The home front in World War II

Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D, all summaries in our words, written today. Card A, two National Park Service counts of the Kaiser shipyards in Richmond, California: one page says more than 747 vessels were built in the four Richmond yards, about 519 of them Liberty ships, roughly 20 percent of the country's Liberty ships. A history report says the yards launched 745 ships, 13 percent of the 5,777 ships built by Maritime Commission-sponsored shipyards. Card B: The city of Richmond grew from under 24,000 people to over 100,000 during the war, and had more than 56 war industries. Card C: The Emergency Price Control Act of 1942 let the Office of Price Administration set maximum prices. Its General Maximum Price Regulation, issued April 28, 1942, generally barred sellers from charging more than the prices they charged in March 1942. Card D: Rationing shared scarce goods, and ceiling prices on rationed goods helped keep inflation in check. Coffee, for example, was rationed from November 1942 to July 28, 1943.

2. 1.

   Card A gives two NPS counts for the Richmond yards: more than 747 vessels, and 745 ships launched, 13 percent of 5,777. How should Ari use them?

   • Prefer the 747, since a larger count is more complete than a count of ships launched
   • Treat the 13 percent as Richmond's share of Liberty ships, which card A puts at about 20 percent
   • Treat the 13 percent as Richmond's share of the ships the country built in total, since 5,777 is the national total
   • As close counts of slightly different things, with 13 percent a share of Maritime Commission yards

3. Use this

   Cards E to H. Card E, Executive Order 8802, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941 (primary source; adapted from the National Archives transcript, cuts marked …): "All contracting agencies of the Government of the United States shall include in all defense contracts … hereafter negotiated by them a provision obligating the contractor not to discriminate against any worker … because of race, creed, color, or national origin; … There is established in the Office of Production Management a Committee on Fair Employment Practice, … The Committee shall receive and investigate complaints of discrimination in violation of the provisions of this order … and shall take appropriate steps to redress grievances which it finds to be valid." Card F, a summary in our words, written today (National Park Service): On January 31, 1942, the Pittsburgh Courier, a Black newspaper, printed a letter from James G. Thompson, a 26-year-old from Wichita, Kansas, titled "Should I Sacrifice to Live 'Half-American?'" The Courier then began the Double V campaign, a call for victory over fascism abroad and victory over racism at home, and urged its 140,000 subscribers to form Double V clubs. The campaign appeared less and less after July to October 1942 and had mostly ended by 1943. Card G, a summary in our words (National Park Service): Before the war African Americans made up no more than 3 percent, about 1,800, of about 60,000 workers in western shipyards. By 1945 the western yards had more than 700,000 workers, and about 7 percent, about 50,000, were African American. Card H, a summary in our words (National Archives): A. Philip Randolph and other Black leaders met officials in 1941 and warned of a march on Washington; Randolph called the march off after the order was issued. Historians have often judged the Committee powerless and ineffective, especially in the South.

4. 2.

   Card E is the 1941 order; card H reports historians' judgment of its Committee. What is each best evidence for, Bo asks?

   • The order shows what was required and set up; the historians' judgment shows how well it worked
   • The historians' judgment is the better evidence of what the order required, since it is read with hindsight
   • The order shows how well the Committee worked; the historians' judgment shows what the order required
   • The order shows discrimination in defense jobs ended in 1941, with card H adding just a few exceptions

5. Use this

   Cards I to L. Card I, Executive Order 9066, signed February 19, 1942 (primary source; National Archives transcript), which authorized military commanders to set military areas: "…to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded…" Card J, a summary in our words, written today (National Archives; National Park Service): On December 18, 1944, the Supreme Court decided two cases about the removal. In Korematsu v. United States, by 6 to 3, it held that compulsory exclusion of citizens from the West Coast in wartime was justified; the majority opinion said the exclusion was driven by military danger, not by hostility to Korematsu or his race, and Justices Roberts, Murphy and Jackson dissented. In Ex parte Endo, the Court decided unanimously that a citizen who was "concededly loyal" could not be detained without cause. Card K, a summary in our words (National Park Service): In the Second Great Migration almost 1.5 million Black residents moved to northern and western states, and by the end of the war one in five Americans had moved. The San Francisco Bay Area's Black population rose from under 20,000 in 1940 to over 60,000 in 1945. Card L, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, section 1 (primary source; Public Law 100-383, 102 Stat. 903), which gave the Act's purposes: "to acknowledge the fundamental injustice of the evacuation, relocation, and internment of United States citizens and permanent resident aliens of Japanese ancestry during World War II" and to "apologize on behalf of the people of the United States".

6. 3.

   Card I is the 1942 order and card J sums up the 1944 rulings. What does the pair show about the order, Esme asks?

   • The Court limited exclusion in Korematsu and upheld detention of loyal citizens in Endo
   • The Court struck down the order in 1944, since Endo ruled for a loyal citizen who was held
   • Its words let commanders exclude persons; Korematsu upheld exclusion, Endo limited detention
   • The Court called the removal a fundamental injustice in 1944, as the Act of 1988 later did

7. Use this

   Cards A to D, all summaries in our words, written today. Card A, two National Park Service counts of the Kaiser shipyards in Richmond, California: one page says more than 747 vessels were built in the four Richmond yards, about 519 of them Liberty ships, roughly 20 percent of the country's Liberty ships. A history report says the yards launched 745 ships, 13 percent of the 5,777 ships built by Maritime Commission-sponsored shipyards. Card B: The city of Richmond grew from under 24,000 people to over 100,000 during the war, and had more than 56 war industries. Card C: The Emergency Price Control Act of 1942 let the Office of Price Administration set maximum prices. Its General Maximum Price Regulation, issued April 28, 1942, generally barred sellers from charging more than the prices they charged in March 1942. Card D: Rationing shared scarce goods, and ceiling prices on rationed goods helped keep inflation in check. Coffee, for example, was rationed from November 1942 to July 28, 1943.

8. 4.

   Card B shows Richmond growing from under 24,000 to over 100,000 with 56 war industries; card A gives the yards' output. What do the cards support, Jun asks?

   • The city grew first, which led the companies to build the yards there in the years that followed
   • The Kaiser yards alone caused the growth, since they built the most ships in the city
   • Kaiser's faster methods caused the growth, since the yards built ships quickly
   • War work drew people, but the cards do not split shipyards from other industries

9. Use this

   Cards E to H. Card E, Executive Order 8802, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941 (primary source; adapted from the National Archives transcript, cuts marked …): "All contracting agencies of the Government of the United States shall include in all defense contracts … hereafter negotiated by them a provision obligating the contractor not to discriminate against any worker … because of race, creed, color, or national origin; … There is established in the Office of Production Management a Committee on Fair Employment Practice, … The Committee shall receive and investigate complaints of discrimination in violation of the provisions of this order … and shall take appropriate steps to redress grievances which it finds to be valid." Card F, a summary in our words, written today (National Park Service): On January 31, 1942, the Pittsburgh Courier, a Black newspaper, printed a letter from James G. Thompson, a 26-year-old from Wichita, Kansas, titled "Should I Sacrifice to Live 'Half-American?'" The Courier then began the Double V campaign, a call for victory over fascism abroad and victory over racism at home, and urged its 140,000 subscribers to form Double V clubs. The campaign appeared less and less after July to October 1942 and had mostly ended by 1943. Card G, a summary in our words (National Park Service): Before the war African Americans made up no more than 3 percent, about 1,800, of about 60,000 workers in western shipyards. By 1945 the western yards had more than 700,000 workers, and about 7 percent, about 50,000, were African American. Card H, a summary in our words (National Archives): A. Philip Randolph and other Black leaders met officials in 1941 and warned of a march on Washington; Randolph called the march off after the order was issued. Historians have often judged the Committee powerless and ineffective, especially in the South.

10. 5.

    Randolph's warned march (card H), the order (card E) and the Double V campaign (card F) all pressed for fair hiring. Which claim fits the cards, Kira asks?

    • The Courier campaign came first and pushed Roosevelt to issue the order in June 1941
    • The order alone explains Black war employment, since it set up the Committee to act on complaints
    • Pressure came in stages, the march first and the campaign after the order; the cards rank none
    • The warned march won real enforcement, since Randolph called it off once the order came

11. Use this

    Cards I to L. Card I, Executive Order 9066, signed February 19, 1942 (primary source; National Archives transcript), which authorized military commanders to set military areas: "…to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded…" Card J, a summary in our words, written today (National Archives; National Park Service): On December 18, 1944, the Supreme Court decided two cases about the removal. In Korematsu v. United States, by 6 to 3, it held that compulsory exclusion of citizens from the West Coast in wartime was justified; the majority opinion said the exclusion was driven by military danger, not by hostility to Korematsu or his race, and Justices Roberts, Murphy and Jackson dissented. In Ex parte Endo, the Court decided unanimously that a citizen who was "concededly loyal" could not be detained without cause. Card K, a summary in our words (National Park Service): In the Second Great Migration almost 1.5 million Black residents moved to northern and western states, and by the end of the war one in five Americans had moved. The San Francisco Bay Area's Black population rose from under 20,000 in 1940 to over 60,000 in 1945. Card L, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, section 1 (primary source; Public Law 100-383, 102 Stat. 903), which gave the Act's purposes: "to acknowledge the fundamental injustice of the evacuation, relocation, and internment of United States citizens and permanent resident aliens of Japanese ancestry during World War II" and to "apologize on behalf of the people of the United States".

12. 6.

    Korematsu and Endo were decided on the same day (card J). Which statement about why the results differ fits the card, Luz asks?

    • Different questions: exclusion from the West Coast, and detention of a conceded-loyal citizen
    • The Court reversed itself within a day, since Endo overruled the holding in Korematsu
    • Endo decided exclusion from the West Coast, and Korematsu decided detention of a loyal citizen
    • Endo won because the Court heard evidence of her loyalty, which Korematsu lacked

13. Use this

    Cards A to D, all summaries in our words, written today. Card A, two National Park Service counts of the Kaiser shipyards in Richmond, California: one page says more than 747 vessels were built in the four Richmond yards, about 519 of them Liberty ships, roughly 20 percent of the country's Liberty ships. A history report says the yards launched 745 ships, 13 percent of the 5,777 ships built by Maritime Commission-sponsored shipyards. Card B: The city of Richmond grew from under 24,000 people to over 100,000 during the war, and had more than 56 war industries. Card C: The Emergency Price Control Act of 1942 let the Office of Price Administration set maximum prices. Its General Maximum Price Regulation, issued April 28, 1942, generally barred sellers from charging more than the prices they charged in March 1942. Card D: Rationing shared scarce goods, and ceiling prices on rationed goods helped keep inflation in check. Coffee, for example, was rationed from November 1942 to July 28, 1943.

14. 7.

    An invented seller charged $1.20 for a good in March 1942 and $1.35 in June, once the regulation applied. Under card C, what follows, Milo asks?

    • The $1.35 was allowed if it did not go above the seller's costs plus a fair profit
    • The $1.35 was allowed, since the ceiling was the price charged on April 28, the day it was issued
    • The $1.35 was allowed, since ceiling prices applied to rationed goods and not to other goods
    • The $1.35 was above the ceiling of $1.20, the seller's March price, unless an exception applied

15. Use this

    Cards E to H. Card E, Executive Order 8802, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941 (primary source; adapted from the National Archives transcript, cuts marked …): "All contracting agencies of the Government of the United States shall include in all defense contracts … hereafter negotiated by them a provision obligating the contractor not to discriminate against any worker … because of race, creed, color, or national origin; … There is established in the Office of Production Management a Committee on Fair Employment Practice, … The Committee shall receive and investigate complaints of discrimination in violation of the provisions of this order … and shall take appropriate steps to redress grievances which it finds to be valid." Card F, a summary in our words, written today (National Park Service): On January 31, 1942, the Pittsburgh Courier, a Black newspaper, printed a letter from James G. Thompson, a 26-year-old from Wichita, Kansas, titled "Should I Sacrifice to Live 'Half-American?'" The Courier then began the Double V campaign, a call for victory over fascism abroad and victory over racism at home, and urged its 140,000 subscribers to form Double V clubs. The campaign appeared less and less after July to October 1942 and had mostly ended by 1943. Card G, a summary in our words (National Park Service): Before the war African Americans made up no more than 3 percent, about 1,800, of about 60,000 workers in western shipyards. By 1945 the western yards had more than 700,000 workers, and about 7 percent, about 50,000, were African American. Card H, a summary in our words (National Archives): A. Philip Randolph and other Black leaders met officials in 1941 and warned of a march on Washington; Randolph called the march off after the order was issued. Historians have often judged the Committee powerless and ineffective, especially in the South.

16. 8.

    An invented defense contractor refuses a worker a job because of race in 1942. Using card E, what route and duty does the order set, Noah asks?

    • Complain to the Committee, which was to investigate; the contract was to bar the discrimination
    • The order covers just training programs, so a refusal to hire a worker falls outside the order
    • The Committee could cancel the contract at once, since the order sets a penalty for refusal
    • The contractor was to investigate the complaint, and the Committee just to record the result it reached

17. Use this

    Cards I to L. Card I, Executive Order 9066, signed February 19, 1942 (primary source; National Archives transcript), which authorized military commanders to set military areas: "…to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded…" Card J, a summary in our words, written today (National Archives; National Park Service): On December 18, 1944, the Supreme Court decided two cases about the removal. In Korematsu v. United States, by 6 to 3, it held that compulsory exclusion of citizens from the West Coast in wartime was justified; the majority opinion said the exclusion was driven by military danger, not by hostility to Korematsu or his race, and Justices Roberts, Murphy and Jackson dissented. In Ex parte Endo, the Court decided unanimously that a citizen who was "concededly loyal" could not be detained without cause. Card K, a summary in our words (National Park Service): In the Second Great Migration almost 1.5 million Black residents moved to northern and western states, and by the end of the war one in five Americans had moved. The San Francisco Bay Area's Black population rose from under 20,000 in 1940 to over 60,000 in 1945. Card L, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, section 1 (primary source; Public Law 100-383, 102 Stat. 903), which gave the Act's purposes: "to acknowledge the fundamental injustice of the evacuation, relocation, and internment of United States citizens and permanent resident aliens of Japanese ancestry during World War II" and to "apologize on behalf of the people of the United States".

18. 9.

    An invented citizen, conceded to be loyal, is held in a camp in 1944. Which holding in card J applies, and what does it leave open, Pia asks?

    • Endo applies: such a citizen could not be detained without cause; exclusion is left to Korematsu
    • Endo applies if the citizen first proved loyalty in court, which card J requires before the ruling applies
    • Neither applies, since the Court left wartime powers untested in both cases in 1944
    • Korematsu applies, since the Court upheld holding citizens in the camps by a vote of 6 to 3
19. 10.

    Card K gives almost 1.5 million Black residents moving north and west, and a Bay Area rise from under 20,000 to over 60,000. What does the pair allow, Zee asks?

    • The Bay Area rise came from shipyard jobs, since the yards hired Black workers by 1945
    • The Bay Area rise fits the national move, but cannot show its share or the reasons
    • The Bay Area drew just about 3 percent of the 1.5 million, so it was a minor destination
    • The Bay Area's Black population tripled, so the national move tripled as well