October 6, 2021
The Year of Peril: America in 1942
Tracy Campbell
E. Vernon Smith and Eloise C. Smith Professor of American History, University of Kentucky; winner of the New-York Historical Society’s Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize
George Bustin, Introducer, and Tracy Campbell
Minutes of the Fifth Meeting of the 80th Year
Stephen Schreiber presided at the meeting, and Lloyd Gardner read the minutes of the previous meeting. One hundred twenty-nine members joined on Zoom and were accompanied by six guests at Stonebridge for a total of 135 attendees.
George Bustin introduced the speaker, Tracy Campbell, Professor of American History at the University of Kentucky. He specializes in 20th century United States political and social history and has written five books, including The Year of Peril: America in 1942, the subject of today’s talk.
Professor Campbell noted that the Old Guard of Princeton was founded in 1942.
He started the book in 2008 as the financial crisis was unfolding. He noted that you can understand a country best when it is under stress as was the United States in 1942 after Pearl Harbor.
He looked at various images and events, including Pearl Harbor, and noted that people were concerned with “what’s next.” Fear and outright anxiety pervaded the nation. His favorite image depicts an air raid shelter in Stevensville, Montana, with a population of less than 2,000 people. Both coasts were on a fever-pitch alert.
Professor Campbell then focused on a painting by Thomas Hart Benton done not long after Pearl Harbor, one of a series of eight paintings the artist called a Year of Peril. They were to alert people that we could lose the war. Copies of the paintings were posted in public places but were so graphic and scary that the government eventually took them down.
Another photo of a crowd of workers was taken outside a weapons plant in Long Beach, California. There was worry that we would have another protracted World War I-like event or we would have to arrive at a peace treaty with Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo.
Professor Campbell tried to put himself inside the country at that time. He read the daily New York Times and went through dozens of periodicals and archives.
The country realized that everyone had a role to play in the war effort. The great scientific concern was a possible shortage of rubber, so scrap rubber drives were organized. This gave us a sense of collective action.
The Pledge of Allegiance became official in 1942. Early on, the salute looked very much like a Nazi salute, so Congress changed it to the right hand over the heart.
Another image he was truly not expecting. As a historian, Professor Campbell didn’t know he would have to deal with things that didn’t happen. He showed us a picture of an office working on the War Rumor Project. Bartenders, hairstylists, and taxi drivers listened in on what people were saying, then would report to regional offices. There were three huge categories of anxiety rumors:
Lastly, Professor Campbell showed a graph tracking the use of the word “democracy.” That word was used more frequently in 1942 than any other word.
President Schreiber then opened up a question-and-answer period by asking if the country was split in any way during 1942. Professor Campbell said there was a great deal of opposition to any military build-up before Pearl Harbor. After that event, Roosevelt said we were in a fight for survival.
Another question was, “Do we need a rumor board now?” Professor Campbell answered that they ended in 1942 because the effort to squelch rumors actually spread them.
He was asked about the Japanese internment camps. Rumors on the West Coast were overwhelming. California would be lost. The original internment order included Germans and Italians, but no camps were built for them.
Professor Campbell was then asked about the level of German spying. Eight spies did land in the United States, they were captured, and six were executed. Their plan was to meet in Cincinnati and unleash terrorist attacks.
What role did Hollywood have in 1942? The biggest movie that year was Mrs. Miniver. It’s a war movie with no combat. A German soldier appears in Mrs. Miniver’s kitchen. Sudden fear. Roosevelt wanted the movie released as soon as possible. Hollywood actors were free from the draft. Clark Gable volunteered anyway. John Wayne used his exemption.
Professor Campbell noted that factories were retooled, including the Louisville Slugger factory from making bats to rifle stocks. Both were wood products, so the change was easy. He also talked about the Office of Price Administration and Leon Henderson. Prices were set on everything.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert S. Fraser
George Bustin introduced the speaker, Tracy Campbell, Professor of American History at the University of Kentucky. He specializes in 20th century United States political and social history and has written five books, including The Year of Peril: America in 1942, the subject of today’s talk.
Professor Campbell noted that the Old Guard of Princeton was founded in 1942.
He started the book in 2008 as the financial crisis was unfolding. He noted that you can understand a country best when it is under stress as was the United States in 1942 after Pearl Harbor.
He looked at various images and events, including Pearl Harbor, and noted that people were concerned with “what’s next.” Fear and outright anxiety pervaded the nation. His favorite image depicts an air raid shelter in Stevensville, Montana, with a population of less than 2,000 people. Both coasts were on a fever-pitch alert.
Professor Campbell then focused on a painting by Thomas Hart Benton done not long after Pearl Harbor, one of a series of eight paintings the artist called a Year of Peril. They were to alert people that we could lose the war. Copies of the paintings were posted in public places but were so graphic and scary that the government eventually took them down.
Another photo of a crowd of workers was taken outside a weapons plant in Long Beach, California. There was worry that we would have another protracted World War I-like event or we would have to arrive at a peace treaty with Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo.
Professor Campbell tried to put himself inside the country at that time. He read the daily New York Times and went through dozens of periodicals and archives.
The country realized that everyone had a role to play in the war effort. The great scientific concern was a possible shortage of rubber, so scrap rubber drives were organized. This gave us a sense of collective action.
The Pledge of Allegiance became official in 1942. Early on, the salute looked very much like a Nazi salute, so Congress changed it to the right hand over the heart.
Another image he was truly not expecting. As a historian, Professor Campbell didn’t know he would have to deal with things that didn’t happen. He showed us a picture of an office working on the War Rumor Project. Bartenders, hairstylists, and taxi drivers listened in on what people were saying, then would report to regional offices. There were three huge categories of anxiety rumors:
- There were spies everywhere;
- Escape rumors, peace will come – newspapers printed rumors with rejoinders; and
- Hate rumors, mainly about race, especially the Eleanor Roosevelt Clubs that organized domestic workers to go on strike.
Lastly, Professor Campbell showed a graph tracking the use of the word “democracy.” That word was used more frequently in 1942 than any other word.
President Schreiber then opened up a question-and-answer period by asking if the country was split in any way during 1942. Professor Campbell said there was a great deal of opposition to any military build-up before Pearl Harbor. After that event, Roosevelt said we were in a fight for survival.
Another question was, “Do we need a rumor board now?” Professor Campbell answered that they ended in 1942 because the effort to squelch rumors actually spread them.
He was asked about the Japanese internment camps. Rumors on the West Coast were overwhelming. California would be lost. The original internment order included Germans and Italians, but no camps were built for them.
Professor Campbell was then asked about the level of German spying. Eight spies did land in the United States, they were captured, and six were executed. Their plan was to meet in Cincinnati and unleash terrorist attacks.
What role did Hollywood have in 1942? The biggest movie that year was Mrs. Miniver. It’s a war movie with no combat. A German soldier appears in Mrs. Miniver’s kitchen. Sudden fear. Roosevelt wanted the movie released as soon as possible. Hollywood actors were free from the draft. Clark Gable volunteered anyway. John Wayne used his exemption.
Professor Campbell noted that factories were retooled, including the Louisville Slugger factory from making bats to rifle stocks. Both were wood products, so the change was easy. He also talked about the Office of Price Administration and Leon Henderson. Prices were set on everything.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert S. Fraser