Getting Citizens Involved• It was important to have the citizens
at home feel like they were doing their part during the war.
• Propaganda encouraged citizen support.
• People also encountered rationing of various items because supply was short.
Social Impact of WWIIAfrican Americans
• In 1941, 1 in 5 were jobless
• President signed Executive Order 8802 which opened jobs and job training programs in defense plants “without discrimination because race, creed, color, or national origin”
• More that 2 million migrated north
• Fought in military in segregated units
Mexican Americans• Served in military, contributed to
economy, but face discrimination
• Agreement between Mexico & U.S. providing for transportation, food, shelter, and medical attention for thousands of “braceros”
• Brought a rise in Latino population in southern California
• Zoot Suit Riots
Native Americans• 25,000 fought in the military
• Migrated to urban centers for defense jobs
• Cultural transition brought a sense of having lost their roots
• Played an important role as “code talkers” in the Pacific theater
Japanese Americans• Hostility towards Japanese Americans
grew to hatred and hysteria after Pearl Harbor
• War Relocation Authority removed all people of Japanese ancestry to internment camps away from west coast
• After 1943, Japanese were accepted into armed forces and many won recognition for their courage in Europe
Holocaust & America • Hitler’s idea to rid the world of
undesirables, mostly the entire Jewish race.
• Over 6 million Jewish people were killed in this genocide.
• America played a role in the liberation of the death camps.
• Nuremberg Trials, Nov 1945, 12 Nazi leaders received the death penalty for crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, and war crimes