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. This essay will examine these effects and discuss the importance they had on shaping America’s role in the latter half of the 20th century. Of the many short-term effects the war produced, the most important may be the rise of social movements that came about because of the war.
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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 home. The economies of Europe and Asia were completely destroyed after the war. German and Japanese auto factories lay in ruin; The battle of Britain destroyed the U.K.’s financial centres; and debt to other nations was the only funding the war effort in many countries. This created the lasting effect of America dominating the world as the economic super power. Relatively untouched by the war, the American home front was able to not only supply the necessary loans to fund the war in Europe but to also supply munitions and supplies to their allies through the Lend-Lease. After the war, America quickly converted from a wartime economy to a consumer economy, with a hegemony on the manufacturing of consumer goods. The short-term effects of this were that America was able to pull its economy out of the decade-long depression. The long-term effect of economic dominance, however, was a greater dependence on trade abroad, while at home America developed a culture of decadence and
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 home. The economies of Europe and Asia were completely destroyed after the war. German and Japanese auto factories lay in ruin; The battle of Britain destroyed the U.K.’s financial centres; and debt to other nations was the only funding the war effort in many countries. This created the lasting effect of America dominating the world as the economic super power. Relatively untouched by the war, the American home front was able to not only supply the necessary loans to fund the war in Europe but to also supply munitions and supplies to their allies through the Lend-Lease. After the war, America quickly converted from a wartime economy to a consumer economy, with a hegemony on the manufacturing of consumer goods. The short-term effects of this were that America was able to pull its economy out of the decade-long depression. The long-term effect of economic dominance, however, was a greater dependence on trade abroad, while at home America developed a culture of decadence and