African Americans In The 1940s Essay

The 1940s to many is a time of discrimination and the great depression. Not to forget one of the biggest wars in United States history. But in reality the U.S. took some major steps as a nation including the introduction of African Americans into the Major Leagues. Also the advances me made in the military. Many Americans in the 1940s were affected by World War II and many of them or their family members were drafted to go fight in the war. Men between the ages of 18 and 26 that met requirements were expected to fight. On December 7, 1941 the attack on Pearl Harbor took place at 7:55 in the morning. This attack killed 1,177 U.S. sailors and was the largest naval loss in U.S. history. This act officially entered the U.S. into World War II when we declared war on Japan (America’s Best History ). The first atomic bomb and tested. This resulted in “President Harry S. Truman giving the go-ahead to use the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki which forced Japan to surrender” (America’s Best History). In the 1940’s discrimination against African Americans were still going on. An example is “The race riots in Detroit and Harlem …show more content…
Baseball was the most popular sport at the time. Baseball was so popular President Roosevelt signed a letter stating that baseball was to not be touched or messed with by the war (Gray). The baseball color line was broke in 1946. This occurred when Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play in the major leagues or minor leagues in the twentieth century (Gilbert). Football was not near as popular as it is today. In the 1940s there was no National Football League and the safety of the game was not as good as it is today. Today we have more protective helmets and shoulder pads. Also football is more popular than it used to be and is the number one american sport right now (Gray). These are some of the popular things about sports in the