But at the end of the war many women were persuaded to give up work and return to family life.
The impact of the war upon black Americans
Roosevelt had ordered that blacks should get equal treatment under the New Deal, although in the CCC they had to attend separate camps. The same policy continued during the Second World War.
In 1941 Philip Randolph organised a march of 100,000 on Washington, with the slogan “We loyal Americans demand the right to work and fight for our country”. In 1942 the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) was set up.
Black Americans were recruited into all three armed services, but had to serve in separate units. Black officers were also appointed in all three services. The Air Force began to train black pilots, 600 in all by the end of the war.
Roosevelt attempted to force industry to employ blacks. In 1941 he set up the Fair Employment Practices Committee, but had no power to enforce his policy, except to refuse to give government contracts to companies that would not agree. But the FEPC establishes the idea that civil rights issues are the province of Federal Government.
1,000,000 black American served in the armed forces and 700,000 moved north and west from the southern states. Probably the greatest influence that the war had upon them was that they were taking part in a struggle against a racist dictator.
In 1945 they returned to the USA where many blacks were unable to vote and were condemned to be second-class citizens. In this respect the war was a big boost to the civil rights movement.
By 1946 the NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, had 460,000 members. Nevertheless there were riots against blacks in many cities in the USA in 1943 and more than 30 blacks were killed and more.
Japanese-Americans
When war broke out it was decided to move 110,000 Japanese-Americans from their homes on the west coast, because they might be a security risk.
Many were forced to sell most of their belongings and lost $500,000,000 as a result. They were moved to relocation camps where conditions were very poor.
The impact of the war upon the economy
During the war many factories, such as Ford Motors were changed to war production. Wages rose faster than prices, despite controls on both. 17,000,000 jobs were created in the USA.
Federal spending rose 1000% during the war. US Defence spending rises from 1% to 30% of GNP and after 1945 this figure remains between 8% and 20%.
War in Europe meant a big increase in demand for US farm products and prices rose.
USA emerged from the war as an industrial giant. Its economy was head and shoulders above the ruined economies of other nations.
The Cold War continued the high level of spending on armaments into the next decades. Government spending actually doubled from 1950 to 1960.
The standard of living of almost all Americans rose as a result.
The role of Federal Government intervention begun in the New Deal is consolidated in WW2. The idea of "big Government" becomes acceptable to Americans, as having a duty to intervene in social and economic problems.
Many Americans expected a depression after the end of the war, as there had been in 1920-21, but in fact that economy continued to expand. The boom of the 1940s carried on into the 1950s. The key features of that boom, hire purchase, advertising, and a mass market, continued.
By the 1950s most Americans were experiencing the highest standard of living in the world. There was a move out to the suburbs and by 1959 a quarter of all Americans lived in suburbs.
By 1960 87% of homes had a TV. Advertising ensured that the boom continued. By 1960 75% of households had a car.
The Interstate Highways Act of 1956 led to the building of many new roads.
The impact of the war upon US foreign policy
It made the USA into a Superpower. Many Americans felt isolationism was partly to blame for the war. In 1945 the USA did not return to isolationism, and took a lead in setting up the United Nations. It is important to understand that the events of the Cold War impinged very strongly on American attitudes after 1945. To understand these events you must appreciate the international situation. Background of communist advance worldwide, specifically the following events:
a. Berlin Blockade 1948
b. China goes communist 1949. Seen as being "lost" by the left-wingers in the State Department.
c. Speed with which the Soviets got the bomb (effect of atom spies, Julius and Ethel Rosenburg and Claus Fuchs).
- Korean War 1950
- Nuclear Balance. Ideological rivalry in a bipolar world
Post-War America has to be seen against a background of the superpower rivalry, which led to a prevailing fear of communism in the United States, and communist agents in the US. Communism had been an attractive creed to many in the times of the Great Depression. In such a climate, social reforms and racial reforms proved difficult to bring about. The USA also took up the challenge it saw from Communism, and the Cold War began. This made Americans very suspicious of Communism and led to attacks on people suspected of being communists. In 1947 President Truman announced the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. To persuade Congress to vote for them, Truman talked of a Communist threat to the USA and approved the Federal Employee Loyalty Program. This led to every Federal worker being investigated for Communist sympathies. 4,000,000 people were checked and no cases of spying were discovered. But it was the start of the Red Scare, which led to McCarthyism.
What was McCarthyism?
The USA had always had a hatred of Communism. In the Cold War this increased. The apparent success of Communism – the victory of Communists in China in 1949, the Soviet explosion of an atom bomb in 1949, the Korean War which began in 1950 – seemed to confirm the danger. Senator Joe McCarthy made a name for himself by exploiting these fears. In 1950 he claimed to have a list of many known Communists in the US government. He had the power to use inquisitional procedure, alien to common law, coupled with power to punish for contempt anyone who obstructed this procedure. Press hostile to communists too. Although his influence declined after he claimed the Army was infiltrated by communists, he was operating at the same time as the Korean war, as for a brief period was very powerful and destructive. Note effects:
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On individuals - 9,500 civil servants sacked, and 15,000 resigned. 600 teachers sacked and many in the film industry rendered unemployable.
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And on America. Made persecution of people for their beliefs seem justifiable. Contrary to US tradition of tolerance. Also retarded black advance as civil rights protests were viewed as "communist".
McCarthy attacked members of the government, scientists, diplomats, politicians, actors, film producers and writers. Many of the people he attacked were blacklisted and could not find work for years. Charlie Chaplin left the USA to live in Switzerland and only returned in the 1970s to receive an Oscar. In fact, only one or two cases were ever brought, such as that against Alger Hiss in 1948, which added fuel to McCarthy’s accusations. All those who had opposed the New Deal joined in a reaction. Hiss was sentenced to five years in 1950, but always denied any criminal acts. Recent evidence from the Venona project, decypted Soviet intelligence communications suggests that he may have been guilty. The Hiss trial was followed by the passing of the McCarran Internal Security Act, which stated that it was illegal for Americans to take part in any actions that might lead to a communist government in the USA and imposed other controls on communists.
Immediately after the Hiss case, the Rosenbergs were arrested for spying for the Soviet Union and were eventually executed for passing atomic secrets in 1953.McCarthy now claimed that he had a list of 205 communists working in the State Department. When a Senate committee chairman said that this was fraud, McCarthy accused him of being a communist.
Why was McCarthy so successful?
Many Americans believed that he was defending the country, they saw him as a crusader against communism. McCarthy was also clever, he always attacked and if anybody stood up to him he tried to smear them as well. This meant that few people were prepared to stand up to him, not even President Truman. McCarthy was the chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee. This gave him real power in Washington and access to television and the media. In 1953 President Eisenhower agree to an investigation of the Civil service and nearly 7,000 people lost their jobs. Many Americans believed that communism was a real threat to the USA and believed McCarthy’s statements. In 1950 and 1951 the communist victories in Korea gave McCarthy a perfect opportunity. He forced General Marshall to resign for “deliberately allowing communist victories”. McCarthy was a skilful and powerful speaker, able to mix up facts with lies until it was difficult to know what to believe.
Why did McCarthy’s influence disappear in 1954?
- He never actually produced any real evidence; he always claimed that it was in his briefcase.
- In 1954 McCarthy attacked 45 army officers and accused the officers of being communist spies.
- The hearings of HUAC were shown on TV, and McCarthy was revealed as a bully.
- He never produced any of his lists of names. McCarthyism and the Red Scare were over.
- In December 1954 he was censured by the Senate and he died in 1957.
However, McCarthy’s influence survived him. The communist party was banned in the USA in 1954 and people that he had accused continued to be blacklisted for many years. . Post-War America has to be seen against a background of the superpower rivalry, which led to a prevailing fear of communism in the United States, and communist agents in the US. Communism had been an attractive creed to many in the times of the Great Depression. In such a climate, social reforms and racial reforms proved difficult to bring about, and at the same time the ground was fertile for McCarthyism.