What you’ll learn to do: describe the American home front during WWII

Figure 1. Women welders employed by the wartime shipyards of Pascagoula Mississippi in 1943

The brunt of the war’s damage occurred far from United States soil, but Americans at home were still greatly affected. Women struggled to care for children with scarce resources at their disposal and sometimes while working full time. Economically, the country surged forward, but strict rationing for the war effort meant that Americans still went without. New employment opportunities opened up for women and ethnic minorities, as White men enlisted or were drafted. These new opportunities were positive for those who benefited from them, but they also created new anxieties among White men about racial and gender equality. Race riots took place across the country, and Americans of Japanese ancestry were relocated to internment camps. Still, there was an overwhelming sense of patriotism in the country, which was reflected in the entertainment and media culture of the day.