Download WWII United States War Boards and Offices

If you were in charge of getting
the United States ready for war,
what would be your top 5
priorities?
WWII United States
War Boards and Offices
WWII War Offices and Boards
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Office of War Information
Office of Civilian Defense
War Production Board
National War Labor Board
Office of Price Administration
Office of War Information
• Sold the War to Americans
• Used Media such as:
– Advertisements, Newspapers, Radio and
Movies, Comic Books
– Hollywood helped sell the war
– Stereotyped villains – sadistic Germans,
bumbling Italians, sneaky Japanese
Office of War Information
– Used Propaganda to:
• Increase participation in Volunteer/Home Front
Efforts
• To understand the progress of the war and
government policy
• To raise $, Recruit Soldiers, Get America behind
the War, Conserve Resources
Office of War Information
• Used Propaganda Tools such as
– Catchy Slogans
– Patriotic words & symbols,
– Emotional words & symbols
– Demonization of the Enemy
– Name Calling
– Caricatures and Humor – Bandwagon
– Half-Truths/Lies
Office of War Information
Used fear, and sometimes racist imagery
Office of War Information
Office of War Information
• Controlled Hollywood Movie Production
– Informed the nation about the causes and
reasons for the war
• Casablanca
– Encouraged Americans to back the war effort
and often encouraged anti-Japanese & antiGerman sentiment
• Confessions of a Nazi-Spy, Yellow-Peril
– Increased Morale
• Bugs Bunny “Nips the Nip”
Office of Civilian Defense
• Coordinated volunteer efforts.
– Asked civilians to contribute 1/hr/day to US.
• Air raid wardens enforced blackouts
• Spotters scanned sky for enemy
• Victory gardens
• Collection of war materials – newspaper,
rubber, aluminum, tin, steel
Office of Civilian Defense
Office of Civilian Defense
Office of Civilian Defense
War Production Board
• Supervised the Nation’s Economy
– limiting the production of materials not essential to the
war effort
– Convinced manufacturers to switch from making
consumer goods to making military goods
– Convinced business to build new plants to increase
production
• Paid for some new plants and equipment
• Relief from antitrust laws to war-related industries
• Guaranteed fixed and large profits
War Production Board
War Production Board
Office of Price Administration
– Controlled prices of goods and rents
– Rationing – limited the demand on scares
supplies and other products by issuing
coupons
• Tires, automobiles, shoes, nylon, sugar, gasoline,
fuel oil, coffee, meats and processed foods.
• Almost 90% of retail food prices were frozen
• Quota for each family based on number of people
in the household and their needs
• Merchants gave coupons to suppliers in order to
restock
• One of most controversial elements of war –
Americans could afford more, but not available
Office of Price Administration
Office of Price Administration
National War Labor Board
– Controlled wages and monitored inflation
– Gained Labors pledge to avoid strikes during
war
– Enforced settlements between companies
and workers over wages, hrs., working
conditions
– Insured Women War workers, equal pay for
equal work
– Enforced Collective Bargaining
NWLB
Rosie the Riveter
NWLB
1. Which war office or board produced
the following poster and what was the
role of the office?
2. Which war office produced this
poster and what was the role of the
office?
3. Which war office produced this
poster and what was the role of the
office
4. Which office produced this
poster and what was the role of the
office?
US Economy
• GDP - all the goods and services
produced in a year
– - more than doubled during the war years
• 17 M new jobs
– Unemployment rate dropped to 1.5% from
1932 high of 25%
• Crop prices doubled
Gross Domestic Product WWII
US Economy
• Federal Deficit – the amount the
government spends over collected tax revenues
(Government Debt)
– Up 40% from 1940-1945
– Government borrowed money from citizens
– War Bonds = 60% of funds
• Raised Taxes = 40% of funds
– Revenue Act 1942 – ALL US citizens
had to pay federal income taxes
Federal Deficit WWII
Labor
• No strike pledge
• African Americans move west and north
for Defense Industry Jobs
• NWLB enforced settlements between
workers and management
• Mine workers, coal, steel and RR went on
strike
– Wages froze
– Profits rose
Women
• 6M women join
workforce
• Difficulty gaining
acceptance from
male workers
• 60% less pay
• No security – lost
jobs when men
returned home
African Americans
• Discrimination in America
continued
• Demands for equal
treatment grew
• NCAA grew
• Double Victory Campaign
– Victory in the war
– Victory for African American
Civil Rights
• Military still remained
segregated
MOWM
o Philip Randolph
o Early leader of civil rights
movement
o led movement for African
American equality during WWII
o Angered by discrimination in
armed forces and exclusion of
African Americans from wellpaying jobs in war industries
o Planned protest against
government
MOWM
o Roosevelt wanted to prevent embarrassment
to US government
o Randolph and Roosevelt compromise
– Executive Order 8802
• Govt. agencies, job training programs and defense
contractors end discrimination
• Fair Employment Practices Committee – created to
investigate violations of 8802
• DID NOT agree to integrate the armed forces
Japanese Internment
• Individual Rights vs. National Security
• Individual Rights – “A power or privilege
a person is justly entitled to and that
cannot be infringed upon by the
government.”
• National Security - A condition of safety
for a country brought about by defending it
against invasion, espionage, sabotage or
control by foreign powers”
Japanese-Americans
• Issei – immigrated from Japan, not eligible
to own property or become US citizens
• Nisei – children of Issei, born in the US,
US citizens
Japanese Internment
• Executive Order 9066 - authorized the
removal of Japanese American’s from
west coast to 10 relocation camps
Supreme Court Rulings on
Internment
• Early Rulings Supported Relocation
– Hirabayashi v. US – Court ruled that a curfew order
affecting only Japanese Americans did not violate civil
rights
– Korematsu v. US – Upheld internment – president
given extraordinary powers in times of war
• National security over civil rights
• 1988 Public Law 100-383 – made apologies and
restitution to individuals of Japanese ancestry
who were interned during WWII.
– Eligible citizens could receive $20K over 10 yrs in tax
free payments