During the Second World War, the United States experienced considerable domestic change to women in the nation's industriousness and the role the federal government played in racial wedges. Domestically, the war brought about sweeping changes to American life that would have long-term effects. Although African American relations improved crucially, they continued to face hardships which inevitably advanced to Japanese- Americans as well because of the racial tension provided by the war with Japan. During this war as the men fought, the women gained more control overall in nation affairs but also the country’s production; rapidly advancing how much was made but tipping the balance of who could use such advancements. Women played a crucial …show more content…
For more than simple housework women were needed for jobs which advertised would help the US win the war, like taxi and bus drivers, salespeople, elevator operators, farm workers, etc. Women's participation in traditionally male-dominated fields opened up new career paths for them after the war ended; some even continued working outside of their homes when returning veterans resumed their old positions at factories or businesses across America. This raised the issue of over industrializing parts of the country. Articles like “Watch the West Coast” by Carey McWilliam express how the West primarily industrialized wartime products as factories retooled for wartime production of weapons and equipment needed by U.S. troops overseas, like aircraft and construction ships. So post-war would be a serious threat to employment rates. He also depicts the struggle of reinstating over a million war workers back to civilian jobs; which were taken over by young men and women. Many …show more content…
Jim Crow Laws still bled into 1940s America despite growing national sentiment towards racial equality. In 1941, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, establishing fair employment practices by federal agencies, unions, and companies engaged in war-related work. The desegregation of the war gave African Americans a newfound sense of pride for America. African Americans fought for victory for their enemies at home and on the battlefield; simultaneously battling for their country and for their rights. African Americans made significant progress toward attaining full citizenship rights through various court cases challenging segregated public institutions such as schools, buses, restaurants, etc. These measures helped pave the way for a greater social justice movement post WWII era ultimately culminating in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ending legal segregation nationwide. This positive reinforcement for African Americans had the opposite effect for Japanese Americans. Because this war was fought with Japan, many Americans believed they would become spies for the Japanese government; all negative connotations with the country leaked to all the innocent Japanese Americans in the nation. In 1942 President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 banishing all Japanese Americans to
The second World War resulted in a demand for workers after men began leaving for the war. Due to a lot of the working men in America going overseas as well as the demand for war products, women became a major source of labor. Propaganda began to address women, persuading them that it was their duty to start working for the men. The film The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter gives personal accounts of some of the hardships women faced in the era surrounding WWII, and how the media was used to create a desire for women to work.
Not only were the women recruited into the old jobs vacated by the men, who had gone to fight in the war, but new jobs were also created as part of the war effort. The government’s attitude towards female employment at first was negative as they were reluctant to allow the women to do any jobs left by the men. This later changed, as the government began pushing forward the idea of employment of women through campaigns and recruitment drives. Working as railway guards and ticket collectors, buses and tram conductors, postal workers, police, firefighters and as bank tellers and clerks, women began to change the concept of what was before deemed as ‘men’s
As US Citizens witnessed the horrendous racism and oppression of the Axis Powers, the US government became incentivized to improve their own race relations which meant sparking progress towards equality for African Americans. Furthermore, the Soviet Union constantly compared segregation in the American South to the Nazi treatment of Jewish people. This can be categorized as the reason behind Truman’s Civil Rights push to pass Executive Order 9981 and ban segregation in the US Military. Furthermore, American democracy was often called into question following the World War because the Soviet’s condemnation of African American treatment was completely justified. From 1945 to 1952, the US occupied Japan to establish a democratic government system.
This is due in part to the large number of African-Americans that had travelled across the United States in order to escape from the South’s violent racism in the early 1900’s. Despite this move, they continued to face significant racial discrimination, even up until WWII, where they struggled to find employment despite the country’s pressing need for a larger military (Burton, March 2nd, 2023) after WWI. The Executive Order 8802, signed by Franklin Roosevelt, the President of the United States at the time, eventually allowed them more job opportunities, as it “banned racial discrimination in Federal Industries” (Burton, March 2nd, 2023). At this time, the United States attached a moral mission to defeating Germany specifically, due to their being horrified at the discovery of its Nazi concentration
As depicted in Document 3, more women were joining the workforce in factories and having jobs only before being occupied by men. More women were joining the workforce in response to the open positions caused by men enlisting and being drafted into the war. To continue the U.S.'s productivity of supplies and to support themselves and their families, women began to take positions in workplaces that were mostly looked at to be as men's jobs by society. Women had more financial independence and were able to be employed in a larger variety of jobs due to the need for women working in factories to make materiels for World War
Without them, many civilians might have passed. While the war was outbreaking, discrimination was still present in the armed forces. Those regulations often kept denying African Americans enlistment. In December 1942, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9279 which terminated such restrictions. While the change was slow, by the end of 1944 there were over 700,000 African Americans enlisted in the armed forces.
The War World 1 was one heck of a war; it destroyed so many families and so many lives. During World War 1 many whites controlled and worked in a lot of the factories. By that happening many Africa Americans were out of jobs, which made them even poorer than what they already was. All the good and healthy whites were sent to Europe to fight in the war, the only people left to work the jobs were the African Americans and Women. Of course they wanted to work and get paid, but the conditions they had to work were horrible.
Socially, women were given more opportunities and roles in society as they took over jobs that were unoccupied due to men heading overseas to fight in the war. For women, there was an increased participation in the workforce, especially in industries previously dominated. This was due to the labour gap created from men leaving the workforce to fight on the front lines. People were initially hesitant to assign these jobs to women, but as the war progressed and
However, with the outbreak of war and men being drafted into the military, women were called upon to fill the void in the workforce. Women took up jobs that were traditionally seen as "male" jobs, such as factory work and construction. This newfound sense of independence and self-sufficiency fundamentally changed the social landscape in America. Women felt empowered and capable of contributing to society in a meaningful way. As a result, after the war, women continued to work and contribute to the workforce, paving the way for advances in women's rights and the feminist movement.
World war 2 was the war that changed many views on the economy: during world war 2, women finally had the chance to work in jobs that were not previously opened to them. This war was a turning point for The United States; World War 2 was the war that opened many opportunities, not only for women but for people of color too. World war 2 was the war that changed many views on the economy. On December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, thus causing the United States to take action and declare war.
After the Japanese dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor, hatred towards japanese Americans in America grew. Many people thought they were spies for Japan that were trying to take down the government. They viewed this sector of the population as dangerous. So, to eliminate the threat, Executive Act 9066 was passed. Along with a court case, the result was the creation and legalization of Japanese internment camps.
The American government put Japanese-Americans in internment camps, fearing they might be loyal to Japan. This was allowed to be done because of Executive Order 9066, designated the West Coast a war zone and anyone could be removed. Over 100,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans were put into internment camps. The Supreme Court case Korematsu v. United States in 1944 was about it the U.S. government had the right to take away the Japanese Americans' civil liberties to protect the country against any espionage. When Executive Order 9066 was passed, Fred Korematsu, refused to leave his home in San Leandro, California.
On February 19th, 1942, former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. From 1942-1946, Japanese-Americans, whether they were born in the United States of America or not, were sent to internment camps in the Southwest regions of the United States. Reportedly, the order was issued to keep the Japanese-Americans safe from rising biases and violence against the group, but many believe it was to quell the mass paranoia surrounding Japanese-Americans being spies for Imperial Japan. To Kill A Mockingbird shows the fear that is struck into the hearts of African Americans in the deep South by a select white citizens due to the mob mentality that comes along with racism. At the same time, though not fictionally, the Black populous
Although these jobs created a sense of independence for women, as men came back they were quickly shifted back into their pre-war roles, more than 3 million women had to leave their wartime jobs. In short, there was a domestic change in women’s roles within society because Women had to shift from their traditional home roles to new wartime
American Women during World War 2 had many responsibilities at war, work, and home. But they did not have many equal rights compared to the rest of the society. The women’s rights and responsibilities topic is very interesting. One is understanding and knowing the history about the responsibilities women had to do and how hard working they were. This topic is very important because there was a big change in women’s rights and responsibilities during World War 2.