The Aftermath Of World War II

When America entered World War I, men went off to war, and women had to step in. They were recruited to what was seen as “men’s work”, such as postal workers, factory workers, railway guards, etc. Women were finally able to go to work, but equal pay was an ongoing issue from that point on. Women started to enjoy some basic rights that male citizens enjoyed but women were once denied. Rights such as being able to work and receiving an education, but they were still shut out, completely, from political activity.

World War II brought several changes to the world and specifically America. It not only changed the world map but also set impact on the behaviours. WWII played a major role in building turning points during different periods. Before WWII, African Americans were not offered equal rights in the community. It was considered an impossible thing that African could ever do a white collar or even a blue collar job. However, soon after the WWII, there came a turning point in the lives of African American with the Civil Rights Act in 1964.

Inquiry Skills—You will develop questions and plan investigations, evaluate change and continuity over time, develop credible explanations of historical events and developments based on reasoned interpretation of evidence, gather evidence, evaluate and use evidence, develop explanations and make persuasive arguments in support of your conclusions, and communicate your conclusions.

During the rise of women’s rights movement in the time period of 1940 to 1975 they have been discriminated by inequalities of gender roles. Although women were proving to society that they work just as hard as men, they still were not treated as equal. In World War 1 and 2 a majority of men were gone due to the war so women took over but were still rated as less than a man. Along with this the the nineteenth amendment came to place giving women the right to vote. This was their time to accomplish more things that they wanted which is to be able to decide and do things and not be left out based on their sex.

The aftermath of World War I left a lasting impression on the 1920s because America entered the Great War later than the big European countries. This gave them an upper hand in their economic position since they did not spend as much money as France, Germany, and Britain did. This ignited their unprecedented affluence which had a domino effect in America’s society in terms of government’s relationship to business. Another effect of the First World War is the Red Scare and America’s prejudice and fear against the minorities shown through the immigration policies it established. These changes in the economy increased living standards, evidently seen through the consumer culture, progressive innovations, and increased consumption. This illusion of expanding prosperity came to an end with the stock market crash in 1929. This opened America’s eyes to their limits which make the 1920s a decade imperative for its legacy rippled throughout our history.

Is it possible to know what Americans thought of World War II, if they believed that the war was a just war or whether they did not agree for what the United States was fighting for? The historian Studs Terkel believes he knows this answer and that Americans saw themselves as liberators of an oppressed world fighting for the just war which can be concluded from his famous volume, The Good War. Of course one person’s beliefs should not be believed as easily just by reading a book. A person should base their opinions on something much more analytical than that. In order to decide whether some Americans actually thought that World War II was a just war, a thorough analysis should be done of American life looking at all the facts found. Beginning with American experience before the war then analyzing the experience of the war and the home-front itself and finally ending with the analysis of America after World War II a conclusion can be made regarding the American point of view.

In the aftermath of World War I, Europe would fall into a depression with the U.S following suit. On October 29, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday), the Stock Market would crash which would ultimately trigger the start of the Great Depression. Lasting 10 years, the great depression would lead to the unemployment of more than 10 million Americans and the closing down of many banks (which would lead to many Americans losing all their savings). The general public desperately needed the help of the federal government to get back on their feet, but like many people at the time, President Hoover did not believe in direct assistance from the government. As he stated in his Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union on December 2nd, 1930, “Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement. Economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells of the economic body--the producers and consumers themselves.” However, President Hoover did take some action in 1932, after realizing that that the nation was only falling further into the de! pression. Created to promote the idea of t.rickle-down economics, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation was meant to aid large business (via half a billion dollars)b in hopes that the “support” would trickle-down to the public in the form of more work opportunities and thus increased goods production. Despite his best efforts, the plan was seen as too little, too late and failed to make a difference

The aftermath of World War II left two separate powers ruling over post-war Europe, each with radically different ideologies. On one side NATO, a collection of western democratic societies, on the other The Warsaw Pact, a collection of communistic states led by the Soviet Union. After the fall of Nazi led Germany in World War II, Germany was divided into two different zones, West Germany and East Germany, with West Germany being divided into three different sectors being administrated by The United States, The United Kingdom and France, while East Germany being administrated solely by The Soviet Union. Berlin the capital of both East and West Germany was further divided into two zones much like Germany itself with a democratic West administrated by NATO and A communistic East administrated by the Soviet Union. This was problematic however as the capital is completely surrounded by East Germany. This would lead to a series of increasing border tension between the East and West that would eventually lead to the construction of The Berlin Wall.

The Women’s Rights Movement has been around since July 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention where the spark ignited women to fight for their rights in the U.S. Fighting for the freedom to vote and have the same basic rights as men. Voting rights were predominantly the main focus of this movement until 1920 where all women in the U.S. gained the right to vote. As one fight ended, a new one began, thus, the fight for equality in a male dominated workforce began. Women were working well before the 1920’s, but it became the focus as World War 1 ended and more women were working in the factories. The Women in the Workplace movement has diminished over time because once women gained the ability to work equally besides men the focus went towards gaining

Living in a society post World War II where social revolution is said to be unnecessary, there was solidity on Americans in the 1950s to conform to certain expectations and values. During the peak of the Cold War, any one who did not share the same values would be accused of being a communist. These common values that Americans believed in the 1950s were a "liberal consensus" that described America as an unflawed society that worked and did not suffer from any major struggles. The liberal consensus was based on the assumption that nationally America was full of hope. It was a period of economic success lasting from 1945 to1965. The certainty infused in America from this concept to fuel economic growth, defend individual rights and establish political equality seems well established yet by 1968 the liberal consensus had fallen apart. With the emergence of the New Left, hatred and disruptive opinions arose towards the government and our pointless participation in Vietnam, exposed major problems of the American public toward the liberal consensus, failing it to the point where it shattered.

After WWII the world was in a particular Europe and Asia were divided between communist and western/liberal democratic free areas with Asia and Europe on the border. Many of these nations suffered extensive damage in WWII, in particular Germany's social and governmental infrastructure was destroyed. Truman appreciated that one of the reasons why WWII happened was because after WWI these nations were given little to no assistance to transition back to peace and develop the necessary institutions that would breed and foster trust and support in the government. So when there were economic problems it became simple for people to support soapbox orator like Hitler who had populist ideas and supposedly easy solutions. After WWII the fear was that

to occur. Some of these major changes helped shape what the U.S. is today and include the Baby

The dominance of world by the United States started by the end of World War II. The dominance marked the beginning of the cold war which dominated the world affairs up to the early 1990s.The United States and its partners faced the Soviet Union and its allies. The war was marked by a lack of global wars but a persistent regional proxy war. From this time, the U.S administration has pursued a single grand strategy, deep engagement. However, with the endless debate on the promotion of democracy and liberal economic order, the differences have emerged on which policy best suits the country.

At the end of WWII, the Soviet Union and the United States both had specific security concerns. The Soviet Union felt that they needed to establish “friendly” governments in Eastern Europe because the Soviet Union had already been attacked twice in their past through Poland. They also felt due to their major role in defeating Japan, then they should play a role in governing post-war Japan similar to the plan of governing a part of post-war Germany. The United States were concerned that after WWII, if territory changes occurred, then it would lead to a third world war. The US believed that the former Axis Powers would need to be rebuilt along democratic principles to prevent the spread of militarism. The US would establish free trade and market

During the 70s, women wanted to obtain their independence and opportunities to jobs and education. Women’s Strike for Equality organized women to protest in New York. In addition, they protested the stereotype created in television, which describes women as housewives to take care of the kids and serving dinner on time. This was around the time too when feminists were becoming more proactive and vocalizing their beliefs more. In 1972, Title IX was added to education amendments. Title IX helped with gender equality and prohibited sexual discrimination in all federally assisted education programs. I believe that our culture today is more accepting of women in the workforce, and I believe that women have more rights and freedom than back when