Dbq World War II

DBQ Essay

World War II

In 1942, American troops intervened in World War II which had started in 1939. American families in America itself were massively affected because of what was going on in the war. Because of World War that was going on, people all over the world started to have a fear of foreigners and were also afraid about Germany actually taking over the world. Americans were affected in many ways. Some of these effects were women receiving the jobs of men, supplies being rationed to conserve food, internments being established and a decrease in population.

One way Americans were affected was that women were taking the roles of men while they were fighting at war. This is being shown in Document 1, a primary source. The author of Document 1 indicates how women played the role of men by having women work in factories while the men were fighting at war. The author does this by using a poster. In the poster, there is woman named Rosie who has a quote saying: “We Can Do It”. This shows that women were just as string as the men and could do anything the men could do. This affected the lives of Americans at home by having women do most of the work, and change the view of women when it comes to working and the roles they play in public. Document 1 is similar to Documents 2,3 and 4, which are all primary sources, because they show how Americans dealt with the war basically.

Another way Americans were affected was that supplies were being rationed, meaning that Americans can only buy a little amount of that rationed item. This is being shown in Document 2, a primary source. Document 2 has a ration card that shows which items were being rationed such as sugar, coffee and gasoline. The rationing of items was beneficial during the war because it helped the military get the resources that they need. This affected the lives of Americans at home because Americans at home were only able to buy only certain products and if they were to buy the product, they would only be able to buy a little amount of the item to conserve supplies for others as well as for those in the military fighting in the war. Document 2 and Document 6 are different because Document 2 shows rationing items, where as in Document 6, a secondary source shows the amount of deaths in countries that were involved during World War II. Document 2 is similar to Document 4 as well. In Document 4, a primary source, the document shows a mother and a daughter canning foods. The daughter says “We’ll have lots to eat this winter, won’t we Mother?” Also, the poster has a slogan saying “Grow your own, Can your own”. This shows that growing your own food will keep your family without hunger and would be able to survive through tough winters. These two documents are similar because they show what Americans had to do with their supplies to be prepared, and survive.

Another way Americans were affected was the decrease in population. In Document 6, a secondary source, there is a chart titled “World War II Deaths”. According to the chart, 405,400 American soldiers died fighting the war.. This affects the life of Americans at home because the soldiers that had died probably had families at home. NOw, there family would have to go through a horrible time in their lives knowing that they have lost the ones that they love. Another way that this affects the life of Americans at home is that if a member of army dies during the war, their family receives money, known as the “Death Gratuity”. This also affects the life of Americans at home because since that many people in the military died fighting the war, which included males,