The home front in World War II

Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D, all summaries in our words, written today. Card A: On June 25, 1941, Executive Order 8802 banned discrimination in defense industries and created the Committee on Fair Employment Practice. It came after A. Philip Randolph and other Black leaders pressed for it and planned a march on Washington. Card B: Shipyards in Richmond, California, run mostly by the Kaiser company, built Liberty and Victory ships, with men, women and immigrants working side by side. Some three million women worked in war plants; by 1944, 16 percent of working women held war-industry jobs. Card C: Gasoline, butter, sugar and canned milk were rationed because they were needed for the war. Japan's capture of the Philippines cut off the main sugar supply, and its control of the Dutch East Indies from March 1942 to September 1945 caused a rubber shortage, so tires were rationed. Families received their first ration cards in May 1942. Card D: Coffee was rationed from November 1942 to July 28, 1943: at first one pound every five weeks for each person over 15. Rationing shared scarce goods and helped keep prices from rising fast.

2. 1.

   Card A is a summary of Executive Order 8802, written today. A student asks whether defense plants hired Black workers in large numbers afterward. Is card A enough, Ari asks?

   • No; card A reports what the order banned and why, not what employers did next
   • Yes, together with card B, which shows men, women and immigrants working side by side at Richmond
   • Yes; the Committee on Fair Employment Practice it created enforced the ban, as card A confirms
   • Yes; an order banning discrimination in defense industries shows that employers hired Black workers widely
3. 2.

   A student asks whether women's war work lasted after 1945. Card B gives three million women in war plants and a 1944 share. Is card B good evidence, Bo asks?

   • No; card B describes women's war work during the war and says nothing about afterward
   • Yes; mixed crews at Richmond show that women's work was accepted once the war ended
   • Yes; three million women in war plants shows that war work reshaped women's jobs for good
   • Yes; the 16 percent share in 1944 was a peak, as card B shows by comparing later years
4. 3.

   A student wants to know how families felt about rationing. Card C explains why goods were rationed. What would help more than card C, Esme asks?

   • A letter or diary from a family at the time, since card C gives reasons, not feelings
   • A count of ration stamps used, since heavy use would show that families liked the system
   • Card D, since rationing that kept prices from rising fast shows that families approved of it
   • Card C itself, since goods needed for the war would have been accepted by families
5. 4.

   Card C links sugar to the Philippines and rubber to the Dutch East Indies. Which claim does card C support, Jun asks?

   • Events in the Pacific were the whole reason for rationing, since sugar and rubber both depended on Japan's moves
   • Rubber was already short before Japan took the Dutch East Indies, which is why tires were rationed
   • Sugar was rationed after Japan took the Dutch East Indies, and rubber after it took the Philippines
   • Events in the Pacific explain the sugar and rubber limits, while other goods were rationed for war need
6. 5.

   Card A says Black leaders pressed for the order and planned a march on Washington. Which claim does card A support, Luz asks?

   • Randolph led the Committee on Fair Employment Practice after pressing for it
   • Black leaders pressed for the order and planned a march; no march is reported
   • A march on Washington took place and forced the order, since the leaders planned it
   • The order came first, and Randolph and other leaders then planned a march in reply
7. 6.

   A student says women's war jobs caused rationing. What do cards B and C show about how the two connect, Milo asks?

   • Both resulted from Japan's actions in the Pacific, which created new work and new shortages
   • Both came from the war's demands, but neither card says the jobs and the limits caused each other
   • The jobs caused rationing, since war plants used up goods that were needed for the war
   • Rationing came first and created the war plant jobs, since ration cards began in May 1942
8. 7.

   A student says the 1941 order opened Richmond shipyard jobs to Black workers. What do cards A and B allow, Noah asks?

   • The claim fails, since card B lists men, women and immigrants, so no Black workers were there
   • Neither card says Black workers were hired at Richmond, so the claim goes beyond them
   • The claim holds, since the order banned discrimination in defense industries and shipyards built ships for the war
   • The claim holds, since the Committee on Fair Employment Practice later enforced the order at Richmond
9. 8.

   Card C says goods were rationed because the war needed them. A student says card D gives the same reason for coffee. Do cards C and D support that, Pia asks?

   • No; card D shows coffee was rationed because Japan cut off the supply, as with sugar
   • Yes; card C says rationed goods were needed for the war, and coffee was rationed in wartime
   • No; coffee was rationed later than the first goods, so it cannot have shared their cause
   • Not as stated; card C gives war need for other goods, and card D gives sharing and prices
10. 9.

    A family has two adults and two children under 15. A student says card D lets the family buy four pounds of coffee every five weeks. What should Tala reply?

    • Four pounds is right, since card D gives one pound for each person in the family
    • Two pounds every five weeks for the whole time coffee was rationed, since the limit is given without a date
    • One pound every five weeks, since a family shared a single ration
    • Two pounds every five weeks at first, since the limit counts the two adults, not the children
11. 10.

    Card C dates Japan's control of the Dutch East Indies from March 1942 to September 1945; card D dates coffee rationing from November 1942 to July 28, 1943. What do the dates support, Zee asks?

    • Rubber was no longer short after July 1943, since coffee came off the ration list by then
    • Rubber rationing began when coffee rationing ended, since the two spans meet in 1943
    • Coffee rationing ended because Japan lost control of the Dutch East Indies in July 1943
    • Coffee rationing ended while Japan still held the Dutch East Indies; rubber could still be short