1. U.S. Enters WWII
and Homefront

2. U.S. Support of Britain





1940 – Hitler controlled much of Eastern Europe,
Norway, Sweden, Belgium, and France.
Britain was left alone to conquer Hitler.
Once Hitler occupied France, isolationists in the U.S.
decreased.
Congress passed the “Lend-Lease Act” which allowed
the U.S. to supply war goods to Britain.
German submarines sunk 2 American ships the Kearney
and the Reuben James. 100 Americans were killed.

3. Seeds of Pearl Harbor

On July 26 1941, in response
to the Japanese Army's
invasion of Indochina,
Roosevelt froze all Japanese
assets in America



Move that cut off all trade between
the two nations and deprived
Japan of crucial U.S. oil supplies.
Without oil, the Japanese
military machine threatened to
grind to a halt.
In response, then, Japan's
leaders decided to wage a war
against the United States.

4. Bombing of Pearl Harbor



Japan wanted to control Asia and decided to attack the
U.S. naval bases in the Pacific so they would not
interfere.
December 7, 1941 – Japanese sank 8 battleships,
damaged 10 others, destroyed 188 planes, and killed
more than 2,300 Americans.
December 8 – U.S. declares war on Japan.


In his address to Congress asking for a declaration of war
against Japan, Roosevelt had declared that December 7, 1941
was "a date which will live in infamy."
Germany (ally of Japan) declared war on the U.S. 2 days
later.

5. Pearl Harbor Video and Speech

6. Two sides in World War II

Allies-U.S. (Truman), Great Britain
(Churchill), Soviet Union (Stalin), France

Axis-Germany (Hitler), Italy (Mussolini),
Japan (Tojo)

7. World War II - Homefront

Americans had to (mandatory) ration their food and other
supplies in order to help with the war effort.
 Ration: regulate the amount of something
 Rationed essential goods such as food, coffee, tires,
gas, and clothes
 Planted Victory Gardens to ensure enough food for
troops and civilians

8. World War II - Homefront

Ration coupons were issued
based on the size of each
family
 Many

families happy to help with
war effort
The U.S. produced massive amounts
of bombs, airplanes, ships, etc. and it
brought the U.S. out of the Great
Depression.

9. World War II - Homefront



Women took the place of men in
factories and were allowed to work
at non-traditional jobs outside of
the home.
 Rosie the Riveter celebrated
the new roles given by women
 Around 6.5 million women
joined the workforce during
the WWII
African Americans and other
minorities also filled the gap held
jobs down when people left for war
Women joined the Women’s Army
Corps (WACS) and took clerical
jobs
 Not allowed to enlist (join) for
regular armed forces

10. Office of War Information



OWI was created to control the
content and imagery of war
messages
Created forms of propaganda to
gain support of the war
 Used movies, posters, radio
and newsreels
Created the Voice of America to
send messages overseas to
create distrust among Axis
leaders and lower morale

11. Office of Information
Advertisement

12. African-Americans in WWII



Many worked in war
industries & govt.
agencies
More than 2.5 million
registered for the draft
 1 million actually
served
Battle on 2 fronts: enemy
overseas and prejudice at
home

Served in segregated units

13. Tuskegee Airmen


Black fighter group in Air Force in
Tuskegee, Alabama
 Started as escorts for pilots on
bombing missions
(overqualified for these
positions)
 So good that they were
requested for many escort
missions
By 1944, pressure from black
military leaders allowed them to
fight in battle
Successes were highly publicized
 Earn over 150 Distinguished Crosses
for achievements


14. Luther Smith-Tuskegee Airman

15. Native Americans during WWII

More than 25,000
served in combat
 40,000
left to work in
defense industries

Many left the
reservation for the
first time

16. Navajo Code Talkers




Phillip Johnston proposed using the Navajo Language for codes
 Grew up on Navajo reservation
Among the most famous Native American servicemen were the Navajo
Code Talkers
 who worked as communications officers on ships in the Pacific speaking
their native language—a "code" the enemy found impossible to crack.
Used the Navajo language as “code” words for troops
 Examples: "besh- lo" (iron fish) meant "submarine," "dah-he- tih-hi"
(hummingbird) meant "fighter plane" and "debeh-li-zine" (black street)
meant "squad.“
Navajo Code Video

17. WWII Homefront

Japanese Internment camps
Forced all Japanese citizens and non citizens in the mainland U.S. to
live in camps from 1942-1944.
 The U.S. saw them as a threat to national security
 The camps were in the western portion of the U.S. where there was less
people.


Atomic Bomb
Albert Einstein writes a letter to F. Roosevelt to encourage him to build
the bomb.
 Manhattan Project – secret plan to build the atomic bomb.
 President Truman dropped the first bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945
(140,000 died) and Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945 (70,000 died). The
Japanese finally surrendered on Aug. 11, 1945.


18. Summary Video
1. List some of the items that were
rationed, recycled or just went without.
 2. How were these used in the war effort?
 3. How did rationing and recycling bring
the U.S. closer together?
 4. Do you think Americans would ration
today if we needed to? Why?
