The Experience of Minorities in World War Two

In the history of the United States, African Americans have always been discriminated against. When Africans first came to America, they were taken against their will and forced to work as laborers. They became slaves to the rich, greedy, lazy Americans. They were given no pay and often badly whipped and beaten. African Americans fought for their freedom, and up until the Civil War it was never given to them. When the Civil War began, they wanted to take part in fighting to free all slaves. Their opportunity to be soldiers and fight along side white men equally did not come easily, but eventually African Americans proved themselves able to withstand the heat of battle and fight as true American heroes.

During the World War II, many ethnic groups such as the Native Americans, Latinas, Japanese Americans and African Americans were struggling and fighting for their freedom and equal rights, many of the ethnic group achieved their goals due to the effort they all had to go through.

African-American soldiers and civilians fought a two-front battle during World War II. There was the enemy overseas, and also

African-Americans are essentially second-class citizens. Moreover, at the outbreak of World War I America was a segregated society with African-Americans facing discrimination and brutalities of every kind. Even in the face of repugnant treatment, many African-Americans saw the outbreak of war as an opportunity to win the respect of both their country and their white neighbors.

manpower. It is not that we do not have enough people in this country to do the job. The

Following the victory of Allied forces from World War I, black troops were sent home to a whole other war for Democracy. African Americans still faced many

American minorities made up a significant amount of America’s population in the 1920s and 1930s, estimated to be around 11.9 million people, according to . However, even with all those people, there still was harsh segregation going on. Caucasians made African-Americans work for them as slaves, farmers, babysitters, and many other things in that line. Then when World War II came, “World War II required the reunification and mobilization of Americans as never before” (Module2). They needed to cooperate on many things, even if they didn’t want to. These minorities mainly refer to African, Asian, and Mexican-Americans. They all suffered much pain as they were treated as if they weren’t even human beings. They were separated, looked down upon,

African Americans specifically seemed have the most discrimination and lacking of prosperity due to the fact that they were the biggest ethnic group out of the rest of the other ethnic groups. African American soldiers like the rest of the veterans of World War II, received the GI Bill monthly allowance of $50 or $75 if they had a family, each month. The money was often used towards and was intended to be used towards higher education or training (Document J). The government essentially was paying these veterans to go to school and make something out of themselves. African Americans however were not offered this opportunity because of the fact that many colleges were prejudice and had rules about blacks going to their schools. Africans Americans in school at any level were segregated and not treated equal to other people of their age and qualifications because of their race. If African Americans were denied this opportunity, how could the make something out of themselves and add to the prosperity of society? The answer is they could not (Document E). With the opportunity of getting an education lost and not being able to get a degree and therefore a job, at least African Americans could use the money to buy a home in a suburb like many other people were. They could not do that either even though buying homes in suburbs was

With the belief that they were superior in patriotism, many people alienated minorities during World War II. In terms of the military ranking and task, many minorities were restricted. Many Chinese Canadians were not accepted into the air force or navy. The Japanese Canadians were considered “enemies” and were subjected to many hate crimes during the given time. They were also often turned down when applying for a position in the Canadian armed forces, and deemed unfit. This was highly based on a perspective of generalization and prejudice. Additionally, racism played a part in the

They were even able to take out their enemies fast jet fighters (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). what is socking about all of this is that these men weren't trained with guns or knives, they had to use sticks instead (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). With all the racism still going on, one African American man said it would be an iron for him to give America his life if it didn’t want to given him basic civil rights (Reinhardt and Ganzel 2). Second of all after, returning home they were given an opportunity to join a movement for their rights (Reinhardt and Ganzel 2). The Soldier came home to a country that wasn’t granting them their full rights so some joined a movement to expand the rights (Reinhardt and Ganzel 2). Other soldiers ended up moving to the city instead so they could find work similar to what they did while at war (Reinhardt and Ganzel 2). The roles of African American minorities where change after the war because the opportunities of job openings that were given to them and because their civil rights eventually expanded.

During American involvement in the war, African Americans were listed and reenlisted on the military draft at higher rates than any other nationalities including whites and Latin-Americans (Westheider 9). As a result, more African Americans than any othe r minority fought and died in combat. In addition, they constantly faced racism. One militant protested forcefully against the unfair conditions: “You should see for yourself how the black man is being treated over here and the ay we are dying. When it comes to rank, we are left out. When it comes to special privileges, we are left out. When it comes to patrols, perataions and so forth, we are first” (Gallagher). According to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., black youths represented an unequal share of early draftees and faced a significantly higher chance of seeing combat. “Rumors abounded that the U.S. government were using the Vietnam War as a form of genocide. Money was being pumped into Vietnam instead of poor black communities in America” (Gallegher).

Throughout American history, African Americans have had to decide whether they belonged in the United States or if they should go elsewhere. Slavery no doubtfully had a great impact upon their decisions. However, despite their troubles African Americans made a grand contribution and a great impact on both armed forces of the Colonies and British. "The American Negro was a participant as well as a symbol."; (Quarles 7) African Americans were active on and off the battlefield, they personified the goal freedom, the reason for the war being fought by the Colonies and British. The African Americans were stuck in the middle of a war between white people. Their loyalty was not to one side or another, but to a principle, the principle of liberty.

In the short film, “The Negro Soldier,” the whole focus was to get African Americans to join the military. With the use of propaganda, the U.S. government hoped to promote getting African Americans to want to fight for their country. It hoped to instill patriotism in them. It showed that Germany and the Nazis had no respect for them and considered them the scum of the earth. It also portrayed them being accepted as equals into the American society. It was used to make them think they were wanted and play a major role in the success of the war against germany. And to ultimately make Germany and the Nazis look like the bad guys (destroying their monuments) instead of the racist America they lived in. It also portrayed African American soldiers prior contributions in previously fought wars as pivotal moments in American history. It made it seem like they were the reason for those victories. It also explained how the African American soldiers were honored with tributes, memorials, medals and parades for their service in the military. In the ongoing WWII, it was said that there were three times the number of African Americans soldiers in WWII than in WWI. Also, many more were getting commissioned and attending West Point and OCS (Officer Candidate School). African American men that were once printers, tailors, entertainers are now soldiers in the Army as gunners, tankers, radio operators, mechanics, quartermasters, and infantrymen. They were now the backbone of

Why was there so many racial dilemmas emerging in the United States after the end of World War I? It is possible to say that the main reason is because this World War I was fought by the entire world. It was a war between countries of different nationalities and ethnic groups. There was especially more hate in the United States since it is a country made up of Americans of different backgrounds and recent immigrants. During the drafting of soldiers of the war, African Americans were also taking in the fight. At this time, whites didn’t have time to be concerned or angry about blacks partaking in the war since they needed to recruit as much people as possible in a short amount of time. However, after the war ended, white Americans were again

During WWII, two groups that had it very “rough” on the home front, was African Americans and women. Both of these groups faced many challenges, but both seen the war as a gateway into regular, white male society. “With the advent of WWII, African Americans saw a further opportunity to press their cause. Hundreds of thousands went to war, with the expectation that their service would earn them equal rights, once and for all.” (Many Rivers to Cross) When reflecting on the past though, African Americans have fought in every American war since the revolution, and yet they were still bound by unjust laws. (October 8th Lecture) Both groups had already overcame many diversities in the pasts, but were faced with an opportunity to possible triumph over the ones they had left. African Americans before the war, also had little chance of attending an