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Describe the economic effects of World War II on the home front such as mobilization, the end of the Great Depression, rationing, and increased opportunity for women and minority employment.
Describe the economic effects of World War II on the home front such as mobilization, the end of the Great Depression, rationing, and increased opportunity for women and minority employment.
Mobilization
Mobilization
Efforts focused on industry producing massive amounts of war goods including arms, ammunition, ships, tanks, jeeps and airplanes and employed as many people as possible including women to work in factories.
End of the Great Depression
End of the Great Depression
The wartime economy and government defense spending helped transition the depressed economy, but also increased national debt.
Rationing
Rationing
Items, such as gas, tires, scrap metal, nylon, food stuff, etc., were controlled by the government for use in the war effort in order to evenly distribute scarce goods.
Increased Opportunity for Women
Increased Opportunity for Women
Women entered the workforce to replace men sent to war as well as to maintain the country’s industrial production levels (“Rosie the Riveter”); women joined military through the Women’s Army Corps (WACS) and the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) and other organizations.
Increased Opportunity for Minorities
Increased Opportunity for Minorities
Blacks joined the military in large numbers, escaping a decade of Depression and tenant farming in the South and Midwest. Yet, like the rest of America in the 1940s, the armed forces were segregated.
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