After the attack at Pearl Harbor, all US men between the ages of 18 and 45 became eligible for the draft. The Selective Service Act began drafting men to fight in World War II almost immediately.
World War II was the first time women could enlist. The Women's Army Corps or WACS was created in 1942. This female unit of the US army got uniforms and received training, but were not permitted to serve in combat roles. Instead, they plotted aircraft paths, operated radios, organized supplies, drove vehicles, and worked as typists and clerks. The Navy created something similar. These Navy women were members of "WAVES". Some women volunteered their services as nurses. About one million African Americans served in World War II. They served in segregated units and were not sent into combat until late into the war. The Tuskegee Airmen were a unit of African American fighter pilots that flew over 1,000 missions in Europe. Americans Indians became "Navajo Code Talkers" and used their language to assist the US military with forming secret codes to be used in the Pacific campaign so that the Japanese could not decipher or break the code. |
Most would agree that America's greatest contribution to the Allied Powers during World War II was its wartime production. According to President Roosevelt, as the "arsenal of democracy", it was up to the United States to defend democracy by providing the production and ammunition needed to win the war against dictatorships in Europe. Here is how the US got the job done and managed to outproduce the Axis Powers.
|
After the attack at Pearl Harbor, the US government responded to fears of national security being at stake by ordering the internment of Japanese-American citizens. President Roosevelt was concerned about possible sabotage and on February 19, 1942, he ordered Executive Order 9066- which designated "military areas" across the United States for Japanese citizens to be relocated to until the end of the war. Roosevelt justified this action as a military necessity.
Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American, refused to relocate because he found Executive Order 9066 to be a violation of his constitutional rights. He was arrested and convicted. When he challenged his conviction, the Supreme Court upheld his forced relocation in Korematsu v. United States (1944) stating that the federal government must assess risks when the nation is at war and therefore the relocation was reasonable. The suffering of the Japanese-Americans, the Supreme Court concluded, was just a burden of war. |
AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE WORLD WAR II HOME FRONT |
A. Philip Randolph wanted to hold a "March on Washington" to advocate for jobs for African Americans. President Roosevelt did not want this march to occur because it would display an image of unhappy African American citizens marching through Washington D.C as he was prepping the nation for war.
FDR negotiated an agreement with Randolph and other NAACP leaders which resulted in FDR's issuing of Executive Order 8802 which declared that no federal agency would discriminate in its hiring practices on the grounds of race, religion, color, or national origin. This order created the Committee on Fair Employment Practices, to oversee Executive Order 8802's enforcement. The "Double V" Campaign stood for a double victory for African Americans during World War II: Victory at Home and Victory Abroad. This campaign motivated African Americans to be involved in the war effort because it promoted the notion that fighting against dictators overseas would help to fight against racism on the home front. |
The "Mexican Labor Supply Program" was passed in 1943 due to an increasing demand for workers in the United States. Under this program, workers from Mexico and other Latin American countries were brought to the United States to work as braceros, working on farms and growing/planting various crops. Some worked in factories. Prejudice against Hispanic Americans remained high in the U.S. In 1943, armed US sailors and soldiers wandered around the Mexican-American barrios(neighborhoods) of Los Angeles and attacked Hispanic-Americans wearing baggy zoot suits. This event became known as the "zoot-suit" riots of 1943. |
|