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The United States during the World War II:

Significant Impacts of World War II on American Life

Yanwei Yang

AP Literature

Janosch

1/6/2017
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Abstract

This paper will discuss impacts of World War II on American life, especially on Japanese

Americans, availability of daily supplies, industrial productions, and American feminism. Studies

demonstrate the World War II had both negative and positive impacts on American life: during

World War II, discrimination against Japanese Americans spread throughout the country,

American industries boosted significantly, and feminism grew rapidly.

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Introduction

During World War II, the U.S. government made numerous decisions under war

necessity. Such as President Roosevelt published Executive Order 9066 creating internment

camps, American women encountered great chances since the government was recruiting

females into military, the U.S. government used rationing to limit customer goods to support the

homefront, etc. Due to the revolutionary impacts of these decisions, they led to many critical and

permanent changes to the American society.

Impacts of World War II on Japanese Americans:

Internment camps

World War II was the start of nightmares created by the U.S. government for Japanese

Americans. Ever since Japan attacked Pearl Harbor without issuing any war declarations, the US

government had been extremely cautious of Japanese Americans considering their potential of

ambushing as spies within the United States.

In February 1942, just two months after Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt as

commander-in-chief, issued Executive Order 9066, which had the effect of relocating all persons

of Japanese ancestry, both citizens and aliens, inland, outside of the Pacific military zone.

Roosevelt's order affected 117,000 people of Japanese descent, two-thirds of whom were native-

born citizens of the United States (National Archives, 2016). President Roosevelts executive

order aroused a great storm in American society because this executive order was a flagrant

provocation toward the 14th Amendment. Imprisoning Japanese American citizens in the

internment camp without valid evidence not only not only deprive any person of life, liberty, or
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property, without due process of law, but also deny to any person within its jurisdiction the

equal protection of the laws.

Nevertheless, the U.S. government soon created the internment camps to imprison

Japanese Americans. Within weeks, the government ordered all persons of Japanese ancestry--

whether citizens or enemy aliens, young or old, wealthy or poor-- to assembly centers near their

homes. Soon they were sent to permanent relocation centers outside the restricted military zones.

Moreover, Japanese-American veterans who fought for the United States during World War I

were forced to leave their homes (ushistory.org, 2016). Many families were forced to move into

internment camps for security reasons. They could not be certain that their homes and livelihoods

would still be there upon their return, so they had to sell their houses, stores, and other assets in a

short amount of time. Because of the mad rush to sell, properties and inventories were often sold

at a fraction of their true value (United States Commission on Civil Rights, 1992). According to

Fifth Amendment, no person may be deprived of life, liberty, or property without the due process

of law. Based on the Fifth Amendment, Fred Korematsu, a Japanese American, decided to test

the government relocation action in the courts. He found little sympathy there. In Korematsu vs.

The United States, the Supreme Court justified the executive order as a wartime necessity. When

the order was repealed, many found they could not return to their hometowns because hostility

against Japanese Americans remained high across the West Coast into the postwar years. Many

villages displayed signs demanding that the evacuees never return (ushistory.org, 2016). As a

result, the internees scattered across the country after World War II. Ultimately on August 10th,

1988, President Reagan formally apologized to Japanese Americans for imprisoning them

without evidence and compensated each Japanese intern $20,000.

Shortage of War Supplies:

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Creation of rationing and effects on American industry

After the Pearl Harbor Attack, the economy soon shifted to war production. Consumer

goods were secondary to military production as nationwide rationing began almost immediately

(Holbert, 2014). Supplies such as rubber, sugar, and gasoline were in shortage after the United

States had officially entered the war. Because of the shortage, the United States government

decided to use rationing, the controlled distribution of scarce resources and goods, to limit the

number of products people can purchase to provide enough supplies to the frontline of the war.

In addition to the shortage of all sorts of war supplies, the rubber situation was extremely

critical since the Japanese had seized plantations in the Dutch East Indies that produced 90% of

America's raw rubber. Therefore, the government encouraged people to collect every possible

pound from the factories, arsenals, and shipyards (Hubbard & Anne M. Garnett, 2015).

Furthermore, To collect every available material in the United States, the OPA, U.S. Office of

Price Administration established the Idle Tire Purchase Plan which could deny mileage rations to

anyone owning passenger tires, not in use (Nebinger, 2012). In spite of the rubber drive, there

was a continuing need for large quantities of other materials: 6,000,000 additional tons of steel

and massive quantities of copper, brass, zinc and tin needed to produce weapons for soldiers. At

first, gas rationing was voluntary, but it proved ineffective. Therefore, by the spring of 1942

mandatory rationing was executed under the war necessity as claimed by the U.S. government.

To get classification and ration stamps, people had to certify to a local board that they needed gas

and owned no more than five tires.

Despite rationing helped collecting an enormous amount of war materials, supporting the

military in wartime needed more. Therefore, President Roosevelt made the decision that he had

to mobilize the proprietors of the mines, the factories, and the shops. Since then, war production
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profoundly changed American industry. In 1941, more than three million cars were manufactured

in the United States. Only 139 more were made during the entire war. Instead, Chrysler made

fuselages. General Motors made airplane engines, guns, trucks and tanks. Packard made Rolls-

Royce engines for the British air force. And at its vast Willow Run plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan,

the Ford Motor Company performed something like a miracle 24-hours a day (Public

Broadcasting Service, 2007). The average Ford car had some 15,000 parts. The B-24 Liberator

long-range bomber had 1,550,000. One came off the line every 63 minutes.

Impacts of American women:

Earning equality

In the past, majority of the American society considered women were incapable of

fulfilling any positions but housewives. Therefore, for many women, World War II brought not

only sacrifices, but also new jobs, new skills, and new opportunities.

Nearly 350,000 American women served in uniform, both at home and abroad,

volunteering for the newly formed Womens Army Auxiliary Corps, the Navy Womens

Reserve, the Marine Corps Womens Reserve ... General Eisenhower felt that he could not win

the war without the aid of the women in uniform (National WWII Museum, 2012). American

women were contributing to their country by not only serving in the army, but also by working in

the heavy industries. With the help of women workers, total industrial production doubled

between 1939 and 1945. The military production was astounding: 300,000 aircraft, 12,000 ships,

86,000 tanks, and 64,000 landing craft in addition to millions of artillery pieces and small

weapons (National Women's History Museum, 2007). By doing the same job as men, women

proved themselves that men are born better than women.

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However, as the war ended, women were forced out by men returning home and by the

downturn in demand for war materials even though a majority of them surveyed reported that

they wanted to keep their jobs, (National WWII Museum, 2012). Women veterans encountered

roadblocks when they tried to take advantage of benefit programs for veterans, like the G.I. Bill.

The nation that needed their help in a time of crisis, it seems, was not yet ready for the greater

social equality that would slowly come in the decades to follow. During World War II, women

had shown their ability to do jobs that traditionally belong to men, which laid an important

foundation for females pursuing equality in the future.

During the post-war era, organizations like the Womans Club of Winter Park provided

areas for women to associate with each other and were crucial venues for feminists. Female

American citizens organized and waged protests promoting feminism and gender equality. Here,

feminist groups aimed to Advance the social, civic, educational and moral welfare of Winter

Park, and also to seek cooperation with other similar clubs to promote knowledge of and interest

in the work of women throughout the state and nation (Gibbs & Saville).

Discussion

During World War II, the U.S. government became less democratic and interfered the

economy often under the war necessity. War necessity is an intriguing word. The 14th

Amendment states, No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or

immunities of citizens of the United States ... deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,

without due process of law. Some might argue that clear and present danger in 1907's

Patterson v. Colorado could justify Japanese internment camp. However, there was no evidence

shown that Japanese Americans would cause any threats to the United States. In other words,

there was no clear and present danger shown in this case. The U.S. government imprisoned the
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Japanese Americans because they were suspicious and justified the actions using the excuse, it

was a war necessity.

While the U.S. government had done several disgraceful things using war necessity as a

pretext, war necessity created an enormous amount of chances for the growth of feminism and

American industries.

World War II brought significant and lasting changes to views on females. Women

participated in traditionally male roles under war necessity. Married women reentered the

workforce without any gender labels. Perhaps it was patriotism that drew women to work in the

first place, but the benefits of learning, contributing, and gaining self-worth through work

became values that would be passed down for generations. Women started to feel unsatisfied by

just being a housewife and mother. Many historians point out that the World War II awakened

and provided the chance for the feminism to grow. Today, womens progress in the workplace is

still ongoing.

While the American industries during World War II provided chances for women to grow,

itself also boosted significantly. Under the war necessity for military supplies, Roosevelt made

the decision that he had to mobilize the proprietors of the mines, the factories, and the shops. He

realized Congress could provide the money, but it could not build the planes, design the tanks, or

assemble the weapons. Without the cooperation of industry, large production would never get off

the ground. So the challenge was to bring the proprietors of the nation's chief economic assets

into the defense effort as active participants. He also recognized that private business could not

find all the capital required for the expansion of the plants nor take the risk that the end of the

war would leave them with no order and excess capacity. Therefore, the federal government,

through the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, advanced the necessary money to expand the
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factories. The government developed new sources of supply for raw materials and created quick

mass transportation. The government also went into the business of producing synthetic rubber

and aluminum, as well as other emerging industries, and helped stimulate new technologies.

Today, the federal government can no longer interfere with the business but the huge boost it

provided for the industries will not vanish.

Conclusion

World War II was one of the most important turning points in human history. It had

significantly influenced American people both economically and socially. While the American

internment camps never reached the levels of Nazi death camps as far as atrocities were

concerned, they remain a dark mark on the nation's record of respecting civil liberties and

cultural differences. Rationing significantly limited amount of products people can purchase to

support the war. American industries boosted significantly with supports from the federal

government. Women had shown their abilities to do jobs that traditionally belong to men which

proved that men are not better than females, and laid the foundation of women pursuing equality

in the future. There were numerous other impacts that World War II had on American life, but in

summary, World War II was not only the largest and the deadliest war in human history but also a

significant turning point in American life.

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Work Cited

Gibbs, L., & Saville, W. (n.d.). The Womens Club of Winter Park. Retrieved January 2,

2017, from The Womens Club of Winter Park.:

http://myweb.rollins.edu/jchambliss/Historic_Winter_Park/Historic_Winter_Park/Women

s_Club_of_Winter_Park.htm

Holbert, C. (2014). The Farmers Tool: Changing Values of Rural Oregon Granges in Benton

County: 1938-1948. Western Oregon University.

Hubbard, R. G., & Anne M. Garnett, P. (2015). Macroeconomics. Frenchs Forest: Person

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American Home Front . Washington, DC: The National Historic Landmarks Program.

National Archives. (2016, October 3). Japanese Relocation During World War II. Retrieved

December 18, 2016, from National Archives:

https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/japanese-relocation

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World War II . Retrieved 1 5, 2017, from National Women's History Museum:

https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/partners/23.htm

Nebinger, E. (2012). Growing Up In A Pennsylvania Steel Town. Place of publication not

identified: Defense Lion Publications.

Public Broadcasting Service. (2007, September). WAR PRODUCTION. Retrieved January 5,

2017, from THE WAR: https://www.pbs.org/thewar/at_home_war_production.htm

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The National WWII Museum . (2012, June 19). Women in World War II: The Home Front and

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http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2-history/at-a-

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https://www.census.gov/population/international/data/worldpop/table_history.php

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