Scrap Metal and Student Mobilization During World War II

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For many of us, tossing an aluminum can into the recycling bin is an everyday act that connects us with a larger cause. During World War II, collecting scrap metal to recycle for war supplies became everyone’s civic duty. Primary sources show how the nationwide effort was mobilized with young people’s help.

In September 1942, the War Production Board—a government agency created to supervise wartime manufacturing and economic mobilization—announced a scrap metal drive for October, counting on children across the nation to join in. Students learned why the war effort needed scrap metal and what to do. Over the next few weeks, the youngsters set to work, joining many other Americans in playing a part in the war effort. Students today can explore these drives themselves through two primary sources: a newspaper item and a photograph.

Introduce “Boys and Girls!” Focus students’ attention on the image, as well as the headlines above and below it. Ask if they can read the date. What questions does this information raise?

Examine the page as a group:

• What information does the newspaper item share about the campaign?
• What role did the newspaper and the newspaper industry play in it?
• What reasons does the newspaper item give for the campaign?

Now examine the photograph, “Manpower, junior size” by the Office of War Information in October 1942.

Support students as they analyze the photograph, asking questions from the Teacher’s Guide: Analyzing Photographs as needed. For example:

• What do they notice first?
• What do they think is happening in the photograph?
• What surprises students about what they see?

Allow time for students to read the photograph’s item record, then discuss:

• How does the item information affect their understanding of the photograph?

Ask students to consider both sources to support their answers to questions such as:

• How does print versus visual media offer different approaches to the campaign?
• Who were the intended audiences for the sources?
• What kinds of strategies does the newspaper use to persuade students to join the campaign?
• How might the effort to mobilize around a common cause have affected the students?

Encourage students to share how the two sources build or challenge their understanding of the war on the homefront. What new questions do the sources raise?

Find more primary sources about students and the scrap campaign in Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Search between August and November 1942, using phrases such as “scrap metal students.” Consider narrowing the search to your state. Search the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information collection for “scrap metal” for photographs of the national student mobilization campaign. You might also direct students to the World War II Primary Source Set for more primary sources about the many ways that Americans mobilized for the war.