The Fifties and Sixties What did they gain in World War II? Veterans: The United States passed laws like GI Bill of Rights, which guaranteed medical coverage and a year's unemployment compensation for veterans. The veterans were a lot helped by that and also by free education, job training and low interest loans on houses. Women : When men were out for war, women usually did the work instead. They kept the United States running in supplies and weapons for soldiers. Women gained their will to fight for women’s rights. African Americans: They joined white men in war effort. They also gained their confidence and will to fight for equal rights. They hated segregation. What challenges did they face at the end of the war? Veterans: Before …show more content…
They had difficulties finding jobs which might affect them with getting equal rights. They had struggled to break the “Stay at home” role society which saw them as wives at home only. African Americans: African Americans were discriminated. They did not have equal rights in public. They were segregated in schools and public places. African Americans faced segregation and racial discrimination by the majority of the nation. What progress did they make in the postwar period? Veterans: When the laws for veterans were passed, they lived a better life where they got jobs, had low interest loans on houses and free education. That made the veterans strong financially and be able to stand on their feet again. Women: Women slowly began to take place because of the equal rights amendment. They also began to get more respect and equality as the people began to open their minds as well as their eyes that women should have equal rights and respects as men. African Americans: They faced segregation but not as much as in sports and music because music and sports were the two fields where white and black Americans were beginning to mix. It was called jazz age. They slowly began to be able to participate in
During the war, women played a vital role in the workforce because all of the men had to go fight overseas and left their jobs. This forced women to work in factories and volunteer for war time measures.
Women played an important role throughout American history. They were known in the Civil War to be doing various acts. Women had enlisted in the army as soldiers, spied and gathered information about the enemy, took care of wounded soldiers, traveled and helped within the military camps and even took over their husbands’ businesses. There were many things that they did to contribute to the war just as much as the men did. Even though it was dangerous they still helped whether it was on the battlefield, in a hospital, or at home, they still tried to help out the best they could.
When the war started, women had to take over the jobs of men and they learned to be independent. These women exemplified the beginning of change. Coupled with enfranchisement and the increased popularity of birth control, women experienced a new liberation. When the men returned from the war they found competition from the newly liberated woman who did not want to settle for making a home (Melman 17). This new class of women exercised a freedom that shocked society.
Soldiers, both men and women, risk their lives fighting for our country and when they come home they receive far fewer benefits than would be expected. Throughout history the support for veterans has lessened. The amount of money that is provided to veterans for healthcare and housing after returning to the states has severely decreased since WWI.
When all the men were across the ocean fighting a war for world peace, the home front soon found itself in a shortage for workers. Before the war, women mostly depended on men for financial support. But with so many gone to battle, women had to go to work to support themselves. With patriotic spirit, women one by one stepped up to do a man's work with little pay, respect or recognition. Labor shortages provided a variety of jobs for women, who became street car conductors, railroad workers, and shipbuilders. Some women took over the farms, monitoring the crops and harvesting and taking care of livestock. Women, who had young children with nobody to help them, did what they could do to help too. They made such things for the soldiers overseas, such as flannel shirts, socks and scarves.
The 1960’s and early 1970’s were a time that eternally changed the culture and humanity of America. It was a time widely known for peace and love when in reality; many minorities were struggling to gain a modicum of equality and freedom. It was a time, in which a younger generation rebelled against the conventional norms, questioning power and government, and insisting on more freedoms for minorities. In addition, an enormous movement began rising in opposition to the Vietnam War. It was a time of brutal altercations, with the civil rights movement and the youth culture demanding equality and the war in Vietnam put public loyalty to the test. Countless African-Americans, Native-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, women, and college students became frustrated, angry, and disillusioned by the turmoil around them.
The women during the war felt an obligation to assist in one form or another. Many stayed at home to watch over the children, while others felt a more direct or indirect approach was necessary. Amongst the most common path women took to support the war, many "served as clerks...filled the ammunition cartridges and artillery shells with powder at armories, laboring at this dangerous and exacting task for low wages. Both sides utilized women in these capacities (Volo 170)." Women that stayed away from battlefields supported their respected armies by taking the jobs that men left behind. They were the grease in the gears of war, the individuals working behind the scenes so that the men would be prepared, ready to fight with functioning weapons and operational gear.
After the emancipation of slaves in 1862, the status of African-Americans in post civil war America up until the beginning of the twentieth century did not go through a great deal of change. Much legislation was passed to help blacks in this period. The Civil Rights act of 1875 prohibited segregation in public facilities and various government amendments gave African-Americans even more guaranteed rights. Even with this government legislation, the newly dubbed 'freedmen' were still discriminated against by most people and, ironically, they were soon to be restricted and segregated once again under government rulings in important court cases of the era.
But how did this all start to happen? It didn’t happen overnight, and it wasn’t a one-person battle. Women wanted the same rights as men already had. But they didn’t just stop there, women played a major role in the rise of the child labor laws, stood up for minorities, and they wanted prostitution to end. Most people who opposed woman suffrage believed that women were less intelligent and less able to make political decisions than men were. Opponents argued th...
Prior to World War I there was much social, economic, and political inequality for African Americans. This made it difficult for African Americans to accept their own ethnicity and integrate with the rest of American society. By the end of World War II however African Americans had made great strides towards reaching complete equality, developing their culture, securing basic rights, and incorporating into American society.
In 1636 the “Pilgrims passed a law which stated that disabled soliders would be supported by the colony.” (VA History) This paved the way for veterans’ benefits and healthcare. It wasn’t until 1811 that the federal government authorized the first medical and domiciliary facilities along with benefits and pensions for the veterans and their families. When the United States entered World War 1 in 1917, Congress created a new system for veterans’ benefits such as disability compensation, insurance, vocational rehabilitation. These benefits were directed by three different agencies in the Federal Government, these branches were the Veterans Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Ten years later congress authorized the president to “consolidate and coordinate Government activities affecting war veterans”; this action united the three component agencies into bureaus under the veterans’ administration. In the following six decades there were vast increases in the veteran population, and new benefits enacted by congress for veterans following Wo...
African Americans were among the groups that were looked upon. Due to the increased rates and amount of immigrants come into the country, many questions were asked. The native-born Americans were among
The federal government authorized the Selective Service Act, young men 18-25 years old were taken from productive jobs and drafted to the war. Women had to step up to the plate of handling the manufacture of weapons and ammunition. The industry production decreased when soldiers returned and there weren’t enough jobs. Another The unemployment rate played a huge in starting the Great Depression. They didn’t like the idea of loaning money off to other countries, so the government increased taxes on the people Many American men were afraid of joining the war because they didn't want to die from different
During WWII, President Roosevelt wanted a postwar assistance package for returning veterans to help transition from war to peace time. In 1944, the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, or the G.I. Bill, was passed and gave returning veterans many benefits that helped them not only ease back into civilian life, but hit the ground running. Benefits of G.I. Bill included free college education, zero down payment home loans, and twenty dollars a week for one year while returning soldiers searched for work. All of these benefits gave a significant boost to the economy and led to the consumer culture familiar to us today. Many indust...
African Americans fought until the Jim Crow laws were taken out of effect, and they received equality of all people regardless of race. Along the way there were many controversial court cases and important leaders who helped to take a stand against racial segregation.