7.12 - World War II Mobilization

U.S. Government Mobilization Efforts

• War Production Board (WPB): Established in early 1942 to oversee and manage the conversion of peacetime industries to war production.

• Office of War Mobilization (OWM): Implemented later to set production priorities and control the distribution of raw materials essential for war efforts.

• Office of Price Administration (OPA): Regulated civilian economic life by freezing prices, wages, and rents, and rationing essential commodities like meat, sugar, and gasoline to curb wartime inflation. This led to the emergence of a black market for these goods.

Economic and Industrial Impact

• Economic Boom: Wartime demand and government contracts significantly boosted U.S. industries. By 1944, unemployment was virtually eradicated. In other words, mobilization of the economy for World War 2 took the United States out of the Great Depression.

• Astonishing Production Levels: U.S. war-related industrial output in 1944 doubled that of all Axis powers combined, with factories producing massive quantities of military equipment, including 300,000 planes, 100,000 tanks, and ships totaling 53 million tons.

• Efficiency in Production: Henry Kaiser’s shipyards exemplified production efficiency, capable of constructing a new ship in just 14 days.

• Concentration of Industrial Power: The war effort increasingly centralized production among the largest corporations, with the top 100 firms accounting for about 70% of wartime manufacturing, overshadowing smaller businesses.

Office of Research and Development

• Innovations and Contributions: Established to spearhead the development of crucial wartime technologies such as radar, sonar, penicillin, jet engines, and rockets.

• Manhattan Project: Managed the top-secret project that developed the first atomic weapons, significantly aided by European scientists who had fled fascist regimes.

Wartime Propaganda

• Purpose and Media: The U.S. government's propaganda efforts aimed to maintain morale, encourage resource conservation, and boost war production.

• Office of War Information: Controlled information on troop movements and battles, while media like movies and music promoted a positive, patriotic view of the war.

• Norman Rockwell’s Illustrations: His "Four Freedoms" series epitomized the democratic values being defended, contributing to the perception of World War II as "the Good War."

The War’s Impact on Society

• Demographic Shifts: The war-induced demand for labor led to significant migration from rural areas to industrial centers, particularly in the Midwest and California, supporting the growth of new communities.

• African Americans: Over 1.5 million migrated northward for industrial jobs, marking the first time African Americans served as combat aviators. Despite their contributions, they faced severe racial discrimination and violence, notably in race riots in New York and Detroit during 1943.

• Civil Rights Movement: The "Double V" campaign emerged, advocating for victory over fascism abroad and racial equality at home.

Japanese Internment

• Issuance and Impact: In February 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. This order authorized the Secretary of War and military commanders to designate "military areas" from which any or all persons could be excluded. This was a response to widespread fear and suspicion towards Japanese Americans following the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941.

• Resulting Actions: The executive order led to the creation of military zones on the West Coast of the United States, which were then used to justify the forced relocation and internment of over 100,000 Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were American citizens

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

• Background: Fred Korematsu, an American citizen of Japanese descent, refused to comply with the order of internment. After being arrested and convicted for defiance, his case eventually made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

• Supreme Court Decision: In a controversial 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the internment orders, arguing that the need to protect against espionage outweighed Korematsu’s individual rights. The Court deemed the executive order a valid exercise of war powers, with national security considerations justifying the extreme measures.