The Second World War set aflame a world illusioned by the veil of peace put in place by the Treaty of Versailles. The genocide against Jews and Slavs, the destruction of London, Berlin, and Leningrad, and the perversion of humanity to fit a political agenda coalesced into the complete destruction of the European balance of power, and in this power vacuum arose a climate polarised by the Soviet Union and the United States. Yet the Cold War was just one of the many effects of the war that profoundly changed America. Social movements spreading during and after the war, America’s exiting the war as the dominant economic power, and the risk of complete destruction due to ideological disagreements are but a few the key effects the war had on America.
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During the war, the military conscripted every able-bodied man for service; however, this left the nation without a workforce to produce the goods to support the war effort. To fill this labour void, women took up the call to arms and entered both blue collar and white collar jobs. Women no longer had to be the docile housewife whose only job was to rear children and housekeep. This taste of economic liberation gave women a sense of purpose that was not there before the war. The momentary spike of women workers ended with demobilisation; however, women’s desire to be free from the confines of menial housework came to define subsequent feminist movements.
The African American Civil Rights Movement also found its roots in the Second World War. Segregated black battalions earned great honours for fighting in the war. The Tuskegee Airmen, for example, became one of the most well-known fighter units after the war. Yet when these black veterans returned home, they found the nation they fought for held the same level racial animosity towards them as before the war. This reaction had bred unease and anxiety within the black community, and it led those who fought for freedom abroad to fight for freedom at
During the war, the military conscripted every able-bodied man for service; however, this left the nation without a workforce to produce the goods to support the war effort. To fill this labour void, women took up the call to arms and entered both blue collar and white collar jobs. Women no longer had to be the docile housewife whose only job was to rear children and housekeep. This taste of economic liberation gave women a sense of purpose that was not there before the war. The momentary spike of women workers ended with demobilisation; however, women’s desire to be free from the confines of menial housework came to define subsequent feminist movements.
The African American Civil Rights Movement also found its roots in the Second World War. Segregated black battalions earned great honours for fighting in the war. The Tuskegee Airmen, for example, became one of the most well-known fighter units after the war. Yet when these black veterans returned home, they found the nation they fought for held the same level racial animosity towards them as before the war. This reaction had bred unease and anxiety within the black community, and it led those who fought for freedom abroad to fight for freedom at