Directions

Welcome to the interactive viewing guide for The Century: America's Time - Homefront (1941-1945). This unit explores the total mobilization of the American economy, the social shifts triggered by the workforce entry of women and minorities, and the ultimate victory in World War II.

Instructions:

Complete the Identity Panel above to unlock the assignment.
Watch the documentary via the link in the sidebar.
Answer the 15 multiple-choice questions spread across three sections.
Note: The Date field will be stamped only when you submit the final assignment.

Part I: Mobilizing for Victory

1. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, how did the United States shift its industrial production to support the war effort?

By increasing the import of luxury goods from Europe By converting civilian factories to produce tanks, planes, and weapons By focusing entirely on agricultural production By decreasing government spending on manufacturing

2. What government agency was responsible for managing the rationing of goods like sugar, meat, and gasoline to ensure soldiers had enough supplies?

The War Production Board The Office of Price Administration (OPA) The Department of Defense The Federal Reserve

3. To finance the war, the U.S. government encouraged citizens to buy these, essentially loaning money to the military effort:

War Bonds Stocks in steel companies Military Certificates Liberty Coupons

4. "Victory Gardens" were encouraged by the government so that Americans could:

Beautify their neighborhoods during the war Sell vegetables to make extra money Grow their own food to reduce the pressure on the commercial food supply Provide flowers for soldiers' funerals

5. Executive Order 9066 led to the forced relocation and incarceration of approximately 120,000 people of which ancestry?

German Italian Japanese Russian

Part II: The Social Revolution

6. Who was the iconic cultural symbol representing the millions of American women who entered the industrial workforce for the first time?

Amelia Earhart Eleanor Roosevelt Rosie the Riveter Betty Grable

7. The "Double V" campaign, championed by African American leaders and newspapers, stood for victory over fascism abroad and victory over _______ at home:

Poverty Racism and Segregation Communism Unemployment

8. In 1943, racial tensions in Los Angeles boiled over into several days of violence between sailors and Mexican-American youth. What was this event called?

The Watts Riots The Zoot Suit Riots The Chicano Conflict The Hollywood Uprising

9. How did Hollywood contribute to the war effort on the homefront?

By shutting down theaters to save electricity By producing patriotic films, newsreels, and propaganda By refusing to acknowledge the war in films By moving production to neutral countries

10. What was the top-secret U.S. research project aimed at developing the world's first atomic bomb?

Project Overlord The Manhattan Project The Trinity Trial Operation Valkyrie

Part III: Victory & Legacy

11. What major law, passed in 1944, provided veterans with money for college, low-interest home loans, and unemployment benefits?

The Veterans' Choice Act The GI Bill (Servicemen's Readjustment Act) The Social Security Expansion The Patriot Act

12. Which President made the difficult decision to use atomic weapons against Japan in 1945 to bring the war to an end?

Franklin D. Roosevelt Dwight D. Eisenhower Harry S. Truman Douglas MacArthur

13. The discovery of what horrific reality by Allied troops at the end of the war shattered the world's sense of moral progress?

The use of chemical gas on the battlefield The Nazi concentration camps and the Holocaust The extent of Soviet espionage The failure of the League of Nations

14. What happened to the status of women in the workforce immediately following the return of soldiers at the end of the war?

They were given permanent management positions Most were forced or pressured to leave their jobs to make room for returning men They received a massive pay increase The government banned women from working entirely

15. How did the end of WWII set the stage for the next major global conflict?

By creating a alliance between Germany and the US By leaving the United States and the Soviet Union as the world's two competing superpowers By ending all forms of international competition By returning the world to its 19th-century borders