1940's Lifestyles and Social Trends

On the Home Front


The Family in Wartime.

World War II spurred enormous changes in family life. First, wartime industry and the military draft caused massive migration: more than fifteen million people moved, searching for defense jobs or following family members to the next military base. Americans poured into major defense centers, especially cities such as San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Mobile, and Wichita. The war and the booming economy that accompanied it also impacted patterns of marriage and childbearing. Couples had delayed marriage and childbearing during the Depression; men and women rushed to the altar after 1941 and had record numbers of children.

A young boy helps his family with housework by learning to use a ration book. National Archives and Records Administration.
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