The role of the federal Government during the war became stronger. Everyday Americans were needed desperately to help win the war, faith was needed in the Government by American people-faith was restored. Despite spending a high amount of the nation’s money, Americans were told this was essential to create full employment and a higher standard of living. There was a general agreement that such a role should continue after the war.
With the Government of USA spending millions of dollars on funding the war, the future of their economy was looking bleak. Americas “Helping Industry” provided good wages for people to work in factories producing weapons and machinery. They also asked volunteers to come and help USA win the war.
The Government raised taxes and encouraged to by 5 year bonds. These were simply shares you bought for $10 dollars and got paid back in 5 years plus a 10% increase. Also the “War Production Board” was set up to maximize war production materials. Overall the US economy boomed during the Second World War.
During WW2 America developed many significant scientific advances. Synthetic rubber was one of many discoveries. It was also during the war that DDT powder was developed (a pesticide that proved invaluable for troops in the pacific who caught diseases such as typhus and malaria). But USA’s best advancement was the production of the atomic bomb. Between 1942 and 1945 more than 150,000 men and women came together to produce what was the most devastating bomb in history. Despite many men and women working on the atomic bomb, only a select few actually knew that this was going to be used on a country. The 2 billion dollar Manhattan project was the best kept secret of the war. Used on Hiroshima in 1945 it had killed nearly 150,000 by the end of the year. Many who survived rapidly aged and became frail at the age of 40. To this day the world has yet to see a bomb as powerful as the one used on Hiroshima in on the August 6th 1945.
After the war there was a mutual agreement that America could never again turn its back on European affairs. Isolationism was not gone, and America was ready to become the worlds leading influence. Basing the peace keeping body, the UN (United Nations) in New York showed this commitment. At the end of WW1 the US had refused to join the League of Nations let alone have its headquarters in their country. It was now time for America to play in vital role in the structure of the UN. Most significantly USA contained the power of the atomic bomb, due to the sheer devastation that it could cause and the immense size on the country America would have to play a large part in world affairs.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941, the United States was gripped by war hysteria. All Japanese Americans were now targeted for being a spy ready and willing to assist in another attack. Things happened fast. All the Japanese newspapers were suspended. Many people lost their jobs, Japanese business’s were shutdown or torched and many Japanese had to flee to camps near the border. Many were taking to local jails, some forced to join the army to defend America others simply shot onsite at the fear of causing trouble. The treatment of Japanese American’s was awful, and many who fought against their own country should have been honoured more.
The treatment of blacks before the war was quite horrific. Nearly all blacks were segregated from whites, most companies refused to employ blacks and black Americans had to put up with annual lynching by the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) During the War life did get a bit better, but not much. United States President Franklin Roosevelt tried very hard to change peoples perspective on racial issues-it worked. By the end of the War black Americans where flying planes. But they could still not fly with white soldiers. Black Americans could not join the force and fight for their country-but only in separate units. Black Americans now had a fair employment right-but they still would not work with whites. Despite many things getting better, racial tension was still prominent in certain states. “The Fair Employment Practices Committee” was set up to ensure that discrimination against black Americans was ended in Government Agencies. This worked, but many still refused to employ qualified black Americans. The “Double V Campaign” was another positive to come out of World War Two. This would evolve victory at home in terms of civil rights as well as abroad on the battlefield. Many other things happened, but would this better treatment continue after the war?
In 1948 surprise President Harry Truman introduced a civil rights plan that included a lynching bill, on measures designed to stop poor people from voting. However Truman became an enemy of his own party as governors in Southern States opposed his views. Eventually many of Truman’s ideas had to be dropped in fear of losing white voters in the south. The Government was also told to employ a higher percentage of black Americans, which again sparked anxiety from the southern states.
Overall life changed a lot for the lives of Americans during the Second World War. Many things changed, but many things returned to normal, but in the end WW2 changed America for the better
Sean Melody 10W
