Many people who lived on the American home front during World War II (1939–45; U.S. involvement 1941–45) proclaimed the period as “the best of times and worst of times.” In the 1930s the United States and much of the rest of the world had been in the throes of the Great Depression. The Depression was marked by dramatically slowed business activity, high unemployment, and, for a significant portion of the population, much hunger. In the United States, society seemed, at times, to be falling apart as violent labor conflicts, food riots, and race riots punctuated the 1930s. Change came in 1940 as the United States began gearing up for a war that was already raging in Europe. As industries began receiving sizable government contracts to produce war materials, good-paying jobsonce again became available for anyone who wanted to work. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese surprised and shocked the United States with a deadly attack on U.S. military bases at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Immediately an overwhelming spirit of patriotic fervor consumed America. A common cause and a common enemy became well-defined.
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