Regional, Ethnic and Social divisions as of 1945

Coming as a shock to nobody, America was NOT a free country at this time (still isn't but shush)

What was the role of the northeast?

It was the industrial, educational and political powerhouse of the country with 18/32 US presidents in 1945 hailing from the region.

What was the role of the midwest?

Despite its sparse population and low political influence, it acted as the nation’s breadbasket with huge corn and wheat farms.

What was the role of the south?

They had more of a focus on agriculture thanks to the sheer number of plantations in the region but it was also very rich in oil. It was traditionally more segregationist thanks to the Jim Crow laws and they had limited political influence.

What was the role of the west coast?

Many people moved there to try and live out the American dream. It was famous for being more liberal and being the home of Hollywood glamour. It also craved more political influence than it had.

What was life like for white Americans at this time?

Pretty good. They were the majority ethnic group, numbering approximately 130 million by 1945. Many self-identified with countries they had migrated from, mainly Poland, Italy, Ireland and Germany (the latter became less popular to identify with in the war years)

What was life like for Asian Americans at this time?

By 1950 they only numbered around 320,000. This number would sharply increase as in 1952 the McCarran-Walter/Immigration and nationality act of 1952 made migration from East Asia easier. Japanese Americans were a notably small group due to prejudice and the horrific treatment they faced at concentration camps during WW2.

What was life like for black Americans at this time?

Not great to put it lightly (BAD). They accounted for 10% of the US population (14 million) and mostly lived in the south due to slavery but over a period of 30 years many black Americans began to move north and west in the “great migration” to avoid Jim Crow segregation and get better paying jobs.

What was life like for Native Americans at this time?

BAD. there were only 350,000 of them spread thinly across what little land the government hadn’t yet taken.

What was life like for Hispanic Americans as this time?

There were about 2 million of them by 1945, mostly living in the southwest.

How were class relations at this time?

The (white) working classes were seeing an increase in political power thanks to the rise of organised labour in WW2. Furthermore, the middle classes had been humbled during the great depression, putting them closer to the workers. The rich stayed rich obviously what else is knew.

The rise of unions wasn’t all good, what was the main issue with them at this time?

Most of them were segregationist so only white workers benefitted from them.

What did social mobility look like at this time.

Somewhat good. The war allowed for more groups of people to access employment (mainly black people and women) and (white) veterans saw huge aid in obtaining education and housing from the GI bill. Only 1/5 of the 100,000 black veterans who had applied for Uni grants via the GI bill were accepted, showing how the existing system of segregation barred them from help and social mobility.

What did the average American’s political beliefs look like (specifically, what did they fear?)

After WW2, the roots of the red scare really began to become visible as communism began to spread in Eastern Europe. Any vaguely left leaning person was accused of being a commie which we still see today.