The Effect of World War II on American Women America entered the 2nd World War in December 1940 after the Japanese Air force attacked American war ships at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii. They fought alongside Britain and France against Nazi Germany and her allies. Although many American soldiers were injured and killed in the war, the impact on Americans back home was generally positive, as the US was too far away from Europe to suffer from bombing etc. America was far better off than it had been before. I feel that the group of people who were most affected by the impact of ww2 were Black Americans. Before the war Black Americans were extremely mistreated; they were unfairly segregated, discriminated against, under paid and had unequal rights. When the war began all Black Americans started work, at home and abroad. 1.154,720 blacks joined the armed forces to serve in segregated units. Abroad, Black soldiers suffered from racial prejudice still; they ended up doing all the menial work and suffered many insults from whites, including sometimes their commanding officers. As well as in the fighting forces, black Americans played an important part in the home front. By the end of 1944 around 2 million were working in war factories and received better wages than they had had before. As the war was being fought against Nazis, this raised the expectations of many black Americans. It had been a war not just against Hitler but against Hitlerism, and the Double ‘V’ campaign stood for victory at home and abroad. By the end of the war the membership of NAACP (National association for the advancement of coloured people) rose from 50,000 to 45... ... middle of paper ... ...’s. During the war many factories opened to make war equipment like weapons etc. Many more jobs were available so the unemployed numbers decreased, and people earnt more money which would have increased their standard of living. After the war America was out of the depression without the threat of dictatorship which affected the many people in America. The USA now had a strong economy. Only in the United States were people better off than before the war. American banks became the world’s bankers. Only the USA could help the war-shattered economies of other countries. The war economy, coupled with good weather in the years 1941-45, boosted agriculture. Therefore I think the economy was greatly affected by ww2, because America managed to come out the depression and improve the lives of many American people.
Over 2.5 million African-American men registered for the draft, and black women also volunteered in large numbers. While serving in the Army, Army Air Forces, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, they experienced discrimination and segregation but met the challenge and persevered. They served their country with distinction, made valuable contributions to the war effort, and earned high praises and commendations for their struggles and sacrifices. During World War II (1939-1945) African Americans were fighting for the United States in a segregated Army. They were treated unfairly and fought under harsh circumstances.
American women in World War II brought significant changes which although people expectation that life would go back to normal they modify their lifestyle making women free of society pressure and norms, because the war changed the traditional way to see a woman and their roles leading to a new society where women were allowed to study and work in the same way than men. Creating a legacy with the principles of today’s society.
World War Two was the period where women came out of their shells and was finally recognized of what they’re capable of doing. Unlike World War One, men weren’t the only ones who were shined upon. Women played many significant roles in the war which contributed to the allied victory in World War Two. They contributed to the war in many different ways; some found themselves in the heat of the battle, and or at the home front either in the industries or at homes to help with the war effort as a woman.
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 then the white men because America was still prejudice. (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). African Americans that joined the Army Air Corps’ were also segregated (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). The Army Air Corps’ African American also known as the Tuskegee Airmen were sent to the blacks university in Tuskegee for their training (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). They became one of the most well known groups of flyers during World War II th...
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 a campaign for a “Double Victory”: a global victory against fascism at the warfront and national victory over racism at the homefront. In spite of the literary and artistic achievements of the Harlem Renaissance, the economic or political gains that the black community expected did not come to light from the African American participation in the First World War. (Perry 89) Thus the black media aimed to obtain that foothold that would bring about racial equality. They emphatically declared that there would be no lessening of racial activism, in order to present a consolidated front to America’s enemies.
Although wages rose during the war, prices also rose by sixty percent. Because European farm production was disrupted, the United States' agricultural prices rose more than fifty percent between 1913 and 1918, and farmers' income increased significantly. Many farmers saw this as a great opportunity to bring in wealth and borrow money to expand production, but when the high prices of agricultural merchandise decreased, planters faced a credit squeeze. While most men were off at war, many women and blacks took over their jobs, contributing intensely to the Great War, also known as World War I.
After Pearl Harbor, Japanese-Americans were looked at loathingly by whites. Eventually, with the passing of Executive Order 9066 the Japanese-Americans’ homes were taken away, they were stripped of their property, livelihoods and most importantly their freedom. Even those that were born in the United States were stripped of their rights and forced into internment camps. The racial issues of course did not stop at just the Japanese. African Americans were expected to fight in a war for freedoms that were not even given to them in their own country. At times, they were even denied the ability to enlist in the Armed Forces. Although many African Americans found a new start in the many war towns, they were still discriminated against and still had to deal with segregation. Whites kept African Americans in the low un-skilled jobs. When Roosevelt signed the federal order for the Fair Employment Practices in the defense industries that called for equal opportunity and prohibited discrimination, the new changed caused a lot of problems. Trouble really came when 12 African American workers became welders, whites started a riot because they wanted African American workers to remain in inferior roles. African American workers were then bombarded with racial slurs and violence, which caused some to leave the war towns to protect themselves and their families. Once again proving that the United States was involved in a war for “freedom” that its own citizens were not able to experience fully.
World War II was the largest and most violent armed conflict in the history of mankind.
America’s entry into World War II had an importance to America after the war. The United States involvement in the war was long and took a toll on everyone in the war. The military of the U.S. was the deciding factor in World War II. The United States grew militarily and economically because of the war. Finally stopping the Great Depression and bringing on jobs for everyone including women, colored people and the fighters of the war.
Prior to World War I there was much social, economic, and political inequality for African Americans. This made it difficult for African Americans to accept their own ethnicity and integrate with the rest of American society. By the end of World War II however African Americans had made great strides towards reaching complete equality, developing their culture, securing basic rights, and incorporating into American society.
In order to success on the home-front and to be able to support the troops, African Americans and women were given identities to help with victory. In order to success on the warfront, rapid effort of expansion in both industrial and military power was needed. On both the home and warfront, victory highly depended on the continuous provision of warfare such as ammunition, guns, tanks, naval vessels and planes as, “The necessity of winning the war opened the economy to millions of black men and women who surged into defense plants” (African Americans and the Military: World War II and Segregation). Without the support of other ethnic races and involvement of typical household women, the American Dream would not have been achievable. For the sole purpose of achieving that well desired dream alongside the American pursuit of happiness, Americans allowed discriminated individuals to support their victory as it would not have been possible without them. Through unequal opportunity presented by Americans within the union, the nation was physically and physiologically left disrupted and shattered by varying opinions through discrimination and
Blacks during this time period worked predominantly in the fields planting and harvesting Tobacco. They worked long hours and were likely to be sold at some point in their lives. This separated families and kept morale very low. Plantation slaves were also subject to brutal punishments because they weren’t regarded as having high value. However, with the onset of the Revolutionary War, the British invited blacks to join the British Army and in return, they would receive their freedom. Thoughts of wholesale desertion of slaves to the British regiments created a fear that swept throughout the colonies and led colonists to allow blacks to fight for the local militias and even the army.
350,000 African Americans served in segregated units during World War I, mostly as support troops. Several units saw action alongside French soldiers
Even Though African Americans supporting United States during WWII, they did not keep quiet about racial practices in America. With some similarities between the way Jews were treated in Germany and the way blacks were treated in America, they were saying that we are just like Hitler.
World War II was one the most important events of the twentieth century. Not only did the conflict itself reshape and establish the political landscape that led to 45 years of Cold War with Russia, but the social impacts of the war were far reaching as well. Minority groups, in some ways second class citizens in the 1930s and 1940s, suddenly saw their fortunes change. Suddenly, black men, indians, and women of all colors had more value in the United States than they ever did before. But the value they had was only to be temporary. War is a closed realm and desperate times call for desperate measures. The harsh realities of home would face these people once their jobs or their tours of duty ended. During the 1930s and 1940s, American Indians, African Americans, and American women were all pulled into the war effort. But, even with all the positive impacts brought by these groups, things still were not getting better. In the United States during World War II, minority groups active in the war effort faced prejudice and stereotypes, civil and economic imbalance, and lack of appreciation for their efforts. Although these people may not have gotten the true credit they deserved till years later, without their contributions the war may not have been won.