Mobilizing for Defense

1. How did the American response to the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor differ from Japanese expectations?      
The Japanese expected that their raid on Pearl Harbor would terrify the Americans and they would avoid furthre conflict after getting a preview of Japan's power. But the Americans had the opposite reaction; Americans were angry and used Pearl Harbor as motivation to get involved.


2. What difficulties did women and minorities face in the wartime work force?     
During war-time, women and minorities were hired, but they faced difficulties. Women only earned 60% of what men made for doing the exact same things. 75% of companies refused to hire any minorities at all and the ones who were hired were only hired as janitors and other menial jobs. 


3. Why did President Roosevelt create the OSRD, and what did it do?           
President Roosevelt created the OSRD in order to bring scientists into the war effort, which brough improvements in sonar and radar, as well as pesticides to fight insects and penicillin which saved many lives. Their biggest achievement was creating the atomic bomb.


4. What basic problems were the OPA and WPB created to solve?           
The OPA and WPB were created to solve the problems of inflation during the war and making sure that the war industries and armed forces would receive the goods that they needed in order to win the war, which involved collecting raw materials that would be needed.


5. What type of items were rationed and why were they limited?       
Meat, sugar, shoes, coffee and gasoline were rationed. These were chosen to be rationed because they were essential items for the military.


6. What is the message of the World War II poster on this assignment's blog posting? Why was this message important?   
The message of the World War II poster is that if you are riding alone (without a carpool), you are riding with Hitler, meaning that you are helping out Hitler and the Germans instead of America because by not having a carpool, you are using too much gas, which is an essential item needed for the military to defeat Hitler.