Young 1 Hunter Young Bernadette Vlachos HIST 1110-09 December 5, 2012 The Influence of World War II World War

II determined the fate of the modern world. Had the Allies not succeeded, Hitler would have ushered in a new world order, crushing anyone who dared to oppose him. Minorities would have been killed or forced into labor camps, and the world would have eventually come to know German as its first language. The avoidance of such a grievous outcome is the most visible result of the war, however the slew of political problems and seeds of social progress that grew out of war were of equal importance. In terms of the economy, World War II helped to bring the United States out of the Great Depression, and into the international arena as a world superpower. After the First World War, the United States believed that airplanes would serve an important role in future conflicts. The problem for the U.S. military however was that there simply was no place the military could go to buy the huge numbers of planes it needed. In 1940, the United States government established the Defense Plant Corporation, or DPC, in order to create the markets the government needed for the war effort, particularly the aerospace market. By 1943, the U.S. government was responsible for 67 percent of capital investment within the country. The expansion of industries related to aerospace was enormous. Production of chemicals such as magnesium increased a hundred fold in a matter of years. At the beginning of the war the U.S. military owned 28 airfields; at the

Young 2 end of the war the military had over 1,000. By 1945, the aerospace industry within the United States was four times the size of the automotive industry, which had been one of the largest economic sectors in the nation for the past 20 years. At a time when over 25 percent of the workforce was unable to find a job, the economic boom created by the war effort was a welcomed relief. World War II also brought about great social change within the United States. The war created a huge increase in production, and consequentially a huge increase in the amount of workers needed. By contrast, as the demand for workers increased, working age men left the factories to go to war. In order to fill the gap, companies began seeking out women to work in the factories. At first, the amount of women entering the workforce was seen as unsatisfactory to both companies and the government. In order to remedy the situation, the government launched the Rosie the Riveter propaganda campaign it was a massive success. Women of all walks of life began turning out to work in the factories, as well as other industries where there was a shortage of labor. Women began to view themselves not merely as wives and mothers, but rather as individuals capable of contributing to their country and more importantly their own self-made image. The government thought the large presence of women in the workforce would only be temporary, but it proved to have lasting consequences that would fuel womens rights movements for the rest of the century. Unfortunately, not all women enjoyed new opportunities as a result of the war effort. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, xenophobia began to sweep the United States. Japanese-Americans were sent off to interment camps, and areas once free of segregationist attitudes became heavily influenced by Jim Crow. The general

Young 3 abhorrence towards non-whites in America heightened during the war. African-American women had already been involved in the workplace long before the war began. While the war made new job availabilities for white women, the war brought few new employment opportunities to African-American women. In the words of Betty Reid Soskin, an African-American woman who lived during the war, The Rosie the Riveter story is a white womens story a story of the emancipation of the middle-class white women working outside the home. World War II was hard on all African-Americans, not just women. Soldiers were fighting the worlds worst racist, Adolf Hitler, in the worlds most segregated army, said Stephen Ambrose. The irony did not go unnoticed. Initially limited to serving as cargo handlers or cooks, African-American soldiers were treated as second-rate individuals. Eventually, the grim realities of the war began to force the army to place less emphasis on segregation. During the Battle of the Bulge in 1944, General Dwight D. Eisenhower realized that he needed immediate assistance on the Western Front, and called for the temporary desegregation of the army in order to supply the front lines 2,000 AfricanAmerican soldiers volunteered to fight. In 1941, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People succeeded in convincing the government to create an all-black squadron in the U.S. Army Air Corps (later known as the Air Force). The allblack squadron came to be known as the Tuskegee Airmen, as a result of being trained in Tuskegee, Alabama. In 1944, the Tuskegee Airmen began flying on missions with white pilots in Europe, later going on to become the only unit in the United States to ever sink a German destroyer. 1944 was also the first year in which African-American nurses were allowed to treat white soldiers.

Young 4 Eventually, African-Americans began to use the war as a springboard for civil rights movements. A. Phillip Randolph realized how important the African-American factory workers were to the war effort, and decided to use the situation to gain ground for civil rights movements. By threat of a 100,000-person protest, Randolph convinced President Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 8802, which prohibited the discrimination of African-Americans in government jobs. After the war ended, Randolph along with other civil rights leaders and organizations pushed for equal rights for African-American soldiers. In 1948, President Truman responded by desegregating the army and government with Executive Order 9981. Sadly, African- American veterans were not recognized as champions of democracy as their white counterparts were. Even though the law was changing, social attitudes were remaining the same. Unsurprisingly, AfricanAmerican veterans would go on to become the backbone of the post-war civil rights movements throughout the next few decades. Medgar Evers, who served with the Red Ball Express, became the first Mississippi field secretary of the NAACP. Many veterans, like Medgar Evers, would survive the war against Hitler only to die in the war against Jim Crow. World War II brought about the beginning of the nuclear age. In 1942, work began on the Manhattan project with J. Robert Oppenheimer at the head of scientific research. The results of the project came to a head during the Trinity test of July 16th, 1945. The bomb, known as Gadget, was a 20-kiloton implosion-type fission device, equivalent to 2,000 fully loaded B-29 bombers. Upon detonation, Oppenheimer famously said, I am become death, the destroyer of worlds, a phrase from the Bhagavad-Gita. In August of that year, similar bombs would be dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and

Young 5 Nagasaki the first killing between 80,000 to 140,000 people instantly, and the second killing almost 24,000 instantly. As a result of the bombings and the entrance of the Soviet Union into the war against Japan, the Japanese surrendered. The advent of the nuclear bomb forever changed the face of political relations in the world, and proved to be a key component of the Cold War contingency plan of Mutually Assured Destruction. Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union began with the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, which essentially placed the two powers on opposing sides when World War II erupted in Europe. When Hitler attacked Russia in 1941, the United States and Britain had little choice but to support her for fear of allowing Russia to fall into Hitlers hands. The shaky alliance between the three worsened over issues surrounding the division of Poland and Germany, eventually leading to the establishment of a communist government in Poland backed by the Soviets after the war ended, and the Berlin Blockade. The tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union during World War II led to the Cold War, and the arms race between the two superpowers. As a result of the arms race, the world was in constant fear of nuclear annihilation. In their quest for superiority, the two powers created an arsenal capable of destroying human society itself. World War II gave the two super powers an ability that humans had never possessed before: the power to destroy the world. From the fires of war the United States emerged as a dominant world power. World War II had shaped and molded the United States into the world power that the rest of the world looked to as the epitome of democracy, and the embodiment of what it was to be western. Had it not been for the war, the United States would not have developed as it did neither would the rest of the world. Western culture has played a dominant role

Young 6 in shaping other societies, especially in the 20th century. World War II orchestrated great technological development and social change all around the world.

Young 7 Bibliography Byrnes, Rebecca. "Cold War Origins: Impact of WWII." Suite101.com. Suite101, 7 Aug. 2008. Web. 05 Dec. 2012. An article by Rebecca Byrnes detailing how events in World War II were responsible for causing the Cold War, and why relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union were tense even from the beginning of World War II. Byrnes discusses the influence of the Nazi-Soviet Pact, the Atomic Bomb, and the issue of Poland on the origins of the Cold War. Hyman, Louis. "How Did World War II End the Great Depression?: Echoes." Bloomberg. Bloomberg L.P., 16 Dec. 2011. Web. 05 Dec. 2012. An article discussing how World War II brought the United States out of the Great Depression. The author, Louis Hyman, discusses the effects of the Defense Plant Corporation on the economy. The article explains the growth of the aerospace industry, and growth of industries needed to supply materials for the aerospace industry. Krause, Lisa. "Black Soldiers in WW II: Fighting Enemies at Home and Abroad." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 15 Feb. 2001. Web. 05 Dec. 2012. An article detailing the treatment of African-American soldiers during World War II. Lisa Krause explains the advances made in civil rights during the war, and after the war. Krause shows how the desperation of the U.S. military forced it to relax segregationist policies, and give African-Americans a fair stake in the war. Penrice, Ronda R. "How Black WWII Vets Helped Lead the Civil Rights Movement." TheGrio. NBC Universal, 28 May 2012. Web. 05 Dec. 2012. Ronda Penrice

Young 8 outlines how African-American WWII veterans became the backbone of the civil rights movement and the fight against Jim Crow. Penrice points out the hypocrisy of white Americans in neglecting to recognize and honor African-American veterans as war heroes, regardless of their achievements. Ross, Andrew L. "The Role of Nuclear Weapons in International Politics: A Strategic Perspective." FPRI. Foreign Policy Research Institute, 29 Mar. 2009. Web. 05 Dec. 2012. An essay based on Andrew L. Ross's talk at the FPRI Wachman Centers History Institute for Teachers on Teaching the Nuclear Age on March 28-29, 2009. Ross gives a concise history of the nuclear age, and how the nuclear revolution has become a revolution in military affairs. Zinko, Carolyne. "WWII Meant Opportunity for Many Women, Oppression for Others." SFGate. Hearst Communications Inc., 25 Sept. 2007. Web. 05 Dec. 2012. An article written by Carolyne Zinko describing the effects of World War II on women of minorities, particularly African-American women. Zinko interviews women who were a part of the workplace during World War II, and explains the introduction of Jim Crow into communities that had previously been free of segregation.