In 1942, in the heat of the Second World War, the United States Department of Agriculture published a 16-page pamphlet to be distributed to homes and families across the United States. The pamphlet was intended as an informational packet to facilitate the successful implementation of Victory Gardens in American’s backyards. The pamphlet detailed the nutritional, economical, and national benefits...
On the outset of World War II, the demand for production in industries rose. With many men overseas in the military, women were called on the help the war effort by taking on nontraditional roles including industrial jobs. This was especially the case at the Glenn L. Martin Plant in Middle River, Maryland. The Glenn L. Martin Plant built many of the bomber planes used by American and British forces...
February 7, 1942, was a day that changed America. Segregation and discrimination had reached a point that was no longer tolerable, and according to the Pittsburgh Courier, it was time for a campaign. The “Double V Campaign,” as it was called, stood for two victories for black Americans: a victory at home and a victory abroad.
This...
On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, "giving the War Department authority to establish 'military areas'in which designated people would be subject 'to whatever restrictions the Secretary of War imposed.'" (Patton). Congress then implemented the order on March 21 the same year. At first the Western Defense Command encouraged voluntary evacuation,...
Betty DeRamus is seen as a Detroit legend to some. Her parents moved to Detroit in the 40s when Betty was a baby. She lived in Detroit’s Black Bottom neighborhood as a child – her parents moved from the Black Bottom neighborhood when she was in high school. While growing up in Black Bottom Betty noticed the dilapidated housing; she said one house she lived in was desperately in need of a paint...
On November 16, 1942 a letter was sent to a close friend named Clara Breed from Tetsuzo, a Japanese-American expressing his disappointment towards the living conditions provided by the Americans. Tetsuzo stated how the harsh conditions and situation in the Poston, Arizona camp were nowhere near humane. The temperatures were unpredictable, and the wind blew all morning and all night, threatening...
Braceros and American agricultural workers finally had a government act on their side. It was July 13, 1951 and President Truman had approved (S. 984), also known as public law 78. This would mean the enforcement of better living and working conditions for all farm workers whether foreign or domestic. (S. 984) would also allow for fixed pay, government sponsored transportation and recruitment, and...
Colonel Edmund Lilly Jr. sat in camp Tarlac in the northern Philippines. He, along with his unit, had surrendered to the Japanese in April and had been subjected to the Bataan death march which saw many prisoners expire from horrid conditions. Edmund then decided that the best way to live out his captivity was to keep a diary to both record his experiences and give him something to occupy...
Colonel Edmund had seen his fair share of cruelty during his time in captivity at the hands of the Japanese. After being forced on a 500 mile march along with his men through the tropical conditions of the Philippines, he and his men now found themselves crammed into the former U.S. army base Camp O’Donnel. Upon arrival at the camp, the Colonel became weary of the treatment they would receive,...
Colonel Edward sat in camp Tarlac in the Philippines, now the residence of his unit after being captured by the Japanese at the battle of Bataan. The men were perplexed about how they could have been defeated at the hands of a foe they considered themselves militarily superior towards. Their defeat sparked much conversation between the officers as they tried to discern how they had been bested in...