Download World War II Home Front Activities: Ken Burns Film NAME: CLIP

World War II Home Front Activities: Ken Burns Film
NAME: _______________________
CLIP ONE: WARTOWN
1. How did American factories gear up for war production? What type of
logistics were necessary for this mobilization? How was the government
involved?
2. Describe some of the changes that factories of civilian products would have
to go through to convert to military production.
3. Describe the impact on Mobile, Alabama (infrastructure and services) due to
large numbers of people moving there to seek employment.
4. What does “Rosie the Riveter” symbolize for women entering the workforce
during World War II? How did attitudes about women in the workplace
change? How many women were in the workforce by 1943?
CLIP TWO: RATIONING AND RECYCLING
1. List some of the major items that civilians were asked to ration, recycle or
just go without during WW2. How was rationing managed?
2. How were these items used in the war effort?
3. How do you explain the contradiction between Americans whose act of
rationing and recycling made them feel they were part o the war effort and
the emergence of a black market for goods during the war?
CLIP THREE: DOUBLE V CAMPAIGN
African American Troops:
1. Why were African American soldiers asked to fight in segregated units in
WW2?
2. Describe a couple of changes (opportunities) that occurred for A.A. soldiers
during the war. Why did things change?
3. What is the Double V campaign?
4. How did many A.A. resolve the inherent conflict of fighting for a country that
did not grant them the full rights of citizenship?
CLIP FOUR: JAPANESE AMERICANS AND INTERNMENT
1. Why do you think only the Japanese Americans on the West Coast were
affected by Executive Order 9066?
2. What was the social and personal impact of the internment—for those sent
to the camps and those left behind?
3. Was the government justified in sending Japanese Americans to relocation
camps purely on the basis of ethnicity? Why or why not? What would other
options have been?
4. Do you see any similarities in American after Pearl Harbor and after 9-11 in
regards to discrimination towards minorities? Explain??
5. Read the attached primary source document: Instructions To All Persons of
Japanese Ancestry.
a. what surprises you the most as you read the list of instructions to be
observed?
b. What does it mean when saying “all persons of Japanese ancestry, both
alien and non-alien?