No Ordinary Time | Themes

No Ordinary Time Themes

Home Front During World War II

Although Goodwin writes many pages about the battles and their strategies, her focus is on the American home front during World War II. She writes about the changes in the average American's life during that time. Women went to work in defense factories, making them more financially independent. For the first time, their work outside the home was valued and needed. Americans experimented with the first daycare centers. People pulled together in a common effort to win the war. They rationed common things like meat, sugar, coffee, rubber and aluminum. They bought bonds instead of stocks. When Roosevelt asked people to buy a map before a certain fireside chat, millions of Americans did just that. They were glued to their radios with their maps of the world while the President explained to them how the war was being fought.

Eleanor serves as a national morale-booster, as she travels to hospitals...
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