AP US History AMSCO Guided Notes
7.12: World War II Mobilization
AMSCO Guided Notes
AP US History Guided Notes
AMSCO 7.12 - World War II Mobilization
Learning Objectives
- Explain how and why U.S. participation in World War II transformed American society.
I. The Federal Government Takes Action
1. What were the major federal agencies created to mobilize the U.S. economy during World War II and what did each one do?
2. How did the cost-plus system work and what unintended consequence did price controls create?
3. How did federal spending during World War II differ from spending during the Great Depression and what did this prove about government's economic role?
II. Business and Industry
1. How did wartime demand transform American industrial production and what were the results for unemployment and economic output?
2. What happened to the structure of American business during the war and why did smaller businesses lose out?
III. Research and Development
1. What role did the Office of Research and Development play in the war effort and what were examples of technologies it helped develop?
2. How did European scientists who fled Fascism contribute to the Allied victory?
IV. Workers and Unions
1. Why did labor unrest occur during the war despite the no-strike agreement between unions and corporations?
2. What was the Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act and how did it expand government power during wartime?
V. Financing the War
1. How did the federal government finance the massive costs of World War II and what new tax practice began in 1944?
VI. Wartime Propaganda
1. What were the main goals of the government's propaganda campaign and what media did it use to achieve them?
2. How did wartime propaganda contribute to Americans' memory of World War II as 'the Good War'?
VII. The War's Impact on Society
1. How did wartime migration patterns change American geography and what regions benefited most from defense spending?
A. African Americans
1. What opportunities did the war create for African Americans and what barriers to equality did they still face?
2. What was the 'Double V' campaign and what civil rights organizations pushed for change during the war?
3. What did the Supreme Court decide in Smith v. Allwright and how did it advance voting rights for African Americans?
B. Mexican Americans
1. What was the bracero program and what tensions did Mexican immigration create in cities like Los Angeles?
C. American Indians
1. How did American Indians participate in the war effort and what long-term impact did wartime opportunities have on reservation life?
D. Japanese Americans
1. Why did the U.S. government intern Japanese Americans during the war and what was the Supreme Court's ruling in Korematsu v. U.S.?
2. How did the government eventually acknowledge the injustice of Japanese American internment?
E. Women
1. What new opportunities did the war create for women in the military and in the workforce?
2. How did women's wartime work change their economic independence and social roles, despite wage discrimination?
F. Wartime Solidarity
1. How did shared wartime experiences help reduce prejudices based on nationality, ethnicity, religion, and region?
Key Terms
War Production Board
Office of Price Administration
federal spending
accumulated debt
business and industry
research and development
Manhattan Project
Office of War Information
"the Good War"
civil rights
"Double V"
executive order to prohibit discrimination
Smith v. Allwright
braceros
internment camps
Korematsu v. U.S. (1944)
"Rosie the Riveter"
wartime migrations