Summary
Highlights
The US mobilization for World War II played a crucial role in ending the Great Depression. The federal government employed nearly 4 million Americans and spent unprecedented amounts of money, boosting the US GDP by 50% and doubling industrial productivity. Unemployment plummeted by 85% in months. The existing industrial infrastructure, built during the prosperous 1920s to produce consumer goods, was repurposed by the government as a major buyer. Roosevelt's War Production Board coordinated government manufacturing needs with private corporations, like Boeing, which significantly increased its production of bombers and other war materials.
Mobilization created new socio-economic opportunities for several groups. Women filled industrial jobs vacated by men, proving their capabilities despite previous societal views, and became symbolized by 'Rosie the Riveter'. They also formed professional sports leagues like the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Black Americans, with 700,000 joining the military, fought in segregated units like the Tuskegee Airmen. Activist A. Philip Randolph planned a march on Washington to protest segregation, leading Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 8802 to investigate inequality in the military. This laid groundwork for the 'Double V Campaign' (victory abroad and at home against racism) and future civil rights movements. Mexican immigrants were invited through the Bracero program to work in wartime industries, particularly agriculture, reversing earlier deportation policies.
Despite new opportunities, mobilization also led to the repression of civil liberties for some, especially Japanese Americans. They were targeted for internment due to their association with the Japanese enemy, rampant racism, and wartime propaganda. Unlike German and Italian Americans who were more dispersed and largely considered white, Japanese Americans were concentrated on the West Coast. President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 90066, mandating the relocation of 120,000 Japanese people, two-thirds of whom were US citizens, to internment camps. Fred Korematsu challenged this in Korematsu v. United States, but the Supreme Court upheld the policy as a wartime necessity. However, in 1988, the federal government paid reparations to those interned.