APUSH Gang,
This week is probably my favorite week in the curricular calendar: World War II week!! Good vs. Evil, with the forces of liberty and democracy fighting to save the world from tyranny and oppression...but it's never quite THAT easy, is it? If it was, why would we have a picture like the one you see shown on this post?
With the APUSH Exam fast approaching, you will be working VERY hard this week to learn as much as you can about America's shining moment, when our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, freshly recovered from the privations of the Great Depression, fought a two-front war in Europe and the Pacific.
This Week's Due Dates/Assignments:
1.) "American Pageant," Chapters 34-35 are on my website to print and use...and the Answer Key to Ch. 29-33 is there, too...you're welcome.
2.) Zinn, Ch. 16 Questions ("A People's War?") - Two sets of questions this time, since: 1.) I won't see you next week until Fri., 4/15, and; 2.) there is a lot of good early Cold War stuff in this chapter, too, which you will be learning about next week on your own. These questions can be given to me by Wed., April 13.
3.) The Monterey Institute's interactive unit for WWII can be found at:
http://www.montereyinstitute.org/courses/AP%20US%20History%20II/nroc%20prototype%20files/coursestartc.html
This is great stuff, and we'll see some of it in class on Mon., 4/4. Here are the assignments for this interactive site (you'll need to use the resources on this website and other sources, too):
a.) Define the Key Terms (due Wed., 4/6)
b.) Answer the Writing Assignment question using the 4 documents included on the website AND our class activity on Thurs., 4/7 (due Fri., 4/8)
c.) Answer this question as a response on this blog by Fri., 4/8 - "While 15 million Americans were called overseas to fight the Axis aggression, Americans at home faced tremendous changes during wartime as well. How did Americans respond to the call of war domestically?" This should be at least 400 words (include your word count).
4.) WWII Propaganda Posters - you will need a Notes Sheet (matrix format) and a form titled "Common Objectives and Rules of Propaganda." The posters themselves are on my website. This assignment is due by Tues., April 12.
5.) You may choose ONE of the following two options to explore: a.) German POW Camps in Florida during WWII, or; b.) "Operation Drumbeat," a Nazi terrorist plot to sabotage America's infrastructure during WWII. These assignments are due by Wed., April 13.
6.) I have two videos and supplemental activities to be viewed, completed, and turned in by Fri., April 15. If you are interested in earning twenty points extra credit, you may want to download these films and complete this assignment (due Thurs., April 14).
-You can expect an exam on Chapters 29-35 in "American Pageant" on Fri., 4/15. It will be heavy on the Great Depression, the New Deal, & World War II.
10 comments:
While American soldiers were going to war with the Axis aggression, Americans at home did some things in support for the war effort back at home. For men it was custom for them to join the draft whenever they reached of age. On September 6, 1940 congress created the first peacetime draft; America wanted to build its army so that it would have enough trained people to fight in this war and so that they could be well prepared for it. Every male was to be drafted for the war effort, but some got out of it if there were health issues. Women’s role during World War 2 was very important for the war effort. While most of the men were out fighting for the war or training in the draft the women had to step up and take over the jobs of the men and still accomplish their motherly duties. Women headed for work in the factories making clothing and other goods. This is also the first time that you see a mass amount of women working outside of the home. Other things that women participated in were the war itself. Women took on the job of nursing overseas in Europe. This was a new thing, before World War 2 it was not acceptable for women to join the army, but now they could as nurses, pilots and even volunteers for the war. Some women opted for the traditional role of women and stayed home taking care of the children. Children at the time were still under child-labor laws, but the states changed this law to allow the teenagers to work as well. They typically worked in factories and farms. By 1943, millions of teenagers had jobs. The pay was so well that they could afford to drop out of school and go straight into working all the time. This really hindered the education to these teens though and many of the teenagers did not ever finish high school, the number of teenagers attending school declined by 1.5 million. Many of the American citizens were very happy to be able to participate in the war effort, they were able to make money which at the time was very import to the American citizens because just before the war there was a great depression and now they had a chance to get out of that depression, Americans were also prohibited from using credit during the war.
Word Count:406
Many Americans chose to serve America by going overseas to fight for democracy in World War II. Around 15 million people enlisted, including about 330,000 women and many other minority groups, such as African Americans, Native Americans, and Mexican Americans. But there were many other Americans that responded to the call of war in different ways that were just as important.
One group that responded in huge numbers was the women. About six million women joined the workforce after many of the men left for war. Women were employed in heavy industry jobs. They were also employed in many other jobs that had been traditionally viewed as “men’s work”. These women got jobs as steel workers, machinists, blacksmiths, crane operators, truck drivers, and railroad workers. Women were also enlisted for noncombatant duties. Some of these groups include the WAACs (Women's Army Corps) of the army, the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) of the navy, and the SPARs of the Coast Guard. The government even helped women by creating day care centers for children of the women who worked. Overall, women did a lot domestically in response to the call of war, including entering the workforce to build machinery and enlisting for noncombatant duties to help the soldiers.
Another group that helped in World War II was the Native Americans. Some Native Americans worked as “code talkers” by sending radio messages in their native languages which were unintelligible to the Germans and Japanese. This was done by Comanches in Europe and the Navajos in the Pacific. There were also many that moved to the cities during World War II to find work which helped the war effort. By the end of the war about 70,000 Native Americans worked in the defense industries. Overall, Native Americans did a lot to assist in the war effort domestically, like working as “code talkers” to send messages that were incomprehensible to the enemy and working in the defense industries.
Overall, there were many ways that Americans responded to the call of war domestically during World War II. There were the women who joined the workforce to do the jobs of the men who were away at war and who enlisted for noncombatant duties to assist the soldiers who were fighting. There were also the Native Americans who worked as “code talkers” to send code the enemy was unable to decipher and who worked in the defense industries as the soldiers were away. Overall, the domestic response to the call of war was just as important as the response of soldiers to fight overseas.
Word Count: 430
When 15 million Americans were taken overseas to fight in World War II, Americans at home responded in many different ways that helped the United States be successful.
One group that responded drastically was women. The great unemployment problem was solved when World War II began. Many women replaced the majority of men in the work place, who left to go fight. They took jobs that were not traditionally a “women’s job”, like in the factory.This was the first time that women really had jobs in the work place and responsibilities at home that caused them to have even more to do. Women’s roles began to change.
A numerous amount of states also changed their child labor laws to allow students to work because the work force needed new, fresh and young people to get the job done. In the early forties, the amount of employed teenagers increased by about two million and over a million dropped out of high school.
Obviously, the typical civilian was also affected. There were these things called “blackouts” that were practiced in every city. A blackout was when they covered all exterior lighting and basically turned the city in to nothing but a black hole. They did this to help avoid enemy attacks at night; it caused them not to be able to see anything down below. Civilians also took jobs as watchmen, where they were trained to watch for incoming enemy planes. This all was to keep people reminded that there was a war going on and that they had some sort of influence on what was going on, even if they were not fighting. In addition to that, there were also a handful of civilian agencies created, like the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), that were meant to help unite the support for the troops who were over fighting. Besides that, civilians were affected financially. They were banned from using any form of credit. They did this mostly to help cut back on the shortages that were coming about because of the war. This also encouraged investment in war bonds. War bonds were when people would invest a certain amount of money to go towards the war effort and get it back years down the road plus a profit of twenty-five percent. This helped encourage the feeling of being useful in a time of war and is what ultimately saved the economy during the war. Ultimately, every American had some sort of role in World War II.
Word Count: 415
With the onset of World War II Americans had to face a war across two seas after a long period of isolation. 15 million American soldiers would fight overseas and Americans at home would break out of their decade-long Depression to support the war effort. Isolationists were still condoning war until the attack on Pearl Harbor, after that any ounce of isolationism vanished and left a country read to exact it’s revenge on the World. The catch was that there were many parts of the American war machine that had to be oiled in order for America to wage war efficiently. Whether it is farming, weaponry-making or even taking the place of soldiers in the factories Americans had to make a combined effort to be successful in World War II. During the Great Depression farmers had excess food supplies due to the new technology and the cost of food had greatly diminished. With the War needing food for 15 million troops soldiers quickly emptied the mass food storages. New technologies that had once caused a drop in food prices were now keeping the soldiers adequately fed and helping to bring the farmers back on the job. In the factories weapons were being churned out at an astonishing rate with a $100 billion in military orders in 1942 alone. Factory lights were turned back on and the unemployed breathed a sigh of relief at the influx of job opportunities. Factories were producing 40 billion bullets, 300,000 aircraft, 76,000 ships, 86,000 tanks and 2.6 million machine guns. Strikes now only made up less than 1 percent of lost work hours as Americans became committed to the war effort. Even with Americans already pumped up for the war after Pearl Harbor propaganda supporting the war sprang up everywhere in posters, movies and other forms of entertainment. Americans rationed themselves during the war to make more food available to the troops fighting overseas. While the men were off at war the women took over their jobs at the factories and kept production flowing. Women who had never worked a day in their life now became wage earners and after the war a third of women who had taken over men’s jobs did not want to leave. All Americans had their hearts and minds set on helping the war effort. By rationing their supplies to help feed the soldier, striking less in the factories so and general support for the American cause the United States waged a total War against their foreign enemies.
word count 418
There’s more than one way to fight in a war. In fact, a war can be supported in the comforts of your own country! During WWII, domestic war efforts were seen throughout much of the population. While our armed forces were fighting overseas, ifluence was happening at home.
Production was affected by WWII. Farmers tried their hardest to produce an effective crop to support the war. The army intensely depleted their supply, but they kept up as best they could. From 1944-1945, the Farmers of America made a record by producing a billion bushels of wheat. Farms (and factories) were still low on workers, though. So, the Bracero Program was born. This brought thousands of Mexicans on American soil to harvest fruit and other crops in the West.
Women’s roles shifted during wartime. No longer were they seen as just house-wives. Many women joined the workforce and some even joined the armed forces. More than 6 billion joined the work force and half of them had never worked before. A lot of the women were mothers and the government set up a daycare program to help aid in female employment. This spur of female employment was short-lived however. After the war, business leaders were too happy to lay off the women, and give the men their jobs back. Many of the women were actually glad to give up the jobs, and go back to their usual roles.
Women were not the only minority finding work during the war. Thousands of Native Americans found work in cities and even joined the army. Some were especially utilized as “code talkers.” These people transmitted radio messages to the Germans and Japanese in their native tongue.
The ordinary citizen had quite a few adjustments to make. They had to deal with rationings (which limited the amount of certain foods each family could have.) Also, racial tension was heightened due to the war. Blacks moved northward after the invention of the cotton picker (which used to be an African-American dominated task.) Blacks and Mexicans were treated violently during this time. One violent riot in Detroit, for example ended in 25,000 blacks dead.
All in all, people rose up during this war, and tried to support it domestically. Women took over many jobs that army men had left behind. Native Americans were actually seen as an asset for once, and were used by the government to aid the war effort. Farmers even joined in the effort.
(410)
When the second World War started, America was coming out of a period of depression and isolation. Once the war went into full swing, all America had known for the past decade changed. We were fighting a two-front war in Europe and the Pacific region of the world. With such a spaced out war, the military required much more soldiers to be deployed than usual. Over 15 million American men and women fought on the other side of the world during the war. While the foreign aspect of the war was covered, who was to step up and "fight" the war domestically?
One key group that stepped up to the challenge was the women. Before the war, the majority of females still served their society through being a housewife and serving in social occupations i.e. teaching. Once the war started and all the men left, the industrial and agricultural jobs were left empty. For the first time, women significantly left the home front and went into the workforce. Weapons, vehicles, ammunition, and other war essentials needed to be manufactured for the military. Women became a part of producing all of these goods. World War 2 was what really propelled the status of women in American society. They showed the world that females could do more than just cook.
The average citizen also gave a lot to helping out the war effort. World War 2 was a very expensive war, mostly because of its two-front premise. Lots of weapons, bullets, and vehicles were needed in order to win the war. Someone has to pay for all of it and the national debt ended up skyrocketing. The direct wartime bill came out to be more than $330 billion dollars! That is approximately ten times more than what was spent on the first World War. When American citizens realized the cost of the war, many got together and looked for ways to conserve spending. Credit was a wildly popular trend before the war. Unfortunately, it put a lot of people in debt and was one of the key causes of the Great Depression. When the war started, the use of credit was banned to help replenish the shortage of money. Electricity was another thing the average citizen tried to conserve. "Blackouts", where entire cities shut off exterior lighting, were common in the US during the war. It served two purposes: to conserve energy and made it hard for any potential bombers to attack the home-front at night.
The people that fought overseas during World War 2 received a lot of credit for their efforts, and rightfully so. However, credit is also due to the citizens at home who kept the US intact during the perilous times of war.
Word Count: 455
During any war, for any country, the nation goes into a state of alert and many changes quickly occur in response to the conflict. While the Second World War was going on, there were many changes to the American standard of living. Once Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941, the Japanese population was immediately put under the watchful eye of the government. The entire Japanese population was relocated to concentration camps, usually located in undisclosed locations that were normally in the desert. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued Executive Order No. 9066 that was the official solution on how to deal with the majority of the “threats” –the Japanese- in the United States.
But ironically, the American economy boomed during World War II. The United States was one of the few nations at war that did NOT suffer greatly on the home front. The American national product value was at less than $100 billion in 1940, yet it increased to more than $200 billion in 1945. Corporate profits also rose dramatically as well. They nearly doubled in the course of about four years, from approximately $6 billion to $12 billion. The Office Price Administration (OPA) had to set extensive regulations to keep ascending prices under control. But in 1946, when those regulations were lifted, American prices went up 33 percent.
Women were also making an influential foot print in the Second World War. Many women joined the work force; whether in the armed forces or in factories. The phrase “The Girl He Left Behind, Is Still behind Him” was a propaganda piece that was distributed by the Woman Ordinance Worker, which promoted/ informed those about how women are taking a place in the War. Almost six million women had joined the work force during World War II; some had never worked in factory jobs before. While there were many that had joined the work force, the majority had still remained at home to perform their “traditional” duties, such as child rearing, housekeeping, etc. However there was a major difference between the female work force during World War I and World War II; after WWII, two-thirds of the female labor force left, whereas in WWI many remained as wage workers.
Finally there were many other events occurring that affected the American lifestyle; events such as food rations and scrap metal drives. One of the first major foods to be rationed by the U.S government was sugar. It was then followed by not only foods, but everyday products such as coffee, shoes, gasoline, meat, and tires. Also at the time there was much need for scrap metal, and the reuse of rubber and grease. Scrap metal drives were held to gather metal to be recycled, but some say that these drives were more of an emotional aid rather than a physical one. People would feel good about themselves for assisting their country during one of the most memorable wars in the history of the Earth.
word count: 492
When America finally became invloved in World War Two, many groups at home showed their support. Over 15 million Americans joined in the war over seas.
The largest group of supporters was women. While some women sought to preserve their old-fashioned lifestyle, cooking, cleaning, and watching the children, many women decided to fill in the job opportunities that were made when men left for the war. Women did jobs that were usually reserved for men such as hard factory work, and railroad maintnance. Women even formed groups to respond to emergencies in the war. Nearly 330,000 women enlisted to help out.
Because there was a constant scare throughout the states, many average citizens took up positions as watchmen. They would keep a lookout for an possible attacks from incoming enemy planes. Having people fill these positions made Americans feel safer.
Some Americans were supportive in more cruel ways, however. Many people heard of Jewish persecution in Germany and Italy and responded by forming groups in the states that ALSO penalized this religion. Even the American children were involved in torturing the Jewish peoples. There were many cases of Jewish students being beaten in schools by other children. Many Jews have said that they didn't feel safe in the States. And, many American Jews were against allowing a greater amount of Jewish immigration from Europe. They knew that if we had many more Jew's in America, the tolerance of the others would decrease even more, and escape from their tortures would be incredibly improbable. Many view this as a selfish act on the side of the Jew's, but they saw it as protecting themselves. Even the local police figures discriminated against them. The American media could've supported the war effort by encouraging American's to stop discrimination against Jews and by providing information about what was really going on in Germany. If more American's had known about the concentration camps and the extent of the plans of the Nazi's to become a super race with no interferance, more Americans would've supported the war effort.
In all, every United States citizen had a role in World War Two whether it was in support of the war or if it was an unfortunate spread of discrimination. Without the efforts back home made by women, African Americans, Natives, and other minorities, the war couldn't have been a success. And, if the rest of the nation hadn't responded so negatively - almost the complete opposite of the others mentioned - , maybe the war would've ended sooner, or with fewer deaths.
(423 words)
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