women to serve in noncombat positions. •It gave non-combat jobs in the military to women, who were then able to serve as nurses, drivers, radio operators, electricians, and pilots.•350,000 Women served in the WAAC during World War II

Office of Price Administration (OPA)

•When most of our products were being used for the war effort, the prices on the few products for use at home skyrocketed. •Roosevelt established the OPA to stabilize prices by freezing them. Congress also raised taxes so that higher prices weren’t such a problem because people didn’t have the money to spend.

War Productions Board (WPB)

•Established on January 16, 1942, the WPB converted and expanded peacetime industries to meet war needs, and made sure that scarce materials that were vital to war production were conserved.

•The WPB organized drives for iron, tin, paper, rags, rubber, and cooking fat for use in war industries.

Rationing•Establishing fixed allotments of goods that were essential for the military.•Households received ration books with coupons to be used for buying such scarce goods as meat, shoes, sugar, coffee, and gasoline.

Propaganda

Along with propaganda for recruitment and popular support of the war, Hollywood was enlisted to put out war-oriented propaganda films.

Movies glorified American allies, even the new ally – the Soviet Union, and stirred hatred of the Nazis.

Selective Service

Though more than 5 million men volunteered for service after Pearl Harbor, it wasn’t enough to meet the demands of war. The Selective Service System added another 10 million recruits to the US war effort.

Discrimination with Minorities

African Americans, Native Americans, Mexican Americans, and Asian Americans – were often racially segregated and denied basic citizenship rights, yet expected to fight in the war.

Despite the segregation, thousands of minorities signed up to fight, and still minorities were segregated and kept out of combat until 1943.

Factories Conversion to War Production

By 1942, the government had most factories re-tooling for war production. Auto plants were producing tanks, planes, boats, and command cars. Soft drink companies started filling shells with explosives.

Pre-fabricated parts that could be quickly assembled, and workers , working at records speeds, got our war materials where they needed to be.

Women’s roles and Jobs

Of the 18 million workers employed in wartime industries, more than 6 million were women.

Once women proved they were strong enough to handle most jobs, employers couldn’t wait to hire them, because they could pay women 60% of what they had to pay men doing the same jobs.