December
7, 1941--A Day That Will Live in Infamy
America's isolation from war ended on December
7, 1941, when Japan staged a surprise attack
on American military installations in the
Pacific. The most devastating strike came
at Pearl Harbor, the Hawaiian naval base
where much of the US Pacific Fleet was moored.
In a two-hour attack, Japanese warplanes
sank or damaged 18 warships and destroyed
164 aircraft. Over 2,400 servicemen and
civilians lost their lives.
America's
Reaction
"No matter how long it may take
us to overcome this premeditated invasion,
the American people in their righteous
might will win through to absolute victory."
-- President Franklin
D. Roosevelt, December 8, 1941
Though stunned by the events of December
7, Americans were also resolute. On
December 8, President Roosevelt asked
Congress to declare war against Japan.
The declaration passed with just one
dissenting vote. Three days later, Germany
and Italy, allied with Japan, declared
war on the United States. America was
now drawn into a global war. It had
allies in this fight--most importantly
Great Britain and the Soviet Union.
But the job the nation faced in December
1941 was formidable.
Joining
the Military
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The United States faced a mammoth job
in December 1941. Ill-equipped and wounded,
the nation was at war with three formidable
adversaries. It had to prepare to fight
on two distant and very different fronts,
Europe and the Pacific.
America needed to quickly raise, train,
and outfit a vast military force. At
the same time, it had to find a way
to provide material aid to its hard-pressed
allies in Great Britain and the Soviet
Union.
Meeting these challenges would require
massive government spending, conversion
of existing industries to wartime production,
construction of huge new factories,
changes in consumption, and restrictions
on many aspects of American life. Government,
industry, and labor would need to cooperate.
Contributions from all Americans, young
and old, men and women, would be necessary
to build up what President Roosevelt
called the "Arsenal of Democracy."
In the months after Pearl Harbor, the
nation swiftly mobilized its human and
material resources for war. The opportunities
and sacrifices of wartime would change
America in profound, and sometimes unexpected,
ways.
Recruitment
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The primary
task facing America in 1941 was raising
and training a credible military force.
Concern over the threat of war had spurred
President Roosevelt and Congress to
approve the nation's first peacetime
military draft in September 1940. By
December 1941 America's military had
grown to nearly 2.2 million soldiers,
sailors, airmen, and marines.
America's armed forces consisted largely
of "citizen soldiers",men and
women drawn from civilian life. They came
from every state in the nation and all economic
and social strata. Many were volunteers,
but the majority,roughly 10 million,entered
the military through the draft. Most draftees
were assigned to the army. The other services
attracted enough volunteers at first, but
eventually their ranks also included draftees.
Barracks
Life
Upon their arrival at the training camps,
inductees were stripped of the freedom and
individuality they had enjoyed as civilians.
They had to adapt to an entirely new way
of living, one that involved routine inspections
and strict military conduct, as well as
rigorous physical and combat training. They
were given identical haircuts, uniforms,
and equipment, and were assigned to spartan
barracks that afforded no privacy and little
room for personal possessions.
The
Draft
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By late 1942 all men aged 18 to 64 were
required to register for the draft, though
in practice the system concentrated on men
under 38. Eventually 36 million men registered.
Individuals were selected from this manpower
pool for examination by one of over 6,000
local draft boards. These boards, comprised
of citizens from individual communities,
determined if a man was fit to enter the
military. They considered factors like the
importance of a man's occupation to the
war effort, his health, and his family situation.
Many men volunteered rather than wait to
be drafted. That way, they could choose
their branch of service.
Potential servicemen reported to military
induction centers to undergo physical and
psychiatric examinations. If a man passed
these exams, he was fingerprinted and asked
which type of service he preferred, though
his assignment would be based on the military's
needs. After signing his induction papers,
he was issued a serial number. The final
step was the administration of the oath.
He was now in the military. After a short
furlough, he reported to a reception center
before being shipped to a training camp.
New recruits faced more medical examinations,
inoculations, and aptitude tests.
Training
The training camp was the forge in which
civilians began to become military men and
women. In the training camps new servicemen
and women underwent rigorous physical conditioning.
They were drilled in the basic elements
of military life and trained to work as
part of a team. They learned to operate
and maintain weapons. They took tests to
determine their talents and were taught
more specialized skills. Paratroopers, antiaircraft
teams, desert troops, and other unique units
received additional instruction at special
training centers.
The
Home Front
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"I need not repeat the figures.
The facts speak for themselves.... These
men could not have been armed and equipped
as they are had it not been for the
miracle of production here at home.
The production which has flowed from
the country to all the battlefronts
of the world has been due to the efforts
of American business, American labor,
and American farmers, working together
as a patriotic team." --President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Navy Day speech,
October 27, 1944
Raising an armed force was just part
of America's war effort. That force
had to be supplied with the uniforms,
guns, tanks, ships, warplanes, and other
weapons and equipment needed to fight.
With its vast human and material resources,
the United States had the potential
to supply both itself and its allies.
But first the American economy had to
be converted to war production.
The war production effort brought immense
changes to American life. As millions
of men and women entered the service
and production boomed, unemployment
virtually disappeared. The need for
labor opened up new opportunities for
women and African Americans and other
minorities. Millions of Americans left
home to take jobs in war plants that
sprang up around the nation. Economic
output skyrocketed.
The war effort on the "Home Front"
required sacrifices and cooperation.
"Don't you know there's a war on?"
was a common expression. Rationing became
part of everyday life. Americans learned
to conserve vital resources. They lived
with price controls, dealt with shortages
of everything from nylons to housing,
and volunteered for jobs ranging from
air raid warden to Red Cross worker.
Rationing
& Recycling
"Food
for Victory"
To
conserve and produce more food, a "Food
for Victory" campaign was launched.
Eating leftovers became a patriotic
duty and civilians were urged to grow
their own vegetables and fruits. Millions
of "Victory gardens," planted
and maintained by ordinary citizens,
appeared in backyards, vacant lots,
and public parks. They produced over
1 billion tons of food. Americans canned
food at home and consulted "Victory
cookbooks" for recipes and tips
to make the most of rationed goods.
"Make
It Do or Do Without"
War production created shortages of critical
supplies. To overcome these shortages, war
planners searched for substitutes. One key
metal in limited supply was copper. It was
used in many war-related products, including
assault wire. The military needed millions
of miles of this wire to communicate on
battlefields.
To satisfy the military's demands, copper
substitutes had to be found to use in products
less important to the nation's defense.
The US Mint helped solve the copper shortage.
During 1943 it made pennies out of steel.
The Mint also conserved nickel, another
important metal, by removing it from 5-cent
coins. Substitutions like these helped win
the production battle.
"Do
With Less, So They'll Have More"
The military needed more than guns and ammunition
to do its job. It had to be fed. The Army's
standard K ration included chocolate bars,
which were produced in huge numbers. Cocoa
production was increased to make this possible.
Sugar was another ingredient in chocolate.
It was also used in chewing gum, another
part of the K ration. Sugar cane was needed
to produce gunpowder, dynamite, and other
chemical products.
To satisfy the military's needs, sugar
was rationed to civilians. The government
also rationed other foods, including meat
and coffee. Local rationing boards issued
coupons to consumers that entitled them
to a limited supply of rationed items.
"Save
Waste Fat for Explosives"
Ammunition for rifles, artillery, mortars,
and other weapons was one of the most important
manufacturing priorities of World War II.
A key ingredient needed to make the explosives
in much ammunition was glycerine.
To help produce more ammunition, Americans
were encouraged to save household waste
fat, which was used to make glycerine. Other
household goods,including rags, paper, silk,
and string,were also recycled. This was
a home front project that all Americans
could join.
Salvage for
Victory
Canteens are a standard part of military
equipment. Millions were produced during
the war. Most were made of steel or aluminum,
metals which were also used to make everything
from ammunition to ships. At times, both
metals were in short supply.
To meet America's metal needs, scrap was
salvaged from basements, backyards, and
attics. Old cars, bed frames, radiators,
pots, and pipes were just some of the items
gathered at metal "scrap drives"
around the nation. Americans also collected
rubber, tin, nylon, and paper at salvage
drives.
"Share
Your Cars and Spare Your Tires"
America's military needed millions of tires
for jeeps, trucks, and other vehicles. Tires
required rubber. Rubber was also used to
produce tanks and planes. But when Japan
invaded Southeast Asia, the United States
was cut off from one of its chief sources
of this critical raw product.
America overcame its rubber shortage in
several ways. Speed limits and gas rationing
forced people to limit their driving. This
reduced wear and tear on tires. A synthetic
rubber industry was created. The public
also carpooled and contributed rubber scrap
for recycling.
Dollars for
Defense
To help pay for the war, the government
increased corporate and personal income
taxes. The federal income tax entered the
lives of many Americans. In 1939 fewer than
8 million people filed individual income
tax returns. In 1945 nearly 50 million filed.
The withholding system of payroll deductions
was another wartime development. The government
also borrowed money by selling "war
bonds" to the public. With consumer
goods in short supply, Americans put much
of their money into bonds and savings accounts.
Mobilizing
the Economy
 |
America's economy performed astonishing
feats during World War II. Manufacturers
retooled their plants to produce war goods.
But this alone was not enough. Soon huge
new factories, built with government and
private funds, appeared around the nation.
Millions of new jobs were created and millions
of Americans moved to new communities to
fill them. Annual economic production, as
measured by the Gross National Product (GNP),
more than doubled, rising from $99.7 billion
in 1940 to nearly $212 billion in 1945.
Production
Miracles
In industry after industry Americans performed
production miracles. One story helps capture
the scale of the defense effort. In 1940
President Roosevelt shocked Congress when
he proposed building 50,000 aircraft a year.
In 1944 the nation made almost double that
number. Ford's massive Willow Run bomber
factory alone produced nearly one plane
an hour by March 1944.
To achieve increases like this, defense
spending jumped from $1.5 billion in 1940
to $81.5 billion in 1945. By 1944 America
led the world in arms production, making
more than enough to fill its military needs.
At the same time, the United States was
providing its allies in Great Britain and
the Soviet Union with critically needed
supplies.
Civilian
Defense
Many Americans volunteered to defend the
nation from enemy bombing or invasion. They
trained in first aid, aircraft spotting,
bomb removal, and fire fighting. Air raid
wardens led practice drills, including blackouts.
By mid-1942 over 10 million Americans were
civil defense volunteers.
Though America's mainland was never invaded,
there were dangers offshore. Several Japanese
submarines were spotted near the Pacific
coast, and German U-boats patrolled the
Atlantic coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and
the Caribbean Sea. At least 10 US naval
vessels were sunk or damaged by U-boats
operating in American waters.
A
Workforce Changed by War
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Unemployment Disappears
The war virtually ended unemployment
in America. The need for workers led
manufacturers to hire women, teenagers,
the aged, and minorities previously
excluded by discrimination from sectors
of the economy. Plentiful overtime work
contributed to rising wages and increased
savings.
Military and economic expansion created
labor shortages. To fill the gap, government
and industry encouraged women to enter
the workforce. Though most working women
continued to labor in more traditional
employment like waitressing and teaching,
millions took better-paid jobs in defense
factories.
African Americans and other minorities
also took high-paying industrial jobs
previously reserved for whites. In 1941,
black labor leader A. Philip Randolph
threatened to organize a protest march
on Washington, D.C. if the government
didn't bar racial discrimination in
defense plants with government contracts.
Faced with this threat, President Roosevelt
banned such discrimination and created
the Fair Employment Practices Commission
(FEPC) to investigate bias charges.
Millions of women, including many mothers,
entered the industrial workforce during
the war. They found jobs in especially
large numbers in the shipbuilding and
aircraft industries. "Rosie the
Riveter" became a popular symbol
of patriotic womanhood. Though defense
jobs paid far more than traditional
"female" occupations, women
were still often paid less than men
performing comparable work. Moreover,
at war's end, women were expected to
leave the factories to make way for
returning male veterans.
Higgins
Boats
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The Higgins
Boats
Higgins Industries designed and built two
basic classes of military craft.
The first was landing craft, constructed
of wood and steel and used to transport
fully armed troops, light tanks, field artillery,
and other mechanized equipment and supplies
to shore. These boats helped make the amphibious
landings of World War II possible.
Higgins also designed and manufactured
supply vessels and specialized patrol craft,
including high-speed PT boats, antisubmarine
boats, and dispatch boats.
LCVP (Landing
Craft, Vehicle, Personnel)
The LCVP was the most famous landing craft
designed and produced by Higgins Industries.
It could land soldiers, and even jeeps,
on a beach. LCVPs were used in North Africa,
Europe, and the Pacific during the war.
From the
Eureka...
The LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel),
the best-known landing craft designed by
Andrew Higgins, evolved from a boat he created
before the war for use in the swamps and
marshes of Louisiana. Trappers and oil companies
needed a rugged, shallow-bottomed craft
that could navigate these waters, run aground,
and retract itself without damaging its
hull. Higgins developed a boat that could
perform all these tasks: a spoonbill-bowed
craft he called the Eureka. Over time he
modified and improved his craft and found
markets for it in the United States and
abroad.
...to the
LCP(L)
During the 1930s Higgins tried to interest
the U.S. Navy in adapting his shallow-draft
Eureka for use as an amphibious landing
craft. The navy showed little interest,
but Higgins persisted. After a long struggle,
he finally secured a government contract
to build modified Eurekas for military use.
The new boat was called the LCP (Landing
Craft, Personnel) and, later, the LCP(L)
(Landing Craft, Personnel, Large). In its
most advanced form the LCP(L) measured 36
feet in length. It could transport men from
ships offshore directly onto a beach, then
retract itself, turn, and head back to sea.
The LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel)
was developed because the U.S. Marines needed
a boat capable of transporting vehicles
to shore. Higgins adapted the LCP(L) to
meet this requirement. He replaced the LCP(L)'s
rounded bow with a retractable ramp. The
new craft was tested for the first time
on May 26, 1941, on Lake Pontchartrain.
It carried a truck and 36 Higgins employees
safely to shore. The LCVP became the military's
standard vehicle and personnel landing craft.
Thousands were in service during the war.
NEW ORLEANS:
HOME OF THE HIGGINS BOATS
"If Higgins had not designed and built
those LCVPs, we never could have landed
over an open beach. The whole strategy of
the war would have been different."
--General Dwight D. Eisenhower
The city of New Orleans made a unique and
crucial contribution to America's war effort.
This was the home of Higgins Industries,
a small boat company owned by a flamboyant
entrepreneur named Andrew Jackson Higgins.
The story of Higgins' role in the war is
little known today, but his contribution
to the Allied victory was immeasurable.
World War II presented Allied war planners
with a tactical dilemma--how to make large
amphibious landings of armies against defended
coasts. For America this was a particularly
thorny problem, since its armed forces had
to mount amphibious invasions at sites ranging
from Pacific atolls to North Africa to the
coast of France.
Higgins' contribution was to design and
mass-produce boats that could ferry soldiers,
jeeps, and even tanks from a ship at sea
directly onto beaches. Such craft gave Allied
planners greater flexibility. They no longer
needed to attack heavily defended ports
before landing an assault force. Higgins'
boats were used in every major American
amphibious operation of World War II. His
achievements earned him many accolades.
The greatest came from General Dwight D.
Eisenhower, who called Higgins "the
man who won the war for us."
From the
Bayou to the Battlefront
Before World War II Andrew Higgins operated
a small boatyard, building workboats designed
to operate in the shallow waters of Louisiana's
bayous. During the 1920s and 1930s America's
military began exploring ways to make amphibious
landings. Higgins became involved in this
effort, adapting designs for shallow-draft
boats he had developed for peacetime uses.
His company created amphibious assault craft
capable of shuttling men and equipment quickly
and safely from ship to shore. When the
war came, business boomed. Higgins built
new factories with mass production lines
and employed thousands of workers. He even
opened a training school for boat operators.
New Orleans Naval Giant During World War
II Higgins Industries grew from a small
business operating a single boatyard into
the largest private employer in Louisiana.
The company turned out astounding numbers
of boats and ships. In September 1943 the
US Navy had 14,072 vessels. Of these, 8,865
had been designed and built by Higgins Industries.
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