“It Is Sooooooo On!

”
Mobilization for World
War II
On December 8th, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt
asked Congress to declare that a “state of war exist[ed]
between the United States and the empire of Japan” in
response to the attacks on Pearl Harbor. Almost
immediately the country began to mobilize its
families, finances, and factories for the war effort.

Each one of the groups will represent a different family or government agency that has
been impacted by World War II. Your job will be to think about the situation that you
are in now that America is at war, and create either a diary entry (if you are a family)
or a status report/memo (if you are a government agency). You will also create a
poster to share with the class the experiences of various families around the country.

You need to consider the following things:

• Now that the country is at war, everyone is expected to contribute. What can
YOUR group contribute to the cause, and how will it help?
• What are the repercussions of your assistance? Will you anger some people you
know? Will you be hurting yourself/your group by contributing?
• What financial sacrifice will you make to support the cause? What could you
gain financially by supporting the cause?
• How is the war impacting your family/group in ways beside money?
(manpower, emotions, etc.)
• Is there anything that you need to make your job easier, or that would allow you
to contribute more? (i.e. What can government do to help?)
 Jackson Family of Five: Farmers and African-Americans

Mr. Jackson: 52 Mrs. Jackson: 48

Children:
Robert: 23 William: deceased at 19
Jennifer: 8 Charles: 8
Occupation: Farmers
Location: just outside of Tuskegee, AL

The Jackson family originally had two parents, two older sons, and a set younger twins. The
second son, William, joined the US Navy in 1939 and was stationed at Pearl Harbor, USA. He
is now dead, which gives the other brother a reason to hate the Japanese. Robert, the elder
brother, then joined the US Air Force to take revenge for his brother.

The family has a fairly large plot of land and primarily grows cotton, corn, and tomatoes.

Jim Crow has been less in the news, what with the war and all, and you have found less
harassment.
 Perez Family of Eight: Factory Workers and Foreigners

Mr. Ramirez: 84 Mrs. Ramirez: 83

Mr. Perez: 54 Mrs. Perez: 51
Children:
Jose: 22 Marietta: 16
Marcos: 10 Suzzana: 6
Occupation: Factory Workers
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

The Perez family emigrated from Mexico in 1924, during the "Roaring Twenties" to better
themselves financially. During this time they did well, but they were poverty stricken during
the Great Depression. Now, the men in the family have jobs in munitions factories and family
life is once again good. The family includes the parents of the mother (Mr. and Mrs. Ramirez),
parents, and four children. They have family that remains in Mexico, and they go visit them
from time to time (and send money when they can).

Now that the war has started, troops are going to need a lot more stuff. However, that also
means that the borders have tightened a little bit.
 Swanson Family of Four: Dissenters

Mr. Swanson: 62 Mrs. Swanson: 63

Children:
Emily: 30 Michael: 24
Occupation:runs radio station
Location: Galesburg, IL

The Swanson family is a well-off family, which owns the CBS radio affiliate in
Galesburg, Illinois. However, they are pacifists and are against the war. Mr. Swanson
had been a great admirer Charles Lindbergh. This puts them at odds with their son,
who is in the US Air Force, and many other Americans, who believe that people who
are against the war are against freedom, the American way of life, etc. Their daughter
is a reporter in Chicago for the Chicago Tribune and covers many aspects of the war.

Their radio station is heavily dependent on advertisers, and increasingly the

government is using radio stations to beam propaganda.
 Ogawa Family of Five: Japanese Americans

Mrs. Ogawa: 61
Mr. Ogawa: 34 Mrs. Ogawa: 34
Children:
Suzuki: 14 Hideki: 9
Occupation: grocery store owners
Location: San Francisco, CA

The Ogawa family, consisting of three generations (grandparent, parents, children),

emigrated to the United States in 1929. They began a grocery store in downtown San
Francisco, California and were prospering until Dec. 6, 1941, when Japan attacked
Pearl Harbor and forced the US. into war with that nation. Due to the extreme
prejudice of white Americans, this naturalized American family, along with others like
them, was forced from their home and store to a compound called a relocation camp
for Japanese Americans during the war.
 Blech Family of Five: Jews

Mr. Cohen: 51 Mrs. Cohen: 55

Mr. Blech: 41 Mrs. Blech: 39
Children:
Emily: 15
Occupation: immigration business
Location: New York City, NY

The Blech family emigrated from Germany as Hitler began to discriminate against
Jews. It consists of two parents and a child and the brother-in-law and sister of the
father (the Cohens), who came to USA in 1930, before Hitler and the Nazis. The
brothers-in-law started a business which aids other German citizens in escaping the
Nazis.

They still have relatives over in Germany, and the family has not heard from any of
them in several months despite frantic attempts to contact them.
 Civilian Conservation Corps: New Deal Programs

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was created as part of the initial “New Deal”
programs of Franklin Roosevelt. The goal of the CCC was to take unemployed men and
put them to work building parks, bridges, dams, community pools, and various other
public goods. At its peak, the CCC provided jobs to up to 600,000 people.

However, the war has changed things dramatically, and priorities within the
government have shifted from domestic to foreign affairs. And the priorities of the
workers have shifted slightly as well.
 Ford Motor Company: Manufacturing Companies

Now that the war has started, the American armed forces are going to need equipment.
And they're going to need it fast.

Ford has built itself on a reputation of being able to make quality products at a cheap
price, and to make them relatively quickly. Now is the time for Ford to step up and
help in the war effort. There is great opportunity here, if Ford Motor Co. is up to the
challenge.
 J.P. Morgan Bank: Lenders and Banks

Banks have been particularly hard-hit during this Depression, and yet somehow you
have barely managed to stay alive. But now that war is here, uncertainty reigns, and
banks do not like uncertainty.

On the other hand, war also means investment opportunities, which is something that
most banks definitely like. And as one of the biggest banks in the country, J.P. Morgan
Company is a unique opportunity to both contribute to and profit from the war if they
so choose. The question for the staff: how?
 Name Contributions to Mobilization
Farmers

African-Americans

Factory Workers

Foreigners

Dissenters

Japanese-Americans

Jews

New Deal Programs

Manufacturing Companies

Banks and Lenders

How did World War II help bring about an end to the Great Depression?