Sophie Chase Annotated Bibliography, Wish List Sources and Primary Source Close Reading

1.     The Chicago Defender National Edition available from Stanford Green Library (available in Microform and Online from Proquest)

a.     April 4^th, 1942 “Georgia Farm Women Enter Victory Program” by A. W. Hagins

b.     August 1^st, 1942 “Ga. County Folk Farm for Victory” by A. W. Hagins

                                               i.     These newspaper articles available online from Proquest cover the participation of African American women in “Victory Farm Programs.” The U.S. government pushed participation in these movements, as did African American journalists and editors. The author speaks very highly about this type of experience for African Americans. This source says very little about the conditions of actual farm programs and whether or not they were segregated, which would have offered a strong point of comparison to the women’s Land Army movements, which was largely compromised of white women. I will have to dig a little more regarding this. 

c.      June 16^th, 1945 “Miss Victory Worker To Receive Award of Merit”

                                               i.     This article is feature story about the 1945 crowning of “Miss Negro Victory Worker,” a woman who demonstrated excellent “victory” work on the home front, from rationing to victory gardens. What’s interesting about this source is that it shows there were two women crowned: “Miss Victory Worker,” a white woman and an African American woman, who was designated and differentiated as “Miss Negro Victory Worker. This source is quite profound as it shows how even though the U.S. government sought to create the image of a unified home front by encouraging rationing and victory gardens, the rhetoric used was nonetheless still racialized. African Americans were not full partakers in “victory.” This source focuses on what the young woman who won the award did, instead of taking a hard stance against the inequality of the situation, which makes it slightly difficult to understand how the author may have felt about the differentiation.

d.     April 18, 1942 “Victory Garden Book Published for Amateurs”

                                               i.     This article, like many newspaper articles about planting victory gardens during WWII, sought to encourage readers, many of whom had no previous gardening or farming experience, to plant victory gardens in the name of victory. African American newspapers, like the Chicago Defender published many articles like the one above. This one is particularly profound because of how persistent the author is in his or her efforts to convince African American readers to plant victory gardens, whether is be in empty lots in urban areas or on rooftops. Although it does give some insight in what could have been at stake for African Americans in these home front “victory efforts,” the source does not include any voices from the community itself which makes it difficult to make assumptions.

2.     The Pittsburgh Courier available from Stanford Green Library (available in Microform and Online from Proquest)

a.     May 16^th, 1942 “Mrs. Bethune Praises Victory Garden Plan”

                                               i.     Educator, politician, social visionary and director of Negro Affairs in the National Youth Administration between 1936 and 1944, Mary McLeod Bethune strongly supported African American participation in World War Two home front “victory” efforts, including victory gardens. This newspaper article is particularly important because a quote from Bethune alludes to the importance of the planting of victory gardens by African Americans for both victory overseas and on the home front with Civil Rights. The problem with the article is that it is extremely short and we do not get to much context.

b.     Broadway Firm Publishes Double V Song: “Yankee Doodle Tan” By Razaf and Johnson, Looms As Great Song, April 11^th, 1942 by Isadora Smith 

                                               i.     This newspaper article, although not directly about African Americans involvement in home front efforts like rationing and victory gardens, caught my eye because it appears to say something about the restrictions African Americans faced, even when they believed themselves to be “all in for victory,” and the ways in which they pushed against these boundaries. The “Yankee Doodle Tan” song was a somewhat satirical and playful rift on the iconic, all-American song “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” I feel this source is profound in some way, but I am unsure of how exactly it will fit into my paper as of right now.

3.     Double V campaign, “Awaken America with your cry for a ‘Double Victory!’” June 13^th, 1942 available online from New York Public Library

                                               i.     This article from the primarily African American newspaper, The Pittsburgh Courier, references the “Double Victory,” campaign the newspaper became renowned for during WWII. This source is important because it acknowledges the link between African American Civil Rights efforts and African American participation in U.S. Government sponsored victory programs like rationing and victory gardens. Unfortunately this source, like the other newspaper article sources, also does not really give a voice to its African American readers. Although these sources do show African American leaders and media encouraged these “Double V” movements, it does not clearly show the public response.

4.     World War Two Poster Collection available from Library of Congress (some available online)

a.     “Will you have a part in Victory?”

                                               i.     This iconic poster published and distributed during WWII is available for view online from the Library of Congress, but also available from the Hoover Archives. It shows a white woman reminiscent of Lady Liberty, dressed in red, white and blue and walking through a garden with a basket and seeds. The poster is particularly compelling because from it we better understand the home front experience/ideology the U.S. government hoped to construct: white, virtuous and productive all in the name of victory. Many posters like this were created and distributed and very few had African Americans or Japanese Americans in them (I am still looking for these!). This has been the problem with these sources – finding ones that depict marginalized groups.

b.     “War Gardens for Victory: Grow Vitamins at your kitchen door” (1943)

                                               i.     This poster, like the one above is also available from both places. In this poster, the white woman is depicted not only as a virtuous “cultivator of victory,” but also as fulfilling her role as a mother and providing a nutrient rich meal for her family. This source is significant because it offers a look at the ideologies the U.S. government hoped to project about race and gender during this period. I am not sure how I would like to fit this piece in the puzzle of my paper yet, but I feel it has something to offer.

5.     Hoover Institution Archives Poster Collection available from Hoover Institution Archives

a.     “To Speed Our Boys Home” (US 3148), 1943

                                               i.     This poster provides a checklist for (white) women and suggests women should hang it up in their kitchens as a reminder of their home front duties. This source is important because it says something about who and what the U.S. government thought was ideal and expected in terms of rationing and other war related efforts – white, “cheerfully rations food,” and “playing square with food.” These efforts had moral implications. This source is obviously geared towards white women however.

b.     “Rationing means a fair share for all of us” (US3188), 1943

6.     The Internment Diary of Toyojiro Suzuki available from North Dakota Historical Society (available online)

a.     This diary available online from the North Dakota Historical Society, is important because we hear directly from Suzuki, a Japanese American, about his experience in internment. His diary offers day-to-day commentary on how he turned a confined space into both a productive and beautiful space with his own personal victory garden. Although his English is slightly broken and sometimes a little difficult to read, I think this will be fruitful.

7.     Lousie Ogawa, 3 letters to Miss Breed available from Japanese American National Museum (a couple letters available for view online)

a.     January 6, 1942 Letter

                                               i.     Miss Breed was a Librarian at a San Diego Library that developed relationships with several Japanese American children and teenagers prior to their internment. This is one letter, available online from the Japanese American National Museum, to Miss Breed from Lousie Ogowa in which she covers her experiences in camp and school and how this was often difficult to navigate as camp officials wanted Japanese Americans to participate in victory efforts like farming and creating gardens. This source is extremely good because it is well written.

8.     Topaz Japanese-American Relocation Center Digital Collection/Newspapers available from Utah State University Libraries (some available online)

a.     The “Trek,” Vol. 1, no. 1 December 1942

b.     The “Trek,” Vol. 1, no. 2 February 1943

                                               i.     Both the above sources are camp newspapers written by Japanese Americans interned in the Topaz Relocation Center. These newspapers showcase incredible literary and artistic skills among camp internees in the face of confinement and discrimination. These articles also reference "rock gardens," that emerged in internment camps, gardens that were built and gardened purely for aesthetic reasons by Japanese Americans. They were not meant to be a productive space by any means. This type of garden seemed to be a form of resistance in a way to the productive, "ugly" gardens. 

9.     Topaz Relocation Center High School Student “Ramblings” Yearbooks from 1943 and 1944 available from Utah State University Libraries (available for view online). 

a.     This source is a yearbook from the school in the Topaz Relocation Center. The entire source is available online from the Utah State University Library and includes writing, art and other works from students as well as their experiences working in school victory gardens and other productive spaces. It also includes statements about their dreams, hopes and career goals. This source is profound because it shows students grappling with their identity in camp.

Wish List Bibliography

1.     Japanese-American Research Project collection about Japanese in U.S., 1893 to 1973 available from UCLA Special Collections

a.     This archival collection contains correspondence and diaries from Japanese Americans who lived in internment camps.

2.     Japanese-American Relocation Center Newspapers, 1942-1945 available from Oviatt Library Special Collections at California State University

3.     Oral histories from African Americans or Japanese Americans from WWII

   One of my primary sources: Hoover Archives Poster: Will you have a part in victory?