U.S. Homefront

U .S . HOMEFRONT

Even before Pearl Harbor , the American government had begun to mobilize for war . After the attack , the United States focused its attention on the war effort . The quick fall of France to the German army in 1940 shook the strong antiwar attitude of the American public . Suddenly Great Britain alone stood between Nazi Germany and the United States There were political changes as well , as the country began to transfer In this paper we would try to examine the domestic side of World War II and the changes that

took place in American society , economy and policy during the war

Once the United States was fully committed to the war in December of 1941 , patriotism soared in American society . Americans ' willingness to carry out blackout and civil defense drills to recycle metals , paper and even cooking fats to work longer hours , but to have fewer consumer goods to buy with their salaries demonstrated the nation 's strong support for the war . The wartime economy brought about full employment and , in doing so , achieved what New Deal programs had been unable to do In 1940 , there were 8 million Americans unemployed . By 1941 , however unemployment was almost unheard of . There were actually labor shortages in some industries . As a result , more and more women entered the workforce . Women took up jobs in industry that had once been reserved for men

World War II drew back the existing concepts of women 's capabilities and proper roles . While the men gone at war , women had to take over the work force . Government propaganda encouraged women to do their patriotic duty by leaving their homes and entering the workplace . At the wartime peak in July 1944 , 19 million women were employed . This was an increase of 47 over the level in March of 1940 . By 1945 , women made up 36 of the nation 's women outnumbered single women in the work force . Women over thirty-five made up 60 of the increase in the labor force , and over a third of them had children under 14 . Girls between 14 and 19 added another 17 .3 to the Many women held untraditional jobs in the well-paid blue-collar sector - in shipyards and in airplane plants , as welders and crane operators (Encarta . Women found new options in civilian vocations and professions . Despite women 's gains in the workplace , many people retained traditional convictions that women should not work outside the home . Women took over the common jobs of building ships and planes becoming lumberjacks , train conductors , steelworkers , and drill press operators (Rappaport 1990 , 224 . Along with patriotism there was many motivations for women to sign up for work . Economic necessity , the excitement and challenge of work , the need to cope with the loneliness and anxiety caused by having their husbands and sons overseas disaffection from housework , a desire for more social independence , the sense of purpose accompanying productive work , and other such personal considerations complemented the desire to help in the war effort

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