The Year of Peril: America in 1942

by Tracy Campbell

This fascinating chronicle of how the character of American society revealed itself under the duress of World War II "place(s) today’s myriad social traumas and dislocations in perspective."—George Will, Washington Post

Winner of the New-York Historical Society’s Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize

The Second World War exists in the American historical imagination as a time of unity and optimism. In 1942, however, after a series of defeats in the Pacific and the struggle to establish a beachhead on the European front, America seemed to be on the brink of defeat and was beginning to splinter from within.
 
Exploring this precarious moment, Tracy Campbell paints a portrait of the deep social, economic, and political fault lines that pitted factions of citizens against each other in the post–Pearl Harbor era, even as the nation mobilized, government‑aided industrial infrastructure blossomed, and parents sent their sons off to war. This captivating look at how American society responded to the greatest stress experienced since the Civil War reveals the various ways, both good and bad, that the trauma of 1942 forced Americans to redefine their relationship with democracy in ways that continue to affect us today.

Genres: History, World War II, Nonfiction, Audiobook, American History, War, Politics

408 pages, Paperback

First published May 19, 2020

About the author

Tracy Campbell is professor of history and codirector of the Wendell Ford Public Policy Research Center at the University of Kentucky.

Reviews

[CoachJim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why Study History?

What relevance is there in reading about events from 80 years ago, when we are currently facing a threat to our Constitution and Democracy by an ex-president and his ilk, or facing climate change with its dangerous consequences to our health and wellbeing. Shouldn’t we be thinking about the present and future, not the past?

In 1942 the United States faced an external threat from two hostile countries that had proven their capability of destroying a country, its people and their civilization. The attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 had shown Americans that they were not invulnerable to the devastation of war. It also showed that despite years of warning the country was ill-prepared militarily to meet this threat. Domestically the nation was still traumatized by the past decade of economic turmoil. They now were learning to live with rationing, price controls, and a managed economy, while the government was trying to fight inflation and pass a tax bill to pay for the war.

In this excellent history of the domestic United States during 1942, Tracy Campbell describes the issues, measures and sacrifices the nation was required to make. The country was one divided politically, economically, socially, racially and even geographically. So how is it that the United States emerged from this period as the strongest most developed country in the world.

In 1942 the United States was on the cusp of a change. The author makes several references to the current conditions for comparison. For instance, the act of Congress when they declared war on Germany and Japan was the last time Congress would declare war. All the subsequent wars have been instigated by presidential decree. Another change was the presence of women in the workforce. As they went to work there were occasions when they found themselves in buildings and factories without any bathroom facilities for women. When the buildings had been built no one could imagine a women working there.

I am not sure it was the author’s intention but there are some parallels in this book with our current environment. Among them are:

Abortion. In 1942 abortion was illegal and doctors who performed them risked lengthy prison sentences. And many abortions were performed using methods described as “medieval”. A Dr. Alan F. Guttmacher from Johns Hopkins hoped the medical profession would “relax its barriers” in therapeutic cases where a pregnancy threatened the life of the mother. (Page 44) That sounds familiar.

Education. There was doubt about whether children were emotionally capable of being exposed to the horrors of war. Also the lack of an education about our history and political institutions and how they worked showed a failure of people to understand the sacrifices our democracy had cost. This struck me as similar to the efforts of some state governments to limit the teaching of certain subjects and the banning of some books.

Absentee Ballots. Because so many people were in the military and stationed far from their home towns the issue of allowing absentee balloting was raised. However, this also brought up the issue of poll taxes, and that was seen as a threat to the white supremacy in the South. White people in the South were more worried about the threat of racial equality than they were about victory over the Axis powers. This was a threat to many Dixiecrat Senators who were reelected over and over gaining seniority in the Senate that gave them the chairs of powerful committees. This is similar to the efforts in Arizona and elsewhere to ensure the election of Republicans.

Rationing. People were learning to live without certain items. Sugar, silk and coffee were rationed in addition to gas and rubber. We recently experienced a lack of toilet paper and baby formula.

Perhaps living through some of these issues currently makes reading about them historically more striking for me.

This history ends in December of 1942 so we do not get a complete picture, but we know that this period was followed by the United States becoming the strongest, most prosperous, and most developed country in the world. That doesn’t mean we solved every problem. But it might show us what actions were used and taken to successfully survive that period.

So why did I read this book? An adequate history of our current troubles will not be written for a long time. As of this date I do not know what the results of the 2022 mid-term elections and what a new Congress will bring to our country. I might not learn or read about the results and changes from this current Constitutional crisis, but I can read about a similar period in history from 1928 to 1945. There are many great books already written about this era and there seems to be more each year.

History serves as a crucible to examine the circumstances and experiences of another era. History can teach or show us how a similar social situation in the past was resolved and what changes and results occurred.

[John Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book follows the year in America after the unexpected Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. There are parallels for Americans coping with COVID-19 in 2020; people hoarding; charges of incompetence hurled at Congress and the administration; misinformation spreading amok; incessant anxiety about an unknown future; suddenly having to do without material goods or services one has long taken for granted.
Campbell's month-by-month chapters provide a seamless read, presenting an overview of society including xenophobia and racism (Japanese-Americans sent to internment camps; blacks refused entry into the regular armed forces).
The government deemed major league baseball, Hollywood films, and tobacco as "essential." But Americans had to ration many goods, including gasoline -- due to an acute rubber shortage. The military needed all available tires, which previously had been imported.
Campbell captures the real paranoia about where the next attack might come. Despite no television or internet, rumors ran rampant, fanning fears throughout the nation.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating look at events--political, military, social--in the critical year following the attack on Pearl Harbor. I had no idea things were so precarious! I assumed that FDR managed the New Deal and war preparations without serious opposition-ha! Lots of political wrangling, defeat after defeat after US joined the war, shortages at home, monumental efforts to build up the war machine. Filled with interesting information and people, if nothing else, this account made me realize that the good old days we sometimes long for weren't really that good, that victory does not come without hardship and sacrifice. Makes me wish many in government today knew more about the past.

[Unchong Berkey · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the U.S. entered 1942 as a nation shaken, on the verge of an economic crisis and mired in political upheaval and divisiveness as WWII raged on. Government actions pushed the constitution beyond its limits, racism persisted, and a general lesson that can be learned from this era of U.S. history is as the author says: “In times of national anxiety we do not necessarily come together as one.” (Exhibit A: COVID-19 and our national response)

[Judy Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Lincoln on the Verge, this book takes a long look at a short historical period: 1942, when America was divided and ill-prepared for a significant role in world war. University of Kentucky Tracy Campbell professor does an amazing job of providing the nuances and undercurrents that lead to U.S. successes, but also its continuing failures.

[Ted Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't remember where I first read about this little gem of a book, but I am certainly pleased that I was made aware of it. For those looking for a definitive study of the United States in World War II, this is not your book. It focuses simply on the year 1942 (each chapter studies one month of that year), and the events of the war itself are more backdrop that the central focus. But the author's intention, which he achieves quite well, is to show the elements of American life, good and bad, during that crucial year. The positive side of the narrative includes a pretty through examination of how American democratic norms survived this crisis, even though many observers of the events of that year were not convinced that we were going to emerge victorious. Many Americans actually believed that President Roosevelt would call of the fall of '42 Congressional elections. He did not, obviously, even thought the prognosticators were correct in predicting big Republican gains in Congress. The book convincingly makes the case that that chief domestic challenges that year were controlling inflation and conserving rubber. Both were accomplished, although not without the passage of some pretty radical legislative initiatives. On the negative side of the ledger, the book discusses the internment of over one hundred thousand Japanese-Americans, as well as the continued impact of the noxious traditions of American racism. Indeed, a proposed law to end poll taxes in the south was killed by a successful filibuster by men who had no difficulty admitting that they favored minority rule in their part of the nation. But the filibuster fight began the process of white southerners abandoning the Democratic Party, first in a turn to partisan independence and then as full fledged members of the Republican Party. I had always believed that the turning pointing this transformation was Strom Thurmond's 1948 Dixiecrat campaign, but the process had actually begun six years earlier. I was pleased that the author focused on a few now forgotten political figures from that era, including inflation fighter Leon Henderson (whom I had never heard of) and the newly minted Republican congressional candidate Claire Booth Luce (wife of Time magazine publisher Henry Luce). In short, this book is a quick and enjoyable read, and deserves a place on the bookshelf of any World War II buff.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book wasn't not written for 2020, but it is a great book to read in the perspective of 2020. It reminds us that there are many voices and different opinions, even with something as dramatic as being bombed less than a month earlier. There are issues we forget about, such as the demand that blood donations be segregated by race, while the larger issues of race relations remain. It seems so easy to imagine there were no conflicts or uncertainties because we're here and we moved on.

There were those arguing for a negotiated peace with Hitler, and those arguing for not waiting until the U.S. prepared for war. It was also a reminder than if either Germany or Japan had planned an invasion, the U.S. was not prepared to offer much resistance initially.

A great book that I'm recommending to others. If there are so many details about 1942 that become compressed in our history, it reminds me that in the recalling of history there is much that is forgotten. We can learn from history, but only as a perspective of what has been said and considered before; what has been tried earlier; what has changed and what has yet to change.

The book gives perspective and calms even though there are no solutions suggested for this year's problems. If someone were to read the book in 2025, it will offer a similar perspective without giving solutions for that year's issues.

[Michael Friedland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite the page turner - the author jumps right into the events of January 1942, and does not let up until the final chapter, which, appropriately, covers the events of December of that year. There are a lot of vignettes that the author mentions but doesn’t have time to go into. Much of the book is taken up with the battles between Leon Henderson, the long-suffering (but also somewhat inept) administrator of the Office of Price Administration, and Congress and the press. Much of the animosity was due to directives on price control and rationing, especially of gasoline. Gasoline was in ready supply in the United States, but rubber was not, and as there was a critical rubber shortage, this would cut down wear on tires. The romanticized notion of the “greatest generation,” at least on the domestic front, is give short shrift as the author documents the intensity of white segregationists’ fear of African American advancement during the war, arguing that the segregationists were more concerned with white supremacy than they were about fighting the war.


The author writes with verve, and a sense of humor, but the insouciance is misplaced when he describes an attack on the mainland US in September 1942. A Yokosuka E14Y launched by a Japanese submarine crashed near Mt. Emily in Oregon. “Wet conditions kept the fire from spreading and no one was injured,” he writes, “but it was the only enemy bombing of the continental United States during the war. Despite blackouts, war insurance, saboteurs, and the internment of over one hundred thousand people throughout the Southwest, the Japanese never inflicted any more harm on the mainland than a crater the size of a toddler’s wading pool.” (p. 231) Sadly, this is not true. One is surprised that with the depth of research that went into this book that the author was unaware of the fact that the Japanese sent bombs aloft in high-altitude balloons directed to the United States. On May 5, 1945, when an Oregon family found one such balloon in the woods during a picnic and went to investigate it, the bomb exploded, killing a minister’s wife and five neighborhood children.

[Stuart Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given the victory that the United States and its allies won over Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, it's not surprising that our participation in this defining event of the 20th century would eventually give rise to highly romanticized accounts and myths, fueled partly by the inevitable assumption that our victory was preordained. To the U.S. citizens in 1942, there was no inevitability that would happen and Campbell gives an admirable summary of what Americans really thought and worried about as the country struggled to increase production, control what everyone feared would be runaway inflation, and continue the legacy of the New Deal while fighting a war. The author minces no words in depicting the virulent and violent racism of the time and Southern Democrats' frenzied efforts to preserve white supremacy which seems to have been a higher priority to them than fighting a war. What is interesting is how many of the arguments and disagreements of the time continue to beset us today, including a distrust of all government, an unwillingness to respect expert opinions, an automatic assumption that any government regulation however benign is a prelude to a loss of democracy, etc. One can perhaps take solace in the fact that the U.S. DID manage (for the most part) to keep its democratic institutions intact (despite some serious lapses such as the internment of Japanese-Americans) AND become the "arsenal of democracy" AND win a war on two fronts. An excellent read for anyone with an interest in America's home front during World War II.

[Mark Lawry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title made me believe it would have been a global review of that year. Brief mention was made of the Death March, Singapore, Guadalcanal, over a million dead at Stalingrad. By mid 1942 it was a terrifying global map, but Campbell's focus was entirely U.S. domestic politics and economic policy. For most of the year the U.S. was ramping up military production and putting 7 million folks through basic training for the landing of North Africa. Of course, for most people living at the time they didn't see this. The average person on the street figured the U.S. was doing nothing to stop the Axis. It cost the Democrats dearly in the 1942 elections.

At the same time the U.S. was struggling with women entering the work force, fear of Japanese and our shameful internment camps, a unified south that had no intention on allowing FDR to end segregation, a good percent of Americans who were perfectly happy with Hitler making Jews disappear. It is a wonder that FDR somehow managed to keep our ship together.

[Lindy High · Rating 5 out of 5]

My parents met (at a USO dance) and married in 1942 and I — with the Vietnam War as my frame of reference — wanted to read about a time when the nation was united behind a single purpose: saving the world from the Germans and Japanese. Turns out the divisions in society looked rather more like our time. Living conditions were worse as 1942 dawned: only 78.7% of American homes had electric lights, 44% had mechanical fridges, 69.9% had indoor running water. Half the nations farm families lived on less that $15 per week. The needs of a wartime economy changed much of that, including opening employment options for women as men enlisted or were newly drafted into the military (although still making less than their male counterparts. US industries producing planes and ships fell short of FDR’s goals for 1942 (but still outstripped Germany’s military production). Author Tracy Campbell covers economic, political, and military developments up to the first-year anniversary of Pearl Harbor with statistics and anecdotes that bring that world to life.

[Stefan Spett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do not read.
The short descriptions of battles are jaw droppingly inept. Description of Coral Sea does not mention sinkings of USS Lexington and IJN Shoho.
Strikes and unions are mentioned but not the great musician strike that started in 1942.
The rubber crisis is mentioned again and again but not much about what got done about it. Whisky production was interrupted 1942-45 because of it.
The Victory bike is mentioned only in passing but rationing of car tires is described at length.
When production numbers is mentioned the author havent bothered to read beyond the first line of some wikipedia page. 24 Essex carriers did not get commissioned during the war or ever.
The judicial impact of Cocoanut Grove-fire seems overstated. Surely Exit signs wasn´t invented afterwards.
The lack of interest in military hardware is deep. What exactly is a 'mounted armored personnel carrier'?
The author has one focus, one interest, the race conflict. Hundreds of pages about the race conflict but Arizona anti-miscegenation laws not mentioned anyway.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

On this 83rd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, I would highly recommend reading Campbell's account of how profoundly that momentous event transformed every aspect of American life. From Wall Street to Main Street, from the White House to the factory floor, the life of every American of our parents' and grandparents' generations changed dramatically almost overnight. The federal government took control of even the most trivial aspects of life in America from the amount of coffee loyal citizens could drink to the mileage on their cars, from the prices they paid for goods to the wages they earned from their labor. Not since the Civil War had America suffered such terrible fear for survival, which, ultimately, and perhaps, ironically, led to America becoming the greatest superpower the world had ever known. This is a time worth remembering and Campbell's book gives us the fascinating story.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does a great job of busting the myth that in the wake of Pearl Harbor, Americans set aside their differences and were united in meeting this threat to their country. In fact, the same divisive issues that have haunted us, and continue to haunt us, were evident in the first year of World War II: white supremacy, religious intolerance, fear of immigrants, greed, selfishness, and hatred of New Deal social programs. In that regard, a disheartening, if enlightening, read. The writing is not as lively as it could be, and as a result, the pages turn a bit slower than they should. Stick with it for a fresh view of the home front at war.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book does a good job of detailing what the country had to go through during the opening months. I think it is colored a bit by 2020 perceptions but that’s not unexpected or really undesirable. I am only thru April and I have found two pretty egregious errors that bother me. 1) Germany never took the Suez Canal. 2) None of Doolittle’s planes landed in Japan. These are pretty elementary errors and I would think that, if Mr. Campbell has a source for them, he would cite it.

Other than that, it is a good read....

[Greg Stroud · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed listening to the book and the paradoxes that have always been a part of America. On one hand, the Tom Brokaw The Greatest Generation myth shows how America did come together to help defeat the Axis. At the same time, segregation and internment of Japanese citizens was seen as viable answers to race questions. I do think the author was a little taken in by the planned economy of 1942. I will have to do more research on that topic.

If you want a broader view of life in the USA, this is a good place to start.

[Dana Kraft · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and enlightening perspective and definitely more focused on the political and leadership challenges of this critical year. I was hoping for a little more of an Everyman perspective. That’s not absent but I would have preferred more of it. Certainly the political battles are to an extent reflective of what people care about but 2020 provided a good example of how disconnected political issues can be from what regular people care about.

[Bob T · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very readable account of America in 1942, not so much from the military perspective but more from the perspective of the state of American society and the changes imposed by the government to heighten the chances of victory over Japan and Germany. Many parallels to the situations following 9/11, the Great Recession, and the fight against Covid-19.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was kind of laundry listy, but still interesting. My biggest takeaway was that, outside the war, America was dealing with many of the same issues in 1942 that we continue to deal with today. Though we were so behind in 1941 when PH was bombed, it’s not a surprise that we were able to pivot so quickly and get to where we needed to be to win years later.

[Michael Weisberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent historical perspective

A well researched book deserving of its critical acclaim. Introduces the man, Henderson, whose unpopular edicts regarding price controls and rationing made him a villain to many at the time, but who made a real contribution to controlling inflation and whose efforts have heretofore gone unrecognized.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched. Very interesting retrospective on 1942 with tiny tidbits of personalized history that I enjoyed, in addition to a clearer picture of what was really happening in 1942. I liked how the year was broken down - how cultural events were included. This is the kind of "history book" that really appeals to me. Very well written.

[Lorraine McCleary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a slog. Writing style is choppy and details strung together in chronological order. Taxes and legislation is a primary focus, but did enjoy reading of the struggles of everyday people. Most disheartening was the extreme prejudice and paranoia in the book, especially among the block of white supremacists in the South. Does it ever change?

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic alternative accounting of the second-most mythologized year in American history. Crazy-uncle conspiracy theories, race riots, voter suppression, wealth taxes, corporate greed: it's not 2022, it's 1942!

[Angelica · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s so little we are taught about the home front during WWII and yet so much happened that is imperative to our understanding of the mythic “Greatest Generation” and how the war shaped the future of our nation. This is a must read and should surely be read by high schoolers.

[Sue W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. Many parallels to things happening in our count ry today.

[Michael Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did find December to be a bit of a grind due to each chapter following a very similar discourse but overall found this book about the US in 1942 very informative and interesting.

[Katherine Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Day by day account

Fills in the days and months after Pearl Harbor for historians of America's early role in WWII. I recommend it.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written chronicle of the US in 1942 a nation gripped by fear and yet unswerving in its resolve.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times extremely selective in focus, as if trying to prove some sort of point, this is still a good, comprehensive look at 1942.

[Highlandtown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to read that the risk of inflation at the onset of WWII played a significant part in government policies.

Campbell also focuses on America’s racism toward Jews, and Japanese and Black Americans. “One tradition - that of democracy and liberalism - has built American civilization, while the other - that of narrowness and bigotry - has threatened to transform the great American dream into a nightmare.”

“The political and economic experience of America in 1942 demonstrates the fragile nature of self-government in times of national Stress.”