Essay on The Effect of World War II on American Women

World War II changed the lives of many Americans overnight. Men, women, children, everyone was impacted by it in one way or another. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese, the United States made the decision to enter World War II and fight back. World War II gave those who were discriminated against better opportunities. World War II impacted many Americans especially Latinos, African Americans, and women. Even though they were all discriminated against equally before World War II, during World War II Latinos and African Americans had a more positive experience than women.

During World War II, Hollywood films strongly influenced the roles American women played, both while men were away and directly after they returned. These films often sent the message that while their men were away, women must be romantically loyal and keep a secure home for the men to return to. The films also often encouraged women to do their patriotic duty and their part in the war effort by doing war work.

The home front experience during World War II did not expand the freedoms and opportunities available to Americans. The Japanese Americans were treated horribly in camps. African American were being discriminated. After soldiers came back from the war, they couldn’t find jobs. Even though the women were working, while the men were fighting in the war, they were being discriminated.

War is often a time of bloody battles and numerous casualties; on both sides of the playing field. World War II was one of the bloodiest wars in history; it not only involved the mass genocide of a specific group of people, but it also brought on major changes in America. As a result of the war, many opportunities would open up for women in the work force. When the men were off fighting the war, there was a need for employees to take over the jobs that the men had to do. The emergence of women in the work field served as a catalyst for major events that would take place later on, like the Civil Rights Movement. The idea of “what it means to be a woman” in American society was put to the test, and throughout the war, women would have to constantly fight for their place in society; and the work force. The question arises, “was World War II a good war?” The previously stated question can be answered in a number of ways; race and ethnicity often had a hand in what jobs women could do, and social class also had an impact on what job position women had and how much money they would earn. To best answer the question, “was World War II a good war”; the different experiences of; African American, Japanese, and White women need to be analyzed in order to better understand whether World War II was a “good war”.

Women in World War II started replacing men in traditional roles, which proved to society that women were capable of work reserved for men. Due to labour shortages and the need for men to fight overseas, the government was forced to allow women to take a more active role. Women had a broad range of duties and responsibilities, most women were trained in many of the home-front tasks, subsequently, that more service men could be freed to join the overseas forces, this created new employment opportunities for women (Carrodus et al, 2012, p. 113). Tens of thousands of women joined the Women 's Air Force, Naval and Army Services during World War II. (Big Black Dog Communications Pty Ltd, et al, 2009). As seen Appendix 2, women in the services were significant as they were beginning to perform all types of work, from intelligence officers to drivers, typists and cooks, to wireless telegraphists and aircraft ground staff. To go from being dependent on

African Americans, particularly African American women, benefited greatly from the need of laborers during World War II. Before the war, many African American women worked domestic jobs, such as maids or caretakers and were not allowed to get other jobs. However, in 1942, President Roosevelt decided that America could “no longer indulge such prejudices.” (216). An example of this is Fanny Christina Hill, an African American woman from California, was able to work during the war at a multitude of jobs and getting paid well with a slight, but steady, increase (219). This allowance into the workforce allowed African American women to fully understand that they were not less than white women and could work just as well, if not better. Along with this, African American men were risking their lives on the frontlines of the war just as valiantly as white men, creating a more equal standing ground. Because this inclusion did not last after the war, African Americans were unhappy and desired to have that inclusion and possibility of equality back. This led to the Civil Rights Movement and the creation of organizations that advocated for more equal rights for African Americans.

Women once again were the backbone of America during WWII just like in WWI. They worked high jobs reserved for men and some women helped create machines that would help in the war (ships, tanks, planes, etc.). Agricultural took a backburner because many left their jobs to either fight in the war or work in jobs that would provide for the war. Although the jobs for women didn’t last long and they didn’t get paid as much it set in motion more encouragement for Women’s Suffrage. African Americans also moved from farming to more industrialized jobs because they believed that winning the war might encourage more equality in America itself. African-Americans could earn more money and FDR passed the FEPC (Fair Employment Practices Commission) but it was not practiced much in the armed forces. In the armed forces African-Americans were given small jobs and not properly trained for higher jobs if they got one. The FEPC called for the armed forces to give out

Another impact WWII had on women, was that job opportunities for women increased during the war and they had a chance to prove they could work. “Women also enjoyed employment gains during the war, although many lost their jobs when the war ended.” (Danzer, 591) Women started to work at jobs, that weren’t technically jobs that women worked at the time, which allowed women to prove themselves to employers but employers still discriminated against women. After white, male soldiers came home from the war, many employers fired women and hired veterans and women were expected to go back to being

World War 2 affected the United States of America in multiple different ways, such as socially, economically and politically to. The war caused a boost in immigration off all races and genders. The damage of the war caused workers to move to curtain area where work is available. This resulted in an overflow of children for schools, a shortage of homes for the females of the working men and woman. The war causes the role of a woman to change tremendously. Woman became lumberjacks, mechanics during the war. They went as far as to take jobs normally reserved for men and also there wages began to double overtime. There were even woman joining the navy, army and also nursing in the field for falling soldiers. Sometime after the war woman began to

Jobs that women did were jobs that men did. 350,000 women served in World War II as well because they had different sets of skills than other women did. While they were at war, lots of women were mentally affected. Many women got PTSD, which stands for Post-traumatic stress disorder. That's when a traumatic event happened in their life and it's triggered by a terrifying event.

While World War II is often remembered as a dark time in American history, many events and ideas of the time were important and powerful catalysts for social change. Women’s roles in the work force challenged gender roles, racial tensions and inequality, specifically in terms of African Americans, were called out, and politically fueled information spread through mass media and influenced American thought. These three factors best illustrate the way WWII acted as a catalyst for social change because they set the tone for the future of American society, and still largely play into history being made today.

WWII was a catastrophic war, and this is because it resulted in the deaths of over 60 million people in the military and civilians worldwide. The United States of America (U. S. A), itself lost over 400,000 men and women in service during the war. It is also important to note that over 650,000 more men in service got injured during the war. Despite the massive destruction of property and loss of life, the Second World War was a major transformative event for the US society (Levine & Levine, 2011). Due to the transformations caused by the war, many people benefited both during the war and its aftermath. The war set stage to the onset of major changes within the country and these changes include changes in education, changes in the housing patterns, changes in people 's perception of the world, as well as, changes in the social structure of the country. This particular paper focuses on the Second World War and how it created employment opportunities and the aftermath of the end of the war for the poor, women, and black Americans.

World War two was a very traumatic experience for many countries. It was a fight between the United States, United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, against Germany, Italy and Japan. Even though it was said that no battles took place in the mainland of America, World War two had a huge impact and it influenced America in several ways. The Japanese attacked America after December 7, 1941, and the U.S. was pushed into WWII, which lead to the sudden alter in resources everyday. For example, food, water, and clothing, were very limited at the time. While the necessities were limited, America was demanding weapons and different materials in order to fight. In order to do this, women had contributed and found dangerous jobs, like electricians, and riveters in defense plants.

World War II had a definite impact on the United States. It changed how people lived and how other people were viewed. Not many people realize the treatment of people from our own country during World War II. Three groups of people that were affected were women, African Americans, and Japanese Americans. The lives of these people were changed drastically, whether by having to work, mistreatment because of skin color, or by being blamed for something that was done by a country they were native to.

After the last great global conflict, the Second World War was the most extensive and lethal war in history, which involved more than 30 countries. It marked more than 50 million military and civilian deaths. Though dumbfounded by the events of December 7, Americans were also determined. President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war against Japan On December 8. The declaration passed with just one rebel vote. After three days, Germany and Italy, connected with Japan, declared war on the United States. America was involved into a global war. Great Britain and the Soviet Union were in allies in this fight. The job the nation faced in December 1941 was daunting. During World War II, some 350,000 women made a huge job both at home and abroad in the U.S. There is one thing that states: In World War II there were believe that women became skilled of all kind of roles in the workforce in society, and that was permanently impressed on the public awareness. Even though the World War II made significant change in women’s life; however, it did not necessarily bring new employment, military, and civil rights opportunities to black women compare with white Americans. Moreover, while white American women in military and other area also shared a history of discrimination based on gender, African American faced as well as gender and race discrimination. Primarily forbidden that African American women obstinately kept on their right to manage that was given from official military status.