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The American Home Front During World War II: A Date That Will Live in Infamy

Envelope with an illustration showing a V-shaped formation of airplanes flying towards a target. Target is identified by an arrow, “To Tokio.” Image is in blue; text is in red. — “Let this be America’s Answer.” Postal cover, 1942.
Collection of the National Postal Museum (2002.2035.234).

On December 7, 1941 Japan executed a coordinated, multi-pronged attack on the US home front. Within a few hours, they attacked Hawai’i, Guam, Howland Island, Midway Island, Wake Island, and the Philippines. These were not just military targets. They also hit sugar mills and the Honolulu airport in Hawai’i; the Pan Am Hotels in Guam and on Wake Island; and the settlement on Howland Island.[1] Hundreds of civilians perished that day, some as young as 3 months old. Among the dead were two of the colonists on Howland Island, doomed when the US refused to pick them up earlier in the year.

Repelled by American forces in many of these locations, Japan quickly took control of Guam, the Philippines, and Wake Island. Civilians on these islands suffered greatly under Japanese rule. They lost their homes and family members, and were subjected to forced marches and forced labor, internment and incarceration, starvation, injury, and execution. While the US eventually retook these pieces of the American home front, the damage done by both sides was often extreme.

Black and white photo overlooking ruins of buildings. In the foreground, only a few walls are standing. In the distance, windows are blown out and there is evidence of fire. A handful of people wander the streets. — Bomb damage to the downtown section of Manila, The Philippines, Feb. 1945. While the Japanese occupation of The Philippines caused considerable damage, the bombing by the US during its recapture devastated the islands.
Collection of the National Archives and Records Administration (NAID: 204952271).

News of the attack spread quickly into American homes. The first report was broadcast by NBC radio while the attack was still under way.[2] As the Japanese were retreating from Pearl Harbor, news came that the Philippines had also been bombed. From Honolulu, a reporter called New York City and on a live feed, declared, “This is no joke. This is war!”[3] Eleanor Roosevelt learned of the attack as she was getting ready to go on-air for her very popular afternoon radio show.[4] While FDR was in intense meetings with his Cabinet, Eleanor told her listeners of the attack. She then went on to present her planned broadcast.[5] Less than three hours after the Japanese attack started, the War Department had ordered 1.5 million draftees into uniform “by tomorrow.” They also arrested all Japanese people in Norfolk, Virginia and placed the entire Territory of Hawai’i under martial law.[6]

The next day, FDR called December 7, 1941 “a date that will live in infamy.” Referencing the Japanese attacks on Hawai’i, Guam, the Philippines, Wake Island, and Midway Atoll, he asked Congress to declare war on Japan. With only one vote against, Congress complied.[7] Allied with Japan, Germany and Italy declared war on the US, and America was fighting a world war on multiple fronts.

Illustrative color poster. A blonde cocker spaniel dog, with a sad face, peers over the back of a blue char draped with part of a US Navy uniform. Behind, a banner with red border and gold star against a white background hangs on the wall. — “…because somebody talked!” Poster, Office of War Information, 1944. The gold star indicates a family member has died in the war. At the time, cocker spaniels were the most popular family dog in America.[13]
Collection of the Library of Congress (https://lccn.loc.gov/93511606).

A New Landscape

A lot changed after the US entered the war. Although the American people, industry, and the government had done a lot in the years before, there was still much to do. New factories were built and old ones expanded and retooled.[8] Millions of Americans moved into industrial areas for work creating localized housing shortages. Women and enemy prisoners of war filled jobs left vacant when service-age men went to war. The draft was expanded, requiring those between 18 and their 65th birthday to register, and fathers were no longer exempted.[9] African Americans began to be drafted in larger numbers than before. Between the draft and industrial expansion, unemployment dropped to 1.2% by 1944.[10]

The war effort was everywhere. Products disappeared from the market. Areas around military training facilities and ports of embarkation were dense with uniforms. Radio shows, Hollywood films, and books for all ages had Patriotic themes. Everywhere you turned, posters, the government, and celebrities were reminding you to buy war bonds; to save your scrap; to plant victory gardens; to be cautious. Decals, pins, posters and jewelry appeared, all bearing the rallying cry: “Remember Pearl Harbor!” To provide military access to settlements in Alaska, the construction of the Alaska Highway was approved and begun early in 1942.[11]

The war also reached directly into American homes. Families hung blue and gold stars in windows. The government implemented rationing. Civilians collected and donated materials needed for the war effort and they planted victory gardens, preserving the produce. Some Americans sought out illicit markets for rationed products. Many found themselves in very different working and living conditions than they were used to. Some found themselves interned and incarcerated. Others found themselves living under military rule. And some found themselves, their homes, and businesses under attack.[12]

This article was written by Megan E. Springate, Assistant Research Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland, for the NPS Cultural Resources Office of Interpretation and Education.

[1] Aguon n.d.; Cunningham 1962: 63; Horner 2013: 73-74; Little 2022; National Park Service 2018 civilian deaths; Palomo 1994; Palomo and Aguon 2023; Rottman 2004. The sites and artifacts on Wake Island associated with World War II and the Pan Am era were designated a National Historic Landmark on September 16, 1985.

[2] McDonough 1991; Patel 2017. At 7:50am Oahu time (12:50pm Eastern time), the Japanese signaled for a general attack on Pearl Harbor; the attack ended at 10am (3pm Eastern time) when American forces turned the second wave of Japanese attackers back to their carriers.

[3] History Matters n.d.; McDonough 1991. You can hear the broadcast at the History Matters website. In Manitowoc, Wisconsin (an American World War II Heritage City), the local radio station stayed open 24 hours a day so residents could come in and get the latest news from the teletype.

[4] Smith 2014.

[5] Brechin 2014; Roosevelt, Eleanor 1941 Pearl Harbor.

[6] Bailey and Farber 1993: 819; McDonough 1991; Scheiber and Scheiber 2020, 2016.

[7] Roosevelt 1941 date of infamy. Pacifist Jeanette Rankin was the sole dissenting vote.

[8] Tassava 2008.

[9] United States Congress 1940 selective.

[10] Tassava 2008.

[11] Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities n.d.; Jacobs 2006. A portion of the original route of the Alaska Highway, known as the Alaska-Canada Military Highway (Segment) was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 31, 2013. You can view a contemporary documentary film about building the highway presented by C-Span.

[12] Densho 2023. From the Densho website (emphasis added): “The commonly used term “internment” fails to accurately describe what happened to Japanese Americans during WWII. “Internment” refers to the legally permissible, though morally questionable, detention of “enemy aliens” in time of war. There were approximately 8,000 Issei (“first generation”) arrested as enemy aliens and subjected to what could be described as “internment” in a separate set of camps run by the Army or Department of Justice. This term becomes a misleading, othering euphemism when applied to American citizens detained by their own government; yet two-thirds of Japanese Americans incarcerated during WWII were U.S. citizens by birth and right. Although “internment” is a recognized and widely used term, we encourage the use of “incarceration,” except in the specific case of Japanese Americans detained by the Army or DOJ. “Detention” is used interchangeably—although some argue that the word denotes a shorter period of confinement than the nearly four years the camps were in operation.”

[13] Hampton Roads Naval Museum 2012.

Aguon, Tina D. (n.d.) “WWII: 45 Chamorus Caught in Wake Invasion.” Guampedia.

Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (n.d.) “Alaska Highway 75th Anniversary.” Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.

Bailey, Beth and David Farber (1993) “The ‘Double-V’ Campaign in World War II Hawaii: African Americans, Racial Ideology, and Federal Power.” Journal of Social History, 26(4): 817-843.

Brechin, Gray (2014) “The First Family of Radio: Voices of Destiny, The Roosevelts on the Radio.” The Living New Deal, December 24, 2014.

Cunningham, W. Scott (1962) Wake Island Command. Popular Library, New York.

Densho. (2023) “Terminology.” Densho.

Hampton Roads Naval Museum (2012) “’Because Somebody Talked!’ – 1944 Poster.” Hampton Roads Naval Museum, November 23, 2012.

History Matters (n.d.) “’This is No Joke: This is War’: A Live Radio Broadcast of the Attack on Pearl Harbor.” History Matters: The US Survey Course on the Web.

Horner, Dave (2013) The Earhart Enigma: Retracing Amelia’s Last Flight. Pelican Publishing Company, Gretna.

Jacobs, Martin (2006) “Remember Pearl Harbor.” America in WWII, December 2006.

Little, Becky (2022) “Pearl Harbor Wasn’t Japan’s Only Target.” History.com, December 5, 2022.

McDonough, John (1991) “Hear It Now: Pearl Harbor Day Radio.” Wall Street Journal, December 6, 1991 p. A13.

National Park Service (2018) “Civilian Casualties” [Pearl Harbor]. National Park Service, November 14, 2018.

Palomo, Tony (1994) “Rising Sun Dawns on Guam.” In Golden Salute Committee (ed.), Liberation – Guam Remembers: A Golden Salute for the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of Guam. Guam.

Palomo, Tony and Katherine Aguon (2023) “WWII: From Occupation to Liberation.” Guampedia, January 7, 2023.

Patel, Samir S. (2017) “A Timeline of the Attack.” Archaeology Magazine, January/February 2017.

Roosevelt, Eleanor (1941) “Radio Address, December 7, 1941 (Attack on Pearl Harbor).” Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project.

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (1941) “Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Japan (1941)” [December 8 1941]. Milestone Documents, National Archives and Records Administration.

Rottman, Gordon L. (2004) Guam 1941 & 1944: Loss and Reconquest. Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK.

Scheiber, Harry N. and Jane L. Scheiber (2020) “Martial Law in Hawai’i.” Densho Encyclopedia, July 22, 2020.
--- (2016) Bayonets in Paradise: Martial Law in Hawai’i during World War II. University of Hawai’i Press, Honolulu.

Smith, Stephen (2014) “Eleanor Roosevelt: The First Lady of Radio.” The First Family of Radio: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt’s Historic Broadcasts, APMReports, November 10, 2014.

Tassava, Christopher J. (2008) “The American Economy During World War II.” EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples, February 10, 2008.

United States Congress (1940) “Public Law 76-783. An Act to Provide for the Common Defense by Increasing the Personnel of the Armed Forces of the United States and Providing for its Training.” United States Congress, September 16, 1940, pp. 885-897.

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1. Introduction

The Home Front During World War II
Maria Ylagan Orosa

Maria is best known as the inventor of banana ketchup. Her impact on Philippine life and her heroism on the home front is much greater.
The Home Front Before World War II
The Greater United States

To understand the geography of the American home front in World War II, we need to go back as far as the middle of the 1800s.
The Home Front During World War II
Meat Rationing

Meat was on the ration list from March 1943 through November 1945, spurring Meatless Tuesdays, a thriving black market, and new recipes.

Last updated: November 16, 2023

The American Home Front During World War II: A Date That Will Live in Infamy

A New Landscape

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. The American Home Front Before World War II

3. The American Home Front and the Buildup to World War II

4. The American Home Front During World War II

5. The American Home Front After World War II

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A New Landscape

Notes

Sources Cited

Full Table of Contents

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. The American Home Front Before World War II

3. The American Home Front and the Buildup to World War II

4. The American Home Front During World War II

5. The American Home Front After World War II

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