America Gears Up for War

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Key Battles of American History

America Gears Up for War

May 26, 2021 · 56m 30s

Between 1939 and 1941, the United States began increasing the size of its military forces while it ramped up war production. After Pearl Harbor, these processes went into overdrive, with...

Between 1939 and 1941, the United States began increasing the size of its military forces while it ramped up war production. After Pearl Harbor, these processes went into overdrive, with the result that several million Americans served in uniform in the war years, while America quickly became the world’s greatest industrial and military power. In the US, unemployment nearly disappeared, while African-Americans, Latinos, and women found unprecedented employment opportunities. At the same time, the US government interned thousands of Japanese-Americans for no reason other than their ancestry. In this episode, James and Scott describe how the US went from being a relatively isolationist power to the world’s “Arsenal of Democracy.” They also give an overview of life on the home front during the war.

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Comments

Executive Director, FCGH

2 years ago

I enjoyed the presentation, but would like to add one point you missed. In discussing the women who served in uniform, you made mention of the women who served in the WAC, WAVE, and WASP services, but failed to make mention of the women who served in the Marines and Coast Guard (they are some times missed because the Marine Corps and Coast Guard were both in the Department of the Navy, but were not in the WAVES). For the Coast Guard, women who served joined the SPARs (the service name derived from the Coast Guard motto of "Semper Paratus, Always Ready"). Like the other services, some served in clerical and administrative jobs to "release a man to fight," but many served in what today we would call "STEM" jobs, including in the classified Loran Navigation program. Gary Thomas, Executive Director, Foundation for Coast Guard History.