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building the military
Marshall would guide the biggest army in american history from fewer then 190,00 men at the time the war began in europe in 1939 to over 8 million men by the war ends -
Building the military
June 1940. in september in that year congress approved the selective and training act a plan for the first peacetime draft in america history by a wide margin. -
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wartime america
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American Industry Gets the Job Done
By the fall of 1941, much had already been done to prepare the economy for war, but it was still only partially mobilized. The attack on Pearl Harbor changed everything -
African american in combat
The air force created it first african american unit, the 99th Pursuit Squadron. Trained in Tuskegee, Alabama, the pilots became known as the Tuskegee Airmen. -
African Americans Demand War Work
On June 25, 1941, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, which stated, “there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government because of race, creed, color, or national origin.” To enforce the order, he created the Fair Employment Practices Commission, the first federal civil rights agency since Reconstruction. -
Women join the armed forces
in May 1942 by creating the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). It appointed War Department official Oveta Culp Hobby as WAAC’s first director. Many women were unhappy that WAAC was not part of the regular army, however. About a year later, the army replaced the WAAC with the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), and Hobby became a colonel. -
American Industry Gets the Job Done
By the summer of 1942, almost all major industries and some 200,000 companies had converted to war production. Together they made the nation’s wartime “miracle” possible. -
Mexican Farmworkers
In 1942, the federal government arranged for Mexican farmworkers to help harvest crops in the Southwest as part of the Bracero Program, which continued until 1964. More than 200,000 Mexicans came to work during the war. -
A Nation on the Move
n 1942, Roosevelt created the National Housing Agency (NHA) to coordinate government housing programs. -
African american in combat
integrate military bases in 1943 and steadily expanded the role of African Americans within the armed forces. These successes paved the way for President Truman’s decision to fully integrate the military in 1948. -
Racism Leads to Violence
- Fighting between white and African American teens triggered a citywide riot that left 25 African Americans and 9 whites dead.