Life on the Home Front
Once President Roosevelt asked for a declaration of war, the country rallied together to support the war effort. The increased industrialization certainly stimulated the sluggish economy, which was climbing out of the Great Depression. As military production rose, and with men conscripted into the armed services, women took jobs or volunteered in staffing weapon factories. This quickly earned females the moniker “Rosie the Riveter.”
With so many raw materials needed for the war, rationing became a way of life. The emergency Office of Price Administration (OPA) was created to oversee the rationing of, among other things, automobiles and tires, leather shoes, farm machinery, typewriters, bicycles, gasoline, home heating oil, coal, coffee, sugar, and meat. In fact, the government instituted a thirty-five-mile-per-hour speed limit aimed at conserving tires and gasoline. Speeders were not looked on too kindly and were viewed as unlawful and unpatriotic. Rationing was undertaken in conjunction with price and rent controls as well.
Rationing Forces Creative Measures
Women, accustomed to wearing nylon or silk stockings, had to do without these. Some drew a black line down the back of their legs with an eyebrow pencil to give the appearance of a seamed stocking. Of course, where there is limited supply and great demand, the illegal or black market flourishes. Ration coupons, stamps, and certificates were used for items in short supply.
In addition, many families planted victory gardens in their back yards to supplement their diets, allowing commercial farms to supply food for the troops. The war provided the impetus some farmers needed to experiment with crop rotation and better fertilizers. Everyone, it seemed, became frugal, industrious, and resourceful, not because they wanted to, but because they had to.
What was the military policy behind the movie Saving Private Ryan?
The Sole Survivor Policy is a set of regulations that protects members of a family from the draft or combat duty if they have already lost family members in military service. The regulations were a response to the loss of the five Sullivan brothers who were all killed when the USS Juneau was sunk during World War II.
Mail and packages between loved ones in the states and the troops overseas were government inspected. At times, portions of letters were cut out for fear critical information would fall into enemy hands. Citizens back home also purchased war bonds to help finance the effort. For many of the young recruits, their experience in World War II would serve as the defining moment of their lives.
In 1944, Congress passed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, better known as the “G.I. Bill.” This was essentially a benefits package for returning veterans that spawned a postwar baby and housing boom. It established veterans' hospitals around the country where vets could obtain rehabilitation and medical care and provided low-interest mortgages, college tuition, and trade-school funds.
Roosevelt's Death
Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met at the Soviet Black Sea port of Yalta in February 1945 to formulate Allied military strategy and declare an end to German militarism and Nazism. In addition, they expressed determination that war criminals would be brought to swift and just punishment.
Leaders at the Yalta Conference called for a conference of nations to promote world peace and cooperation following the war. On April 25, 1945, delegates from fifty nations met in San Francisco to draft a charter. The charter was ratified by the U.S. Senate on July 28, 1945. The United Nations (UN), with its home in New York City, was adopted on October 24, 1945, to foster better relations and encourage respect for human rights. Member nations pledged to settle differences peacefully.
As if exhausted by his efforts overseeing the war, Franklin Delano Roosevelt died of natural causes at his home in Warm Springs, Georgia, in April 1945. The only president to be elected four times was mourned by the entire country, if not the world. Sadly, the man whose administration was plagued by the actions of Hitler and the Japanese died before any surrender or victory. Vice President Harry S. Truman was sworn in as the nation's thirty-third president on April 12, 1945.
