After studying the following documents, answer the question: were women and minorities better off after WW II?

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1 Women and Minorities during World War II On Dec. 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, pulling the United States into WWII. The war was fought on many fronts in Europe and the Pacific. One of the most critical fronts during the war was the home-front. With so many men away at war, women and minorities that had not been given opportunities were suddenly in great demand in war industry jobs. Millions of American women answered the government's call to enter the work force and fill traditionally male jobs left vacant by those who had gone off to fight. Above all, women's labor was urgently needed to help fill shortages created by the expanded wartime economy, especially in the production of military hardware. These women who wore hard-hats and overalls and operated heavy machinery represented a radical departure from the traditional American feminine ideal of housewife and mother. Many African Americans migrated to the North and West where there were industrial jobs available. Pres. Roosevelt even signed the Fair Employment Practice Act prohibiting pay discrimination based on national origin in order to protect the African Americans who were entering the workforce. During World War II, Congress responded to growers worries about a shortage of agricultural workers by approving the temporary entry of migrants from impoverished rural areas in Mexico. The Bracero Program became the largest guest worker program in US history, employing more than four million Mexican workers over its 22-year history. The program was controversial; some argued that the low wages at which migrants were willing to work threatened the jobs of domestic farmworkers. Though rules were in place to protect both migrants and domestic workers (such as guaranteed minimum wage and humane treatment ) many employers ignored them, using braceros simply as a source of low-paid labor. The Bracero program became notorious for abuse and exploitation as well as the indignities of racism and discrimination New employment opportunities were not the only way minorities were affected. After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, fear of a Japanese invasion and of subversive acts by Japanese Americans prompted the government to move more than 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry to 10 relocation camps. Those forcibly removed from their homes, businesses, and possessions included Japanese immigrants legally forbidden to become citizens, their American-born children, and children of the American-born Japanese. After studying the following documents, answer the question: were women and minorities better off after WW II?

2 Document 1 Black workers could find decent-paying jobs in shipyards and aircraft factories all along the Pacific coast. However, they also encountered their share of problems, including unwarranted job transfers, anti-black remarks by supervisors and co-workers, and residential segregation. Fanny Christina Hill recalled: "They did everything they could to keep you separated.... They just did not like for a Negro and a white person to get together to talk. But black workers in the West Coast plants joined integrated unions, worked in the same buildings as whites, and lunched in the same cafeterias. For thousands of black women and men in skilled jobs, the defense industry work changed the quality of their lives. Fanny Christina Hill put it bluntly: "The War made me live better. Hitler was the one that got us out of the white folks' kitchen." African Americans shared their nation's joy on V-J Day, But for many the celebration soon turned bittersweet. By 1947, thousands of African Americans who had been "essential workers" during the war were unemployed and roamed the streets of Los Angeles, Oakland, and Portland. In that year, black Oaklanders, although only 10 percent of the city's population, made up half of the applicants for welfare. The postwar job outlook in Portland was so dismal that the black population declined by half between 1944 and How did WWII benefit the African Americans? Were they better off before or after the war? Why? How did the war contribute to civil unrest?

3 Document 2 What region had the largest loss of Black population during WWII? What region had the highest gain? Why did African Americans migrate during WWII?

4 Document 3 Jesús Campoya Calderón from San Diego, Chihuahua was one of the thousands of "braceros" who worked in the fields of New Mexico and Texas. To apply, the candidates had to travel to Chihuahua City, to the "trocadero," next to the railroad station. The "trocadero" was run by American officers. The main area in the "trocadero" was a line of windows. The first step for the applicant was to be approved at the initial interview in the first window. The applicant would then pass to the second officer for a more extensive interrogation regarding his work experience and show the palms of his hands to the officer. Once approved, he would be sent to the third window to sign his contract and to have his picture taken. A few days later, the workers were transported from Chihuahua City to the border. The "braceros" waited several days in Ciudad Juárez until their permits were stamped by immigration officers. From El Paso, they were transported to the processing center in Fabens, situated in the El Paso Lower Valley. At the center, they were sprayed with a white powder in order, "To kill the Mexican fleas," or so they were told by a gringo. That evening they ate bread and baloney. "After several days without food, the sandwich tasted like glory...," Campoya said. Afterwards, the farmers arrived to select "their" workers, which were needed in their farms. "In the farms we would do anything, although our permit was to pick cotton only." They would pick cotton during the day, but in the evenings and on Sundays they would repair fences or paint the farmer's house. However, they were only paid for the cotton picked from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. The picker received $2.10 for 100 lbs. of cotton. The best cotton picker (usually from Coahuila) made about 300 pounds each day. A good picker made $31.40 on a good week. "Sounds low, but then a pair of authentic Levi's pants cost $ " Once a week, they were taken to the "big town" to buy groceries and cigarettes. Some also used this opportunity to send their money back home. "Because I did not trust the bank, I saved all my money myself. I worked four months, seven days a week, at least 12 hours every day and I took home almost $300 dollars." "Those were very good days..." Why do you think the Mexican Braceros chose to come and work in the US? Why did the Braceros work in the evenings and on Sundays for no pay? Why do you think the bracero said, Those were very good days?

5 Document 4 During the "Bracero" Program the short handle hoe was widely used. The "braceros" still remember the all day long bending, thinning sugar beet fields with this tool. The use of the short-handle hoe is now illegal in most of the states, According to these images, how were the Braceros treated in the United States? Who would be in favor of extending the Bracero program after WW II, and who would be against it? Why? Why do you think the number of Braceros increased after WWII?

6 Document 5 What did you do in the war, Grandma? Kathy O'Grady : What Did You Do in the War, Grandma? After my husband went into the Seabee's I quit my job at Gibson's and went to work in a woolen mill, Lister's, which before the war was just a normal routine job. When the war started they need wool very badly so this was considered a service job. In other words, it was important. At the mill the government used to send out all the Purple Heart soldiers to talk to us and tell us that we couldn't take time off, and pushed all this patriotism on us. One particular day I had the day off and they went to my house. I wasn't home. It would have been embarrassing to have soldier with a Purple Heart on asking why I wasn't at work. Who took care of your baby while you were at work? I had a young baby and I had a place to leave him in a nursery. At the mill I worked every day and I had all my evenings off, and Saturdays and Sundays, so that I was home alone with my son. I was lucky in that there was a Salvation Army day nursery on the street I lived on. They only charged $3 a week. If he was sick I either had to stay home with him or take him up to my sister's; maybe his grandmother would take care of him. One time he had scarlet fever, and the doctor put him in the hospital. The doctor figured where I was all by myself and my husband was in the service, it would have been too much to be at home with him. This way I could come and go to work. Do you think the war changed you? After the war things changed because women found out they could go out and they could survive. They could really do it on their own. That's where I think women's lib really started. So the whole world has changed. Everybody's more aware of everything. We were very sheltered up until I think it made us more aware. It made me mature. When my husband went in the service, I often used to think if anything happened to him, our baby was my complete responsibility. At 21 that was quite an awesome thing to think that you had a small human life that you were responsible for. Why would it be embarrassing for a Purple Heart recipient to ask why she wasn t at work? Why did the Dr. put her baby in the hospital, instead of letting her care for it at home? Why does the grandma believe that women s lib started after the war?

7 Document 6 Poster recruitng women to work during the War Women seeking equal pay after the War at a protest According to the poster, why is the woman taking a job? What does the poster infer about who holds the position of power in the family? Do you think that changed after the war? Why? According to the photo, what happened to wages paid to women after the war?

8 Document 7 Transcript: "To All Persons of Japanese Ancestry". Western Defense Command and Fourth Army Wartime Civil Control Administration, Presidio of San Francisco, California May 3, 1942 Instructions to All Persons of Japanese Ancestry Living in the Following Area: All of that portion of the County of Alameda, State of California, within the boundary beginning at the point where the southerly limits of the City of Oakland meet San Francisco Bay. Pursuant to the provisions of Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34, this Headquarters, dated May 3, 1942, all persons of Japanese ancestry, both alien and non-alien, will be evacuated from the above area by 12 o'clock noon, Sunday, May 9, The Following Instructions Must Be Observed: 1. A responsible member of each family, preferably the head of the family, or the person in whose name most of the property is held, and each individual living alone, will report to the Civil Control Station to receive further instructions. This must be done between 8:00 A. M. and 5:00 P. M. on Monday, May 4, 1942, or between 9:00 A. M. and 5:00 P. M. on Tuesday, May 5, Evacuees must carry with them on departure for the Assembly Center, the following property: (a) Bedding and linens (no mattress) for each member of the family; (b) Toilet articles for each member of the family; (c) Extra clothing for each member of the family; (d) Sufficient knives, forks, spoons, plates, bowls and cups for each member of the family; (e) Essential personal effects for each member of the family. All items carried will be securely packaged, tied and plainly marked with the name of the owner and numbered in accordance with instructions obtained at the Civil Control Station. The size and number of packages is limited to that which can be carried by the individual or family group. 3. No pets of any kind will be permitted. 4. No personal items and no household goods will be shipped to the Assembly Center. 5. The United States Government through its agencies will provide for the storage, at the sole risk of the owner, of the more substantial household items, such as iceboxes, washing machines, pianos and other heavy furniture. Cooking utensils and other small items will be accepted for storage if crated, packed and plainly marked with the name and address of the owner. Only one name and address will be used by a given family. What is this order directing the Japanese Americans to do? Do you believe it was justified? How do you think it affected the Japanese Americans?

9 Document 8 Why did the Japanese store owner put the sign in his window? Why does the cartoon indicate the Japanese have to move to the internment camps? What nationality are the ball players in the photo? Why did they use baseball as the analogy?