The WWII Home Front - Arsenal of Democracy | 1

American History Tellers

Wondery

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, History, Education For Kids

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 6 May 2020

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese warplanes rained death and destruction down on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor—shocking the nation and drawing it into World War II. The U.S. had been ravaged by the Great Depression. Mobilizing the country for war would require unprecedented government intervention in industry, the economy, and American lives. But the crisis would also spark new opportunities, challenges and questions about what it meant to be a patriot and an American during a time of crisis.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, prime members, you can listen to American History Tellers add free on Amazon Music, download the app today.
0:18.0	Imagine it's a warm December morning in 1941.
0:22.0	You're just about to walk to your job at the Honolulu advertiser when a man rushes past you.
0:27.0	Out of my way, you pin yourself to the wall to let him pass. Watch it. What's got you moving so fast?
0:32.0	Some's going on at Pearl. At Pearl, what you hear? Mister!
0:36.0	But the man is already rounding a corner out of your shot.
0:39.0	You briefly consider jogging after him. It could be a hot lead.
0:42.0	You've been looking for an opportunity to prove yourself.
0:45.0	What you're in heels, you've got to get inside.
0:49.0	You started working as a clerk in the circulation office of the advertiser just a month ago.
0:54.0	You spend most of your day filing paperwork and fielding calls from customers.
0:58.0	You're still adjusting to the fast pace of the newsroom, and you're seriously regretting not drinking a second cup of coffee this morning.
1:05.0	Inside, you find your boss on the phone scratching his head.
1:09.0	Sure, what if it's an exercise?
1:13.0	Uh-huh, okay. Well, listen, let me call you back.
1:17.0	He hangs up the phone a day's look on his face.
1:20.0	Is that about Pearl?
1:22.0	He gives you a surprise look. Not. Yeah, it is. Come on, let's go up to the roof.
1:27.0	See if we can see anything.
1:31.0	You drop your purse on his desk, pick up a pen and pat a paper, and follow him up a flight of stairs.
1:37.0	As you walk to the edge of the roof, you can't help but gasp.
1:41.0	Smudge across the clear blue sky are giant billows of thick black smoke.
	...

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