APUSH Notes 4/3

Introduction

  • Unlike World War One, the Second World War had a massive ripple effect across all aspects of American Society

  • In the economy here was a major post war recession taht gave way to a booming economy by the mid 1950s

  • Today we will do a quick overview of the later part of the 1940s and focus on social and economic issues.

  • President Harry S. Truman 1945-1952: He did not get a whole lot of credit, but he did a lot of things right, including civil rights.

Social Impact of WWII

  • The GI Bill

  • VA Mortgages paid for nearly 5 million new homes, by making homes affordable with low interest rates and 30 year loans.

  • Between 1945 and 1954, the US added 13 million new homes to its housing stock

  • The GI Bill also created educational opportunities so veterans could pay lower tuition rates

  • The GI Bill initially only gave benefits to white men, but it eventually gave benefits to minorities and women too.

  • Even now, people who serve in the military are offered the GI Bill.

  • The Rise of Suburbs and explosive growth of the Middle class by 1950s

  • Levittowns were a new way of low-cost cookie cutter houses geared directly toward middle class families.

  • President Eisenhower pushed for a massive road bill during his presidency, so those who were living in the suburbs were able to live there without problems of getting to and from work.

Labor Issues and the Economy

  • President Truman had a mixed record on Labor Issues. On the one hand he vetoed he Taft-Harley Act 1947 that placed restrictions on organized labor activities. Unfortunately, he was overridden by Congress.

  • In 1949 broke a steel strike in by threatening to draft workers into the US army.

WWII and the Orgins of the Civil Rights Movment

  • Faced with potential protests led by A. Philip Randolph FDR signed Executive Order 8802 creating Fair Employment Practices Committee.

  • The first Civil Rights organization since the NAACP formed to push for post war equality…

  • The Tuskeegee Air Men: A team of black Americans in the Air force who performed amazingly despite being given the worst and oldest planes in the US Air force

Important Post War Changes

  • In 1947 Truman launched an investigation of Race Relations in America culminating in two important executive orders 9980 and 9981.

  • He also announced his intention to push for a civil rights plank in the 1948 Democratic Convention

The Impact of WWII On Women: A mixed Record

  • While WWII saw the rise of “Rosie the Riveter” equal pay for women was not always the case in wartime plants. Women also played much bigger military roles.

  • In the post war 1950s feminism vs. the “cult” returns

  • “Latch-key kids” or “8-hour orphans”

Hispanic Community during WWII

  • About 500,000 Hispanic men served in all branches of the service fighting mainly in the Pacific Theatre.

  • Immigration policy from Mexico was effectively suspended during the war as farm labor was needed. The Bracero System

  • The influx of migrants also led to racial tensions one example was the Zoot-Suit Riots in 1943 Los Angeles.

The Impact of the War on Other Ethnic Groups

  • Executive Order 9066

  • Navajo “Code Talkers”- Navajo language was very complex, and was often used as a code, so many navajo code talkers were placed in very dangerous places to report movements in navajo.

  • Many Japanese were placed in internment camps, which stripped them of their liberties, their property, and their rights.