Flvs Us History Module 0501 World War Again Assignment

Module 07: Did World War Ii Advance Minorities, Women, and the Poor?

Context

Economic Stagnation

Globe War Two irrevocably changed American society. It brought America out of the Dandy Depression, accelerated the migration from rural to urban areas, and provided unprecedented opportunities for African Americans and women. When World War Ii bankrupt out in 1939, the American economy lay brackish. Over ten million Americans were unemployed and the state was operating at only one-third of its industrial chapters. With the Two Ocean Navy Act, however, which authorized the doubling of the armada and plans to increase the Army Air Force, U.S. manufacture kicked dorsum into gear. Lend-lease aid to Britain and the Soviet Union besides expanded the economy. Millions without work once over again found jobs and relative prosperity.

War Production and Rationing

The U.S. entry into World War II accelerated war production, which necessitated centralized management on a massive scale. To manage the process, President Roosevelt created a War Product Board with the power to allocate natural resources and regulate industrial production to ensure maximum support for armed services. Consumer goods, such as automobiles for civilian use and electric appliances, were banned, as was all housing construction that did non straight do good defense force plant workers. Auto plants were converted to build warplanes, tanks, armored cars, army trucks, and jeeps. The newly established Role of Toll Administration oversaw rationing and controlled wages, prices, and rents to prevent inflation. The Part of Price Administration also rationed gasoline, tires, meat, butter, sugar, and tobacco so that war machine maintained first priority for their use. The American people every bit a whole, however, suffered less during World War Two than civilian populations in other combat areas. Except for Honolulu, no American city was bombed or invaded, and U.S. casualties remained depression in proportion to the overall U.S. population. In fact, many Americans prospered as never earlier, although not all Americans shared equally in the wealth generated by the war endeavour.

African Americans and World State of war II

Although African Americans had participated in all U.S. wars, the military made no plans to apply African Americans in either the domestic or the military machine sides of World State of war II. Racial exclusion and segregation characterized American race relations on the eve of World State of war II, and African Americans played an insignificant role in U.S. military machine. The regular army, for example, confined its black enlistees to the all-blackness Xx-Fourth and 20-Fifth Infantry regiments and the Ninth and Tenth Cavalries. But two black deputed officers existed in the regular army: Colonel Benjamin O. Davis and his son, Lieutenant Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. As for the navy, blacks were welcome just as messmen or stewards. Neither the U.S. Marine Corps nor the U.S. Army Air Force accepted black recruits. After protests past black newspapers such as the Baltimore Afro-American, the Pittsburgh Courier, and the Chicago Defender, and organizations such every bit the NAACP, the war machine began to take black enlistees and draftees.

The Tuskegee Airmen

The army assigned black enlistees and draftees to all of its branches, merely within racially segregated units. By 1944, two all-black combat divisions, the Ninety-Second and 90-Third, had been sent to Italian republic and the South Pacific, respectively. The Women'southward Army Corps (WACS) accustomed black female officers and enlistees, although they were segregated as well. As for other military services, the U.South. Marine Corps in 1942 accepted blackness enlistees for the first time, although it employed blackness Marines predominantly in service battalions. The Army Air Force established a flying school at Tuskegee Institute, a black college, to train blackness pilots and aircrew. In that location it created the all-black 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group, whose pilots became known as the "Tuskegee Airmen."

African Americans and the Navy

The U.Southward. Navy rescinded its policy of enlisting African Americans but for the messmen branch and began accepting black recruits in other shipboard and shore ratings. In 1944, the navy likewise created an officer candidate schoolhouse to train blackness naval officers. In practice, however, the Navy did not assign African Americans to whatsoever great extent to its combat ships in ratings other than steward or messmen, although information technology did commission a submarine attorney and a destroyer escort with callback crews to see if black sailors could handle at-sea combat jobs. For the most part, the navy bars its few blackness radio operators, boatswain mates, radar operators, gunner'southward mates, and the like to shore duty in racially segregated units. As in other services, the navy tended to assign about of its African Americans to service battalions, peculiarly to those that loaded ammunition. The Port Chicago Mutiny remains a notorious example of the navy'south mistreatment of African Americans. After an ammunition explosion on July 17, 1944, at the navy'southward Port Chicago ammunition base in California that killed over 200 black armament handlers, 258 black sailors refused to return to work when ammo handling operations resumed a few days later on, citing racism and unsafe conditions. All only forty-four were persuaded to return to duty; those who refused were court-martialed and received harsh sentences. Only hard lobbying past the blackness press and the NAACP after Globe War Ii got their sentences overturned.

African Americans in Combat

Despite mistreatment, black servicemen fought bravely when given the chance. Dorie Miller received the Navy Cross, the second highest naval accolade, for his bravery at Pearl Harbor, although information technology took over six months of pressure level by African American customs leaders and newspapers to ensure that Miller received proper recognition. The Tuskegee Airmen of the 99th Pursuit Squadron performed with valor in Northward Africa and after in Italy equally part of the all-blackness 332nd Fighter Group. The P-51 unit of measurement escorted heavy bomber raids out of Italia into Germany and didn't lose a unmarried bomber. Other notable blackness units included the 320th Avalanche Balloon Battalion, the only black combat unit to land on Omaha Beach; the 76th Tank Destroyer Battalion, ane of General Patton's spearheads into Germany; and the destroyer escort Mason, the only all-black warship, which valiantly escorted convoys across the U-boat-ridden Atlantic. Additional black heroes of World War II include:

• Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., who allowable the 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group;

• Pvt. George Watson, who died while rescuing several fellow soldiers from a sinking ship ship;

• SSgt. Ruben Rivers of the 761st Tank Destroyer Battalion, who unmarried-handedly stopped a German tank attack before being killed;

• 1st Lt. Vernon Baker, who led a platoon assault on a German position in Italy that resulted in the devastation of half-dozen machine gun bunkers and the deaths of 26 German soldiers;

• 1st Lt. John Fox, who called down arms fire on his own position and destroyed an attacking High german force;

• SSgt Edward Carter, who killed six German soldiers in mitt-to-mitt combat;

• Pfc. Willy James, who died while rescuing his commanding officeholder;

• and 1st Lt. Charles Thomas, who, though mortally wounded, nonetheless directed the successful defense of his visitor's position.

All of the distinguished servicemen to a higher place were finally recognized for their valor in January 1997, when they received the Medal of Honor, the highest military honor.

African Americans at Home

On the civilian side, defense contractors had no existent plans to utilise African Americans. An incensed black community led by A. Philip Randolph, caput of the Alliance of Railway Machine Workers, and the blackness press threatened to lead an all-black march on Washington, D.C., in protest. To head this off, President Roosevelt, in July 1941, issued Executive Guild 8802, which forbade defense force contractors from practicing racial bigotry and set up the Off-white Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) to monitor the order. Although the FEPC lacked the power of enforcement, the gild did open up doors, however slightly, to African Americans in the workplace. As fourth dimension passed, and every bit more and more obtained lucrative employment in defense industries, hundreds of thousands of African Americans migrated from southern plantations to defense plants in the Midwest and along the Eastward and Westward Coasts. The rural-to-urban migration caused immense racial tension, which culminated in the Detroit Race Riot in June 1943, in which 30-iv people died.

Internment of Japanese Americans

African Americans were not the merely grouping mistreated in the United States during World State of war II. In the weeks and months afterward Pearl Harbor, all Americans of Japanese descent became targets of suspicion, hysteria, and hatred. Fear of a Japanese invasion and demolition by fifth columnists motivated the persecution of Japanese Americans. General John DeWitt, commander of the U.Due south. forces on the Due west Coast, acting with the concurrence of the President, ordered all Americans of Japanese descent removed from the West Coast and relocated to concentration camps in Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico. The edict forced 112,000 Japanese Americans to leave their homes, jobs, businesses, and farms and caused immeasurable misery and economic loss. Such a blatant violation of the constitutional rights of American citizens was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1943. Some Japanese Americans, notwithstanding, were allowed to enlist in the army, where, similar African Americans, they were racially segregated. Nevertheless, many fought with stardom and bravery; the 442nd Regimental Gainsay Squad fought in Italy and won the most medals of whatever U.Due south. combat unit.

Women in the State of war

Over fourteen 1000000 American men served in the armed services during World State of war II, which necessitated the increased presence of women in the labor forcefulness. Millions of women filled non-traditional jobs, although they generally received less pay than men. In add-on, over 215,000 women served in the four branches of the armed forces during the war. The army established a special section for women, called the Women's Army Corps (WACS), in which over 100,000 women served as nurses, office personnel, doctors, and other non-combatants. A few women aviators served every bit transport pilots during the war, and the navy established the WAVES for women who performed tasks similar to their army counterparts. The Declension Guard and Marines too had female contingents. The new skills and economical independence obtained by women during World War Ii, both at home and away, would take a lasting bear upon.

Financing Globe State of war Two

For obvious reasons, the Federal Government expanded exponentially during the war years. Congress remained reluctant to enhance excise or income taxes drastically, although information technology did approve a graduated increase in income and corporation taxes. All told, taxes paid forty% of the state of war's cost of $300 billion (the equivalent of $6 trillion today). Loans in the form of state of war bonds financed the residual. The federal arrears rose from $49 billion in 1941 to $259 billion in 1945, yet the United States was the only country to come out of World State of war II economically stronger than when it had entered. Such would not be the instance for Great Great britain, the Soviet Spousal relationship, Germany, or Japan.

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Source: https://www.dhr.history.vt.edu/modules/us/mod07_ww2/context.html

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