After the United States entered World War II, the American people responded with rapid and tremendous efforts to mobilize the Home Front for war. Enlistments in the military soared, as approximately 16 million Americans eventually served in uniform during the war. America Responds captures the mood of this pivotal moment of determination and unity in the context of a typical American town: a theater marquis plays patriotic advertisements and clips of propaganda movies; a reproduced newsstand recalls a coordinated show of patriotism in July 1942, when dozens of US magazines published, simultaneously, the American flag on their front covers; and a local recruitment office urges citizens to enlist. The America Responds gallery conveys how the onset of World War II unified the nation, as American media joined the US government in publishing iconic WWII propaganda posters, publications, movies, and newsreels, and every home could contribute to victory through rationing, scrap-metal drives, and bond drives.
Additional support provided by Boyd Gaming and Treasure Chest Casino
Exhibit Highlights
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Atrium
The entryway to The Arsenal of Democracy features a looping video and striking “E for Excellence” banner to attract the eye and introduce the themes of manufacturing and the iconography of WWII America.
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Gathering Storm
This gallery covers the historical events that preceded the outbreak of World War II, examining the mounting pressures that would engulf the world in bitter war.
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A House Divided
The period between the outbreak of World War II in Europe and the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941 is the focus of this gallery, which explores the passionate debate between America's split factions: isolationists and interventionists.
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America Besieged
This impactful gallery is dominated by a 50-foot-wide projection screen—a suitably vast surface on which to display the shock and chaos of Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941.
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America Responds
The onset of World War II unified America—a moment that is the focus of this gallery—as American media joined the US government in publishing iconic WWII propaganda.
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War Affects Every Home
This gallery, which immerses visitors in a 1942-style home, conveys a sense of the daily lives of American families during World War II.
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United but Unequal: I Am an American
While the cause of victory over the Axis powers united Americans, this gallery examines the racial supremacy championed by the Axis powers, which also refracted light on issues of national loyalty and race in America.
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Citizens to Warriors
This experiential gallery, set in a military barracks environment, highlights the massive effort to rapidly train and mobilize millions of civilians to become the nation’s troops in combat zones around the world.
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Manufacturing Victory
As war raged, American industry poured out weapons and war material in staggering amounts, utilizing scientific and technological innovation along the way—the focus of this gallery.
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Manhattan Project
The final gallery engages visitors in an immersive Los Alamos environment, detailing the massive scientific, technological, and military effort which ushered in the Atomic Age.
