WWII:

Life at Home
Learning Targets
I can:

- Understand the importance of cause and effect

- Examine how life changed for the average citizen in WWII
- Understand the importance of perspectives on historical events
- Annotate/Engage with a primary source
With the war raging overseas against both Germany
and Japan, we ask you, What did life at home for the
women, children, and others not fighting overseas?
What happened at home?

- Men went off to war

- Opened space for women to join
the workforce
- Created space for further
involvement in the workforce, even
after the war
- Rosie the Riveter
Women in the workforce

- Women began to take up

the jobs left by many of
the fighting men
- Factory jobs, nurses, etc.
- Helped fuel the American
economy and military
machine during the war
Children at Home
- Child labor force
- Children were more motivated to be
compliant to authority and would
typically accept the jobs other adults
would refuse to do
- If machines were experiencing
problems, children found it easy to
squeeze into small spaces - this was
also the case in mines
- 1.75 million children were working for 16
hours a day
Food on the Home Front
- Everyone was expected to be an
active participant in the war effort
- The government rationed foods
like: eggs, sugar, buter, milk,
coffee, meat and canned goods
- Citizens were expected to “Use it
up - Wear it out - Make it do - or Do
without”
- Americans grew 60% of the
produce they consumed in “Victory
Gardens”
Victory Gardens

- Nearly 20 million Americans

planted gardens in their backyards,
empty lots, and even city rooftops.
- An estimated 9-10 million tons of
fruits and vegetables were
harvested in homes and community
plots which was almost equivalent
to the amount of commercial
production
Propaganda
- Used to influence the people's
attitude towards the war
- Would attack those seen as
“enemies”
- Pushed for civilians to join in the
war effort
- Major part of the effort at home to
“support” the troops
What did you previously know about women joining in the war efforts at home?

How has this still affected American society to this day?

Can you envision the Child Labor of WWII today?

How was propaganda in WWII used to influence the “Homefront”?

Japanese Internment Camps
The National Parks | Untold Stories | Manzanar: "Never Again" | RMPBS

- Camps used by the United States to

“protect” against Japanese threat

- Internment:
- Used to “isolate” japanese
americans
- Many feared the Japanese
Americans would help the Japanese
war effort
Video
The National Parks | Untold Stories | Manzanar: "Never Again" | RMPBS

- What does Manzanar tell us about America during WWII?

- How did internment affect Japanese Americans? The American war
effort?
Internment Camps: Fred’s Story

- Fred's Story - Korematsu Institute

Read the biography about Fred Korematsu and fill out the graphic
organizer on google classroom
Ticket out the Door
- Write a paragraph or creatively draw a picture representing an aspect of the
“homefront” of WWII that you found the most interesting, or that surprised you
the most.
- This can focus on women in the workforce, child labor, Japanese internment or any other
apect of the lesson.
- This Ticket out the Door should relate to content covered in class today and
explain why the event/aspect occurred