The American home front during World War II is recalled warmly in popular memory and cultural myth as a time of unprecedented national unity, years in which Americans stuck together in common cause. World War II brought many new ideas and changes to American life. Even though World War II brought no physical destruction to the United States mainland, it did affect American society. Every aspect of American life was altered by U.S. involvement in the war including demographics, the labor force, economics and cultural trends. During the Great Depression, the American birth rate had fallen to an all-time low due to delayed marriages and parenthood. In the 1940's, there was a population growth of 19 million, which doubled the rise of the 1930's. However, in 1957, America experienced a "baby boom", and by 1957 the population increased by 29 million. "The rising birthrate was the dominant factor affecting population growth" (text, 847). Along with the escalated birth rate was an upsurge of divorces due to problems with separation and infidelity. "In 1945, more than half a million marriages were dissolved" (Bailey, 147). The death rate was on the decline and life expectancy rose during this period. New medical developments were made with the federal funding of medical research in which penicillin and streptomycin were developed. These advancements in medicine cured many bacterial infections and severe illnesses. Later, in 1952, Jonas Salk introduced a polio vaccine. There was a vast migratory pattern of many Americans during this time period. During the 1940's, millions of African-Americans moved from the South to the North in search of industrial opportunities. As a result of this migration, a third of all black Amer... ... middle of paper ... ...ing legend of the Good War" (Adams, 2). While the war changed the lives of every American, the most notable changes were that in demographics, the labor force, economic prosperity and cultural trends. Adams, Michael C.C. "The Best War Ever America and World War II" Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD 1994 Bailey, Ronald H. The Home Front, U.S.A. Time-Life Publishing, Chicago, IL. 1978 Bard, Mitchell G. The Complete Idiot's Guide to world War II, Macmillan Publishing, New York, New York, 1999 Duis, Perry 0 The War in American Culture, The University of Chicago Press, 1994 Schultz, Stanley K. American History 102 Civil War to the Present Copyright 1999 Board of regents of the University of Wisconsin http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture21.html
In the United States there was a vicious enemy everyone feared. In the 1950s the United States was under attack by the ruthless Poliomyelitis virus. Americans lived in constant fear of their children contracting this horrible virus that left many children paralyzed. During the outbreaks in the 1950s foundations were created to fund research and create awareness to help find a way to eradicate the virus. Americans become focused on doing anything in their power to fight this virus off. Jonas Salk’s Exploration of Medicine and research led to the creation of the Polio vaccine that united the country, prevented further outbreaks, and introduced a new form of treatment which has limited the fatality of polio infections today.
After the election of 1920 America would return to its isolationism roots and watch as the nations of Europe headed down a path for another world war. As Americans watched Communism rise in Russia they questioned for the first time the patronage of their fellow Americans. Economic and social reforms that started up during the war were set to a status-quo mentality. The actions set forward from the Treaty of Versailles and stance the U.S. Congress took on the League of Nations would eventually lead the world in the worst depression ever and ultimately to a second world war in a mere twenty years.
At first polio was a troubling prospect when it first reared its ugly head in the United States of America. In a noble effort to be rid of polio, America as a whole was to adopt stringent sanitation measures. Everywhere, especially the home was to be spotless and clean in order to try and prevent the contraction of polio. This coupled with the view that America as a western nation seemed impervious to such a lowly disease tried to assuage American fear of the disease. Despite the measures commonly adopted throughout the myriad of cities and towns, polio still managed to spread around the country and wreak havoc taking thousands of lives. An outbreak that ravaged America claimed nearly 27,000 lives in a terrible reckoning before it finally subsided. This and several other troubling outbreaks
Michael C. C. Adams' book, The Best War Ever: America and World War II, attempts to dispel the numerous misconceptions of the Second World War. As the title suggests, Americans came out of the war with a positive view of the preceding five turbulent years. This myth was born from several factors. Due to the overseas setting of both theaters of the war, intense government propaganda, Hollywood's glamorization, and widespread economic prosperity, Americans were largely sheltered form the brutal truth of World War II. Even to this day, the generation of World War II is viewed as being superior in morality and unity. The popular illusion held that 'there were no ethnic or gender problems, families were happy and united, and children worked hard in school and read a great number of books.' (115)
"World War II." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd Ed. Vol. 9. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 147-151. World History In Context. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.
World War II opened up several opportunities for African American men during and after the war. First of all, the blacks were able to join the military, the Navy and the Army Air Corps’ (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). The African Americans were allowed to join the military because they were needed, but they would be trained separately and put in separate groups than the white men because America was still prejudiced. Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). The same went for the African Americans that joined the Navy, only they were given the menial jobs instead of the huge jobs (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1).
Those studying the experience of African Americans in World War II consistently ask one central question: “Was World War II a turning point for African Americans?” In elaboration, does World War II symbolize a prolongation of policies of segregation and discrimination both on the home front and the war front, or does it represent the start of the Civil Rights Movement that brought racial equality? The data points to the war experience being a transition leading to the civil rights upheavals of the 1960s. World War II presented several new opportunities for African Americans to participate in the war effort and thereby begin to earn an equal place in American society and politics. From the beginning of the war, the black media urged fighting
The United States, at the time of World War II, was facing an economic depression which concerned the American public and President Roosevelt because they knew that America’s involvement with the war was inevitable. Most resources state that “the United States entered World War II largely unprepared” (America and Word War II 610). However, due to the fact that while preparing for the war there was an increase in economic growth, African Americans and women became more involved in industry and the military, and President Roosevelt incorporated several acts and embargos that encouraged Americans to produce more supplies as well as permitted Britain and France to purchase goods from the United States, it can be argued that America was in fact prepared for its entry into World War II. The external threads of continuity, such as economic, social, political, and geographic factors, had a greater impact on the United States preparedness for war, which resulted in the overall success of the Allied Powers.
Barnett, Correlli. World War II: Persuading the People. Orbis Publishing Limited, 1972. Pgs. 76 -- 102.
We've come a long way since the early styles of warfare seen in the American Revolution and the Civil War. World War I was the first war where the United States proved to the world we were a formidable power. Made up almost entirely of immigrants, America sent to Europe an armed force the fight against the Germans. The war brought a divided nation together as one. It represented pride and unity. The World War I victory portrayed the United States as a world superpower. Americans living in the early 1900s saw the war as a "just cause", and supported our actions abroad. World War II came just 20 years later. This time it was a single attack that drew us into the war. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor led us into World War II. The country furious with the cowardly assault; rallied, and stood behind the President's decision to send troops to the South Pacific and Europe. The American view on the war was very supportive. The country went to work manufacturing equipment offsetting the economic failure of the depression the United States was dealing with previous to the war.
Chafe, William H. The Unfinished Journey: America Since World War II. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
O'Neill, William L. World War II: A Student Companion. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print.
Polio: An American Story describes a struggle to find a vaccine on polio through several researchers’ lives, and over the course of many years. The second thesis is the struggle between Salk and Sabin, two bitter rivals who had their own vaccine that they believed would cure polio. The author David M. Oshinsky, is describing how difficult it was to find the cure to a horrifying disease, which lasted from the Great Depression until the 1960’s. Oshinsky then writes about how foundations formed as fundraisers, to support polio research. Lastly, the author demonstrates how researchers were forced to back track on multiple occasions, to learn more about polio.
WWII had a major effect on the United States economically. For starters, WW2 was right after the Great Depression so the citizens of the US were in the process of recovering from this crucial setback in the US economy. Ironically, WWII helped the county crawl out of this horrific depression. For example, businesses boomed because they were mass producing supplies for the war including many weapons and materials. Also...
The discovery of the polio vaccine was an important medical and scientific breakthrough because it saved many lives since the 1950s. In the summer of 1916 the great polio epidemic struck the United states. By the 1950s hundreds of thousands of people had been struck by the poliomyelitis. The highest number of cases occurred in 1953 with over 50,000 people infected with the virus.