14. Even with certain key categories of industrial and
agricultural workers being exempt from the draft,
the draft left the nation's farms and factories
short of personnel. In 1942, an agreement with
Mexico brought thousands of Mexican
agricultural workers, called braceros, to America
to harvest the fruit and grain crops of the West.
15. The armed services enlisted nearly 216,000
women in WWII. Most commonly known were
the WAACs (army), WAVES (navy), and SPARs
(Coast Guard). Millions of women also took jobs
outside the house, working in the war
industry. WWII foreshadowed an eventual
revolution in the roles of women in American
society.
16. The immediate post-war period witnessed not a
permanent widening of women's employment
opportunities, but a widespread rush into
suburban domesticity and the mothering of the
"baby boomers."
