What steps led to American participation in WWII?
How did the US mobilize economic resources and promote popular support for the war effort?
What visions of America’s postwar role began to emerge during the war?
How did American minorities face threats to their freedoms at home and abroad during WWII?
How did the end of the war begin to shape the postwar world?
- Why did most Americans up port isolationism in the 1930s?
- What factors after 1939 led to US involvement in WWII?
- How did government, business, and labor work together to promote wartime production and how did the war affect each group?
- How did different groups understand or experience the Four Freedoms differently?
- Explain how conservatives in Congress and business used the war effort to attack the legacy of the New Deal.
- How did the war alter the lives of women on the home front and what did different groups think would happen to the status of women after the war?
- How did a war fought to bring “essential human freedoms” to the world fail to protect the home front liberties of blacks, Indians, Japanese Americans, and Mexican Americans?
- Explain how WWII promoted an awareness of the link between racism in the US and colonialism around the world.
- What was the impact of the GI bills of rights on American society including minorities?
- Describe how the decisions made at the Bretton Woods conference win 1944 created the framework for postwar US economic and foreign policy.
History 221 Winter 2016 
How did minorities face threats to their freedoms at home and abroad during WWII?
Minorities in the U.S. faced a lot of trials during WWII. America portrayed a “happy” picture in which minorities were equal to white people. In reality, minorities were fighting to keep their freedoms and maintain a sense of equality as the Americans. One can see the mockery of the Good Neighbor Policy through the way that Mexican Americans were treated during this time. According to the policy, the U.S. would be a good neighbor to Latin American countries. During the time of the War, there was a lack of field workers here in the U.S. The Mexican and U.S. government decided to create the Bracero Program, which allowed Mexicans to come to the U.S. to work. It was a great economic idea in order to produce more products to sell, but the treatment of the workers wasn’t the best. Mexicans were forced to work in harsh conditions because they weren’t citizens and, therefore, could be deported at any time. Even the Mexicans who were citizens had a hard time here in the U.S. They were forced to work for less money compared to the white Americans. Some of their freedoms were given back after Texas created the Equal Privileges resolution. Since Mexicans were considered Caucasian, they were “entitled to equal treatment in places of public accommodation.”
Freedoms for both Native Americans and blacks have been challenged since the beginning of this nation. According to a black steelworker, the Four Freedoms was meant to include all races. During the time of WWII, these war veterans from these groups tried to utilize the G.I. Out of the 2 groups, blacks were the group of people that still had limits on how they could use it. Due to segregation, they were only allowed to use the Bill in specific black colleges. Even though their freedoms continued to be challenged at this time, this was the beginning of the end of segregation.
The Japanese were the minority group here in the U.S. that faced the most hardship during WWII. They were stripped of all of their freedom and forced to live in internment camps due to the fear that the U.S. had of spies being planted on our soil. They were forcefully taken to live a prison like place with a prison like schedule without even being questioned for their loyalty to America. According to the text, there were more than 110,000 Japanese-Americans that were forced to live in these internment camps. After all of this, they were forced to enlist in the army after they were forced to pledge loyalty to America. There were only 2 options. Do as the soldiers say or be put in jail for a lack of American pride.
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2. What factors after 1939 led to US involvement in WWII?
The involvement of the US in WWII slowly began by the US providing aid to the Allied powers. This aid began because of Germany and Russia attacking Poland. This aid was done by a cash and carry set up where Britain would pay in cash for the goods and then they had to transport, or “carry” them on British ships. Other events, closer to the attacks on Pearl Harbor include the freezing of Japanese assets to limit their ability to buy oil from the international market, and the USS destroyer, Reuben James, was sunk by Germany. What I believe to be the biggest factor of the US involvement in WWII, is the attack on Pearl Harbor. This direct attack on the US pushed the US to declare war on Japan leading to the Axis powers declaring war on the US and we reciprocated the declaration of war.
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1. Why did most American support isolationism in the 1930s?
Answer: Americans were fond of isolationism in the 1930s for many reasons. Tensions arising from Japanese and German relations seemed irrelevant to everyday American life. American citizens were okay with being uninvolved in world conflicts, especially after so recently emerging from a devastating world war. There was already existing business with the concerned countries, as well, and the people and companies involved weren’t interested in giving up the potential for profit overseas. The oil, automobile, and aircraft markets were deeply tied to Japan, Germany, and the Soviet Union, making cutting ties with these nations unappealing. There is irony in being entangled in business abroad alongside an intense fear of foreign relations. Opposition to war was common throughout the country; citizens were in support for peace, especially after stories of the government profiting greatly from WWI emerged. Immigrants allegiance to their home countries was reinforced during the 1930s, making Americans further fear the idea of expanding into foreign countries. In addition to this, Neutrality Acts were passed by Congress, which banned the selling of weapons to countries at war. These were introduced in hopes of avoiding conflict in freedom of sea trade and travel, which was a great part of America’s initial involvement in WWI.
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A. After the end of WWI and through the Great Depression, there was overwhelmingly an anti-war sentiment throughout America. Isolationist views dominated Congress while Neutrality Acts were passed and tens of thousands of college students engaged in “strikes for peace.”
However, isolation could not be maintained for long. Foner states that Winston Churchill called for “the new world in all its power and might” to rescue the old world. Soon Congress decided to sell arms to Britain on a “cash and carry” basis. FDR was elected for a third term in office allowing for his plans to be uninterrupted. The involvement with other countries increased as the US passed the Lend-Lease Act and billions of dollars went in to aiding China, Britain, and the Soviet Union with arms.
This brought back the long proclaimed reason for fighting for America. That the world might be a free place for democracy became the resurrected cause for involvement in the war. What was left was for this cry to become the cry of the general public and this was mainly manifest in the “Fight for Freedom” rally in New York. The demand for an immediate declaration of war against Germany was ended the rally.
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Question: How did the end of the war begin to shape the postwar world?
Typically, ending wars lead to new international policies and advancements in technology and economics. The end of World War 2 was no different. With the War’s end characterized by violence and political unrest, the years following were true to their roots. International relationships were strained across the world. New technologies that emerged during the war would change the way wars would be fought in coming years. Finally, there was a massive financial boom in many countries.
International relations will inevitably be strained after a war. After WW!!, relationships between the US and its former allies were tenuous at best. The greatest example of this was the relationship between the US and Russia. Before the war had even ended, many of the allies were uneasy about their relationships in the first place. There was no trust, and they were only united because of their common energy. After the war, this lack of trust led to greater strain on the relationship, which would eventually lead to the beginning of the Cold War and the Arms Race which would characterize the countries’ relationship until the 1990s. That being said, other international relationships were also strained. The second half of the 20th century was characterized worldwide by decolonization and fights for independence. Sentiments that arose during the War were major contributing factors to this revolution, as international support grew. These all helped contribute to the real need to utilize the UN, which was created after WWII.
Technology can change the course of history, as was the case during and after WWII. Before the turning point in the war, there was a strong emphasis on U-Ships and battleships. After the Battle of Midway, though, there was a massive shift to Aircraft Carriers. This meant a shift in the emphasis of military branches and the development of more aircraft technology. However, the more significant advancement was in the development of nuclear warheads through the Manhattan project. The development of the nuclear warhead ushered in the atomic era, as well as the arms race mentioned before. This came with its own pros and cons, as they helped increase the tensions between countries and, to an extent, kept that tension from escalating to a full-blown nuclear war. They utilized fear, but the effects were undeniable.
Finally, post-war economics boomed. For the most part, countries saw massive advances as technological advances were made and they expanded their trade with other countries. The US also had a heavy hand in the creation of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. These creations, though designed to help increase the financial freedoms of developing countries, have actually contributed to the growing gap between those countries and the world powers. They’ve contributed to the advancement of those countries that were already powerful before their creation, but have done very little to advance others’. These effects, though, would not be felt until later. At first, as mentioned before, economies boomed thanks to expansion, international trade, and technological advancements.
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3. WWI promoted a standing idea that during great conflicts or crisis-is the federal government had the obligation to take “war time powers” to protect the country’s security and economy. This idea was vastly enlarged during WWII under the Roosevelt Administration. Instead of a single War Industries Board like in WWI, the government created the War Production Board, War Manpower Commission, and the Office of Price Administration. These departments were meant to work with businesses and labor to maximize output and efficiency for the war effort. However to do this the government knew it had to provide a profitable incentive for businesses. To do this Roosevelt offered low-interest loans, tax concessions, and contracts with guaranteed profits to large corporations. For example, Henry Ford’s factory changed its output from cars to tanks in light of assisting the country while still turning a profit. As a result the GDP skyrocketed and the remnants of the Depression vanished with the production of hundreds of ships, thousands of planes and tanks, and millions of trucks rolling off the assembly line. This affected the government and business by increasing the role of government in the economy by taking such an active hand in production and incentivizing business. Additionally, such policies inadvertently created a military-industrial complex which linked a militarized federal government with big business. Labor movements also made great strides. In order to maintain production levels and peace in the workplace, the federal government forced businesses to recognize labor unions which allowed union membership to increase significantly. Demands such as a maximum hour work week and minimum wage became commonplace in the economy. This three-sided arrangement between government, business, and labor created a thriving war economy that maximized output and saw gains for each groups’ interests.
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7.
While the war did indeed open the eyes of many Americans to see the need to accept assimilation and end the discrimination of other nationalities entering into the United States, this did not necessarily end the discrimination of those outside of the white race. As Foner puts it, “patriotic assimilation stopped at the color line.” For Mexican-Americans at the time, there were indeed job opportunities and some rights granted through the Bracero Program. However, many Mexicans lived in constant uneasiness about the looming chance of being deported at any moment. Not only this, but Mexicans were often discriminated against by being payed the lowest wage or a lower wage than fellow white employees doing the same job. Japanese-Americans really had a struggle to face during this time of war, for each person of Japanese ethnicity, whether they were involved with Japanese culture or not, was viewed as a potential spy. Because of this, more than 110,000 ethnically Japanese citizens were relocated to interment camps where many of the basic freedoms being fought for were no where to be found. For Indian-Americans, the war effort brought to light just how limited their freedoms were. Many served in the army and many others left the reservations to work for jobs in war industries. This was the only way to benefit. Otherwise, the status of life on reservations was not benefitted in any way. And finally, the issue of treatment of Black-Americans during this time brought home a lot of ironies that led to the early sparks of the Civil Rights Movement. Copious amounts of prejudice still prevailed at this time of trying to end Nazi race theory. While trying to free Europeans, there were 13 cases of lynchings of blacks on the home front during the years of 1940 and 1941. Medical professionals refused to mix Negro and white blood donations without any scientific basis. Many who served in the army came home with limited access to the benefits of the GI Bill. Ultimately, it was understood that the real fighting against racial prejudice was just as necessary at home as it was abroad.
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6. How did the war alter the lives of women on the homefront, and what did different groups think would happen to the status of women after the war?
Because men were needed to fight in the war, women were needed to work in industrial jobs to fill those empty spots. The idea of a strong working woman not only was popularized by the OWI, but also Hollywood and private advertising. Rosie the Riveter become a symbol of the working woman during World War 2, and by the mid-1940’s, women made up over one-third of civilian workers (and even held a respectable number of militant occupations). Because of the war, women had far more opportunities for work and had the chance to work in traditionally male-dominated careers.
Additionally, older (married) women began to work more often, and eventually outnumbered young and single working women. The new working opportunities for women created a need for female labor unions that confronted issues specifically affecting women in the workforce. Many women enjoyed the new freedoms they had as working citizens, and had hoped that these freedoms would live beyond the end of the war.
Although the newly-working women hoped for a permanent adjustment, to the government, employers, and unions, women in the workforce was a temporary thing that they did not feel would be a lasting change. Women were only working because they needed to fill the vacant spots the men at war left behind. Many people, in fact, argued that women should legally be laid off from their jobs when the men returned home from the war. In advertisements, women were told that they, too, were fighting for freedom. That freedom, however, was not the freedom of women in the work field, but the victory of the military. The primary view of the woman was still that she was a good wife and mother that supported her family, which was at the core of a successful American society.
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8. The nature of the ideological fight occurring during World War II was the key to promoting the links between racism in the United States and colonialism around the world. World War II was a fight against the ideology of the Nazi and other Axis powers, and their mistreatment of people. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms were given in response to these mistreatments, in particular the Nazi’s mistreatment of the Jewish people. The freedom of religion and the freedom from fear are most centered there. Further the Axis power’s denial of right to work and the ability to speak out against the government and leaders brought the focus of the freedom from want and the freedom of speech. With each of these the power and desire to resist the Axis powers grew, but it also become blatantly clear of the contradictions in the fight the Allies were giving against the Axis powers while allowing the same racist and colonial limitations under their own rule.
Within the United States segregation of the blacks and whites, as well as the treatment of the Japanese-Americans during the war showed that racism was not just a case among Nazism. This treatment of the other races lessened the force of the fight against racism in other parts of the world, while at the same time building the case for the need for more equal treatment of those within the United States.
Colonialism had a similar effect. While the colonies participated and watched as their colonial leaders fought for full freedom against the Axis powers it became clear that there was a contradiction in what they were fighting for verses how their colonies were being treated. In this Roosevelt’s four freedoms again can be seen at the forefront, as the people in the colonies used the basis of the fight against the Axis powers as a reason for their deserved expanded freedoms.
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Question 4: How did different groups understand or experience the four freedoms differently?
Answer:
As a class we visited the Norman Rockwell collection at the Museum of Art. Part of the collection depicted the four freedoms as paintings. President Roosevelt in his State of the Union Address in 1941 detailed the four freedoms that are “essential human freedoms”. The four freedoms were: (1) freedom of speech, (2) freedom of worship, (3) freedom from want, and (4) freedom from fear. Different groups of people had different views on the four freedoms.
First, women in the United States viewed the four freedoms in a unique way. For example, women had a unique view on the freedom from want. With a great deal of men going off to war, women were required to work and fill positions of employment to support a war-time economy. Women would fill about 1/3 of the jobs that had been vacated by men going off to war. However, they still had their own types of battles on the home front. Women were seeking for the four freedoms in a different way. They were seeking equality in pay, childcare assistance, and other benefits, such as maternity leave. Then there was also the question – what would happen when the war ended? Women would often be laid off after the war because of the men’s return. The textbook states, “Men in the army seem to have assumed that they would return home to resume traditional family life” of having a loving wife at home and some kids.
The next group would be Mexican-Americans. It seemed that minority racial groups all experienced the freedom from fear in a unique way. For many Mexican-Americans there was difficulty in expressing their rights. In the “zoot suit” riots some of the Mexican-American population was attacked. With Mexican-Americans (and many other minority groups) the four freedoms were brought into question. The freedoms seemed to be limited to white men and not the rest of the American population. Discrimination and segregation was still a major issue. Some parts of the country, like Texas, passed legislation to try and counter the discrimination, at least for some minority groups. Legislation like the “Caucasian Race – Equal Privileges resolution” allowed “all persons of the Caucasian race” to be equally treated in public. Since Mexicans were defined as white they were given a little bit of freedom, but what about blacks?
Blacks were still treated harshly during wartime. They were still fighting for their basic freedoms, including all four freedoms. Lynching’s still took place and racism was still high. Even blood donations made to the Red Cross were segregated. Blacks in the military were cooks or performed other forms of duty which were “noncombat tasks”. When they sought benefits from the GI Bill they were encountered with more racial discrimination to where they didn’t receive the same benefits promised in the Bill. The four freedoms were still being sought after because they were meant for everybody of all races. The Civil Rights Movement would begin during this time period to seek equality. The idea of the Double-V would be presented. The Double-V was a black attitude at the time that sought for victory in the war and victory over segregation.
The biggest group to experience discrimination of the four freedoms were Asian-Americans, especially Japanese-Americans. They experienced the freedoms from want and fear in a striking way. Anyone of Japanese ethnicity was considered to be a potential spy. These feelings led to all Japanese-Americans to be sent to internment camps by Executive Order 9066, except for the Japanese-Americans on the Hawaiian Islands where Japanese American’s made up about 40% of the population. Even government propaganda was anti-Japanese which targeted them as foes and compared them to bestial animals. There would be lots of violence aggression towards them as well during this period.
Overall, I think the book puts it best when it said that “war can undermine basic freedoms.” I think that these four freedoms are a great idea and should be fought for and defended. However, they were experienced differently by different groups of people because war changes a lot of aspects of life. The world is changed by war. From what I read it almost seemed like as a country we will fight and die for the f
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As I was submitting this assignment it cut off my last sentence. This is the last sentence: From what I read it almost seemed like as a country we will fight and die for the four freedoms as long as you a white man.
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Chap 22 b.How did the United States mobilize economic resources and promote popular support for the war effort?
In 1941, President Roosevelt delivered a famous State of the Union Address in which he declared the ‘Four Freedoms’ as the inherent rights of every human regardless of race, creed or status. Famous American artist Norman Rockwell then creates four paintings to depict these freedoms which included freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. The paintings were so popular they were used as the center of war campaign to raise support, sell war bonds and unite the American people in favor of the war. This campaign “The Four Freedoms Show” was just the beginning of a movement of huge pro-war campaigns used to rally support for the war abroad. It was followed with legislation that created the Office of War Information whose purpose was to mobilize public opinion in support of the war. The OWI aimed to make the war ‘a people’s war’ by emphasizing fundamental ‘American’ principles and traditions of freedom, patriotism and equality. The OWI also looked to increase women in the workforce to make up for all the positions left vacant by soldiers.
The US also supported economic mobilization at first hesitantly with legislation like the ‘cash and carry’ deal with Great Britain. Still wanting to avoid full involvement but wanting to benefit from the huge economic need for wartime manufacturing, the federal government supported the sale of arms to Britain as long as they payed in cash and carried away the goods themselves. The federal government then took a greater role in the economy by creating the War Priduction Board, the War Manpower Commission and The Office of Price Administration to regulate labor, set labor wages, price ceilings and production quotas. These agencies were key in maximizing American production efforts to support the war and create the incredible economic boom that ensued.
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