World war 2 through the 1970's - Research Paper Example

? World War II through the 1970’s A turning point is an event which most observers would agree that what happens next is inevitable.At a time when a war is going on, the fog of the war often makes it difficult to identify all the effects of any one victory. There were several turning points in America through the 1970s. These were the points of time when a significant change occurred. They were also moments of decision. At this time, there were many changes taking place around the world. Millions were dead, and the United States had become a super power (Finkelman, 2005). A sweeping historical turning point during the Second World War through the 1970s was the Watergate scandal. This political scandal took place in 1972, in the United States. There was a break in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington DC at the Watergate office complex. At the time, Richard Nixon was the president and his administration attempted to cover up its involvement in the break in. During the investigation into the scandal, many things got found out. It became discovered that president Nixon was taping all the conversations in the white House. It was this tapes that when later they got handed over government investigators implicated the president to have got involved in the cover up. Money that also got found on the burglars got connected to a slush fund used by fundraising group for the re-election of the president. Nixon’s vice president Agnew also admitted to tax evasion. The scandal was a crucial turning point because it led Americans to have key mistrust within their leaders and thus begin to question their leadership skills. It had a vital political impact on politics because political leaders and everyone else are fully aware that no one is above the law. This is because this scandal led to the resignation of a United States president. In America today, there is closer examination of the procedures of the executive office by the public. It served as a civic lesson to the public. People began to pay keen attention to their leaders and started to question leaders in local and state offices. This scandal also asserted the judiciary’s power to bring justice and equality of opportunity. Another key historical turning point that occurred during the World War II through the 1970s was the civil rights movement. This was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law. It took place between 1950 and 1980 (Finkelman, 2005). It took the form of civil resistance and campaigns aimed at bringing change. In some places, it became accompanied by armed rebellion and civil unrest. In America, the social rights movements aimed at outlawing racial discrimination and restoring voting rights to blacks. These movements not only gave equality to African American’s but also women. This had a significant impact on America today as it eventually led to the first black president and women in politics are reaching for the glass ceiling. This movement in America ensured that today certain groups of people got allowed to hold the basic rights that are guaranteed in the constitution. African Americans and women have an equal opportunity to be wealthy and lead a good life. No one’s rights get limited by law in America today as previously was the case. This movement ensured that today there is equality of rights and opportunities in America (Finkelman, 2005). America in the late 1930s wanted to stay out of the European conflict that became the World War II. This was because World War I had ended just 15 years earlier, and it was still a fresh wound to many Americans. World War I killed people, cost money, damaged property and affected everyone who encountered it. Most of them believed that the lives lost in World War I were so many and it was not worth it. A majority of American population was opposed to any policy that could involve the United States in another bloody conflict. In the years after the world war I Americans had reached the conclusion that it had been a disastrous mistake to take part in the war. World War I had planted the seeds of the coming Great depression that hit even America. The Depression had originated from the United States after the fall in stock prices. Americans were more interested in the restoration of the economy rather than in the European conflict. For the World War II to be won not only men took part but women also played a role. For most of the women, World War II came with many sacrifices. They became engaged in new skills, new jobs and new opportunities. Women were America’s secret weapon during the World War II. They volunteered to meet every challenge that got presented to them. They made the expansion of the industries possible to meet the needs of the war. Women took over most of the traditional roles of men (Weatherford, 2010). They headed the houses and took over management jobs in the industries that were initially men’s work. Women worked in the industries and retooled for war production. They were a significant portion of the labor force. This kept the country running because the space that got left by the men was not empty as in other countries. Women got encouraged to take part in the professional jobs. Most of them relocated to Washington D.C to assist in running the rapidly expanding federal government. The government was rapidly expanding, and it was necessary to have someone participate behind the lines in the war effort. Women served in the military. They joined the nurse corps and the armed forces. This allowed America to send more men into the combat. Women leaders helped determine the results of the war and the peace that came afterward. In the community, women collected blood, raised money for war bonds, rolled bandages, hosted troops, aided in civil defense and tended Victory gardens. At home, they dealt with strains of rationing, raised their children, recycled scarce materials and mourned the war dead. Women made it possible for America to continue with its business as if the war was not happening (Weatherford, 2010). After the Second World War, there were civil rights breakthroughs that moved the cause of African Americans forward. For many African Americans, the war had offered an opportunity to get out of the rural poverty. They joined the military and escaped a decade of depression. In the chaos of the war, segregation broke down. It was difficult to keep the races apart when both got attacked. After the war, some black soldiers who left plantation jobs in the south did not return home (Finkelman, 2005). Many moved to the cities to look for jobs similar to those they learnt in the armed forces. This was a breakthrough for the African Americans as they were now skilled enough to work in the cities instead of getting locked away in the farms. The war had broken the prejudice that was there before. People were there to do jobs, and if they could do it, it did not matter what color they were. Another civil right breakthrough for the African Americans was in the sector of education. They got allowed to stay in school longer, and one could pursue what they wished irrespective of their color. Education became more urgent in rural communities as well as urban ones. The G.I Bill that got introduced after the war markedly increased the population of African Americans that attended graduate school and college (Finkelman, 2005). This further broke down the racism that surrounded the American education system. It provided a more level playing ground than the one that was there before the war. The Vietnam War brought political awareness to a new generation of young Americans in several ways. In the post war era, many Americans struggled to absorb the lessons of the military intervention. After this war, Americans are fully aware of the influence their politics had on other nations. Defeat from this war raised key questions on the quality of the advice that got given to successive presidents by the pentagon. This war brought political awareness among the Americans of the how decisions that their leaders make affect the nation. Americans also became aware of the financial burden of the war as the number of troops in Vietnam increased. This led to budget cuts to President Johnson’s top society programs. Almost 3 million Americans served in Vietnam and the United States spent $120 billion on the war. This demonstrated to the Americans that no power, not even a super power has unlimited resources and strength (Schmidt,2005). This is because America lost a lot in this war. It demonstrated to the Americans that political will is a decisive factor in the outcome of conflicts. There are programs of President Johnson’s “Great Society” agenda that are still with us today. President Johnson used his influence to push through new laws that he targeted to assist the poor and minorities, to create what he called the great society. He also wished to bring an end to racial injustice. Half of all Americans did not have medical cover and a third of the aged lived in poverty. The social security act 1965 authorized Medicare and provided federal funding for older Americans (Helsing, 2000). This is still in existence to date and continues to be amended to make it better. Another program of the great society that is still with us today is the civil rights program. More than 90 percent of African Americans never got registered to vote before this program. It suspended use of voter qualification tests and literacy which had sometimes kept the African Americans off voting lists. It also reinforced the civil rights act of 1964 by allowing the appointment of the federal voting examiners in areas that did not meet voter participation requirement (Helsing, 2000). Every good thing that is in America currently got shaped by the period before and after the World War II and through the 1970s. America grew slowly in the guidance of presidents that came and went. The fact that during the war they managed to stay afloat ensured their status as a super power. The laws that govern it also came to birth due to the civil rights movements that came up after the World War II through the 1970s. All the events discussed in this paper shaped America to become what it is today. References Finkelman, P. (2009). Encyclopedia of African American History: 5-Volume Set. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Helsing, J. W. (2000). Johnson's War/Johnson's Great Society. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group. Schmidt, D. E. (2005). The Folly of War. New York: Algora Publishing. Weatherford, D. (2010). American Women During World War II. New York: Taylor & Francis. Read More