Throughout history, the rise and fall of major civilizations and periods of major change are marked by large battles and wars. The battle between Han and the Western Chu involved at least 750,000 men and, through its victory, the Han dynasty took hold in China for 400 years. More important to the United States, the surrender of the British at the battle of Yorktown, leading to the formation of the United States, the Battle of Gettysburg, ending the South’s campaign for slavery, and the Invasion of Normandy on the western front, marking the decline of Nazi power. Wars are terrible when simply looking only at the losses of human life, but wars are also highly beneficial for economies, the development of technology, and for suffrage movements. …show more content…
The impact of war is giant, not only to the personal lives of people, but also to the countries and cultures involved. World War One began on July 28, 1914 due to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand caused a downward spiral in the relations of European countries. Ultimately, conflicts began and as different countries defended their allies until the foundations were laid for the first world war. In the United States, Woodrow Wilson held the presidential office and a non-confrontational view of the war in Europe. After the sinking of the Lusitania off of the coast of Ireland on May 7, 1915,resulting in the deaths of 128 Americans, “the neutrality president”, President Wilson, was being pushed to enter the war, but continued to stay out of the conflict. Germany claimed that the vessel was carrying munitions, but regardless the act would gash a wound that the United States would find to be extremely difficult not to return. President Wilson decided not to retaliate until later issues with the sinking of American vessels by German U-Boats forced him to declare war in April 1917. The first World War required the majority of the male population of the engaged world to leave their countries to assist the Allied Powers on the fronts. As a result, the implementation ofwomen, and those on the home front, proved to be one of the most impactful suffrage movements the United States had seen since the Emancipation Proclamation. People on the home front supported the troops by women taking, the before unconventional, male jobs, rationing, and buying stamps and Liberty Bonds. Before the war, the majority of the women were homemakers whose sole job was to support the family at home by raising the children, keeping the house in clean and working order, and making sure everyone had a full plate at the nightly dinner table. With the United States’ economy booming, due to the increase of war industry needs, and a detrimental decrease in the male workforce, the calling for women and minority laborers was broadcasted loudly and responded to in kind.
During this time, the South was a hostile place to live for the ninety-percent of the United States’ African-American population that lived there. As a result of racism and added allure of factory jobs in the North, millions of blacks began to migrate to the North in what would be later known as “The Great Migration”. The finality of the war brought the return of the veterans to find their jobs taken by women, African-Americans, and migrants. With their spouse’s home, many women quit their jobs to start families as they resumed their maternal duties, this left only the African-American men, migrants, women remaining in the workforce, and veterans in their place. The result, a diverse workforce where there was once before a nearly uniform white male workforce. Jim-Crow segregation followed the idealistic African-Americans from the South as housing would not be sold or rented to blacks in certain areas of the …show more content…
cities. This would lead to the formation of small city-like provinces within the cities where the black culture would flourish into the ‘20s and the Harlem Renaissance. In the summer of 1919, tensions between white and black men escalated and would result in the deaths of over 165 men in what would be known as the “Red Summer”. The Utopian ideal, spread by black newspapers, of what the North was for African-Americans was shattered as the nationalacism issue was underscored. However, the war did bring an increase in the suffrage movement for women.
While employed in previously white male positions, women and blacks received lower wages. This injustice sparked some of the earliest movements for demands for equal pay. Following the movements for “equal pay for equal work”, women began to protest for equal rights in all areas for women. In 1920, the passing of the 19th amendment gained women voting rights as the women’s rights movement took hold and would continue to progress throughout the following decades. A flourishing economy, created by the increased production of domestic products and the war effort led the United States into the prosperous roaring 1920s.The involvement of the United States in World War II was marked by the unanticipated attack of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. Japanese torpedo plane squadrons bombed Pearl Harbor and sunk three of our battleships. The attack left the remainder of the United States’ naval fleet in a state of disrepair. The response of the United States was a swift declaration of war against the Axis powers; Germany, Italy, and Japan. Once again, the United States saw its young men headed overseas to join the
Allies. The Great Depression lasting from October 29, 1929 through 1939 held the United States in an economic headlock, until World War II. The result of the war in the States, this time, would be much more significant. The economic rebound was the most drastic the United States had seen. From an unemployment rate of 24.9% in 1933 to 1.4% in 1944, the United States’ economy benefited greatly from the WWII. Among the beneficiaries of the war were again African-American job creation in factories, however, again, black Americans faced racism and racial discrimination. Women already instated in the workforce, because of the women’s rights efforts post World War I, found themselves more included, 350,000 women, in the military as nurses, Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, and Women’s Airforce Service Pilots. More so after the war than before, the changes coming to
Cleveland’s black population was quite small before the “Great Migration” in 1915, but then began to gradually increase. This meant that black associations and leadership depended very much on white support. The socioeconomic position of blacks, however, at the same time, got worse as whites got stricter on discriminatory control over employment and public places. After 1915, Cleveland’s black population grew quickly, starting racist trends. One of the results was segregation of the living conditions of blacks, their jobs, and in social aspects. As isolation increased, however, this began the growth of new leaders and associations that responded to the needs of the ghettos. By 1930, the black ghetto had expanded; Cleveland’s blacks had increased class stratification in their community, as well as an increasing sense of cultural harmony in response to white prejudice.
Society was changing in the late 1800’s. Women and children entered the work field and competition was very high to get jobs. Even though more women worked during this time than ever before companies still preferred males for most jobs of authority or higher pay. It was impossible for women and children to make anywhere near as much as males. Also, African Americans faced struggles while searching for jobs. This ethnicity was often stuck in unskilled labor tasks and women of this race had extremely limited job options, commonly domestic servants and laundresses. African Americans living in the north did indeed gain better social and economic positions compared to living in the south. The main discriminating factor during this time was white vs. blue collar jobs. White collar jobs would consist of higher class citizens who would earn higher pay and often had more education. In comparison blue collar jobs could be obtained by almos...
Degrading low paying jobs were the only jobs available for black men. Women worked as servants for whites. Men had to work in mines, clean up toilets or work as police officers abusing their own people. “Shit-men-belligerent immigrant workers who, because of what they did, were looked upon by many black people-went about the communal lavatories picking up buckets of excrement”(83). Working as servants for whites was one of the better jobs for black women. Blacks could not walk around freely in their own country without carrying a passbook. Without a passbook, blacks could not work or travel. The passbook had to be paid for by black families who did not have any money. They were arrested and put in jail if their passbooks were not in order. Blacks were trapped with no way out, not even the hope of education.
Blacks were driven out of skilled trades and were excluded from many factories. Racist’s whites used high rents and there was enormous pressure to exclude blacks from areas inhabited by whites.... ... middle of paper ... ...
On December 7, 1941, American citizens stretched over the country were shocked at the horrific devastation of the Pearl Harbor attack from the Japanese. Because of the bombing in Hawaii, 2,600 citizens were killed ,8 naval ships were destroyed, and more than 100 planes were brought down without a warning. This incident had urged both men and women to put a foot in the door and join the war effort of World War II. When war had begun with the other countries The U.S. wished to remain neutral however Pearl Harbor had a devastating impact that we pursued the fight against our enemies. Many men that had joined the war effort were major and minor league baseball players, leaving room open for women to play baseball professionally
World War II opened up several opportunities for African American men during and after the war. First of all, the blacks were able to join the military, the Navy and the Army Air Corps’ (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). The African Americans were allowed to join the military because they were needed, but they would be trained separately and put in separate groups then the white men because America was still prejudice. (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). The same went for the African Americans that joined the Navy, only they were given the menial jobs instead of the huge jobs (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). African Americans that joined the Army Air Corps’ were also segregated (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). The Army Air Corps’ African American also known as the Tuskegee Airmen were sent to the blacks university in Tuskegee for their training (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). They became one of the most well known groups of flyers during World War II th...
Those studying the experience of African Americans in World War II consistently ask one central question: “Was World War II a turning point for African Americans?” In elaboration, does World War II symbolize a prolongation of policies of segregation and discrimination both on the home front and the war front, or does it represent the start of the Civil Rights Movement that brought racial equality? The data points to the war experience being a transition leading to the civil rights upheavals of the 1960s.
The start of the war era came on the heels of a decade when women had seemingly taken a step backward in social and economic progress. The depression of the 1930's had devastated the American economy. Women, especially married women, had bore the largest share of the burden. To help male workers get back on the job, national leaders called for married women in two-income families to give up their jobs. Several states had passed laws barring women from holding state jobs.
Following the war was the reconstruction era, which ended in defeat on the Confederate Side, came the freeing of slaves. Many would stay in the south and work as freedmen, go to factories in the north or try their hand at taming the frontier as an exoduster. While slavery was an extremely profitable business in the south, the following century would prove to turn the tables of history. In the 1960s came the Civil Rights Movement, which was headed by Martin Luther King Jr. This revolution came to provide more jobs and opportunities for blacks than ever before, as even after freedom there was not truly equality between the races. In the south there was major segregation and the Plessy vs. Ferguson case only helped to legalize the Jim Crow Laws even
The 1940s provided a drastic change in women’s employment rates and society’s view of women. With the end of the Depression and the United States’ entrance into World War II, the number of jobs available to women significantly increased. As men were being drafted into military service, the United States needed more workers to fill the jobs left vacant by men going to war. Women entered the workforce during World War II due to the economic need of the country. The use of Patriotic rhetoric in government propaganda initiated and encouraged women to change their role in society.
Although they needed African Americans for their factories and work ethics they did not agree with them having the same rights or sharing any rights with them. They wanted them just to work for them and have authority over African Americans. The more Africans Americans populated their living area, the more whites felt upon to call for action. For example whites wanted to feel much superior...”African Americans had to step off the sidewalk when a white person approached”(Digital Collection for the Classroom). This quote illustrates how whites did anything in their power to feel superior. The Great Migration caused whites to fear and enable them to more injustice actions. Although the Great Migration did benefit many African Americans in certain aspects it also crated unintended consequences. Due to the large growth of the African-American population there was an increasing competition amongst the migrants for employment and living space in the growing crowded cities of the North. Besides, racism and prejudice led to the interracial strife and race riots, worsening the situation between the whites and the African Americans. Racism became even more of a national problem. The Great Migration intensions were to let African Americans live a better life style economically wise and help them from poverty not cause even more issues with racism or become competition against others. Because many white people did not want to sell their property to African Americans, they began to start their own exclusive cities within that area of sell. These exclusive cities were called the “ Ghetto”(Black, 2013). The ghetto was subject to high illness, violence, high crime rate, inadequate recreational facilities; lack of building repairs, dirty streets, overcrowded schools; and mistreatment from the law enforcement. Although the ghetto cities helped unify African Americans as
During America’s involvement in World War Two, which spanned from 1941 until 1945, many men went off to fight overseas. This left a gap in the defense plants that built wartime materials, such as tanks and other machines for battle. As a result, women began to enter the workforce at astonishing rates, filling the roles left behind by the men. As stated by Cynthia Harrison, “By March of [1944], almost one-third of all women over the age of fourteen were in the labor force, and the numbers of women in industry had increased almost 500 percent. For the first time in history, women were in the exact same place as their male counterparts had been, even working the same jobs. The women were not dependent upon men, as the men were overseas and far from influence upon their wives.
The progression of people into and within the United States has had an essential impact on the nation, both intentionally and unintentionally. Progressions such as The Great Migration and the Second Great Migration are examples of movements that impacted the United States greatly. During these movements, African Americans migrated to flee racism and prejudice in the South, as well as to inquire jobs in industrial cities. They were unable to escape racism, but they were able to infuse their culture into American society. During the twentieth century, economic and political problems led to movements such as The Great Migration and The Second Great Migration which impacted the United States significantly.
Beginning in the 1919 and lasting through about 1926 thousands of Blacks began to migrate from the southern United States to the North; an estimated 1 million people participated in what has come to be called the Great Migration.[1] The reasons for this mass movement are complicated and numerous, but they include search for better work, which was fueled by a new demand for labor in the North (particularly from the railroad industry) and the destruction of many cotton harvests by the infectious boll weevil ...
The 20th century brought a tidal wave of tolerance and equal rights for a diverse variety of people in the United States. When the century opened, women did not have an equal position with their male counterparts either in the public or private sectors of society. Women first received their right to vote with the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920, and the beginnings of an equal footing in the workplace during the obligatory utilization of American women as factory employees during the Second World War. Similarly, African Americans spent the 1950's and 60's fighting for their own basic civil rights that had been denied them, such as going to the school or restaurant of their choice. Or something as simple and unpretentious as where they were allowed to sit on a bus.