Social Revolution Brought by World War II - Essay Example

Assignment 9UT Question Social revolution brought by World War II. a) Arguments on the effects of World War II In the wake of World War II, there has been a wave of social revolution in the United States. The societal role of women had changed following the recruitment of men in the army. This means that most industries lacked adequate staff to carry out their businesses and thus resorted to hiring women to take the place of the unavailable men. This was a tremendous step to women liberation since previously; their roles were confined to that of being a housewife. At the work place, they were given tasks that were done by men, thus were nick-named ‘Rosie the riveter’ (Ayers, 2009). However, this role did not last long. Their new roles were quickly snatched away from them once the war ended in 1945. The men who went to fight the war and survived were given back their old jobs and the women sent home packing. The social revolution was, therefore, rendered temporary since the women were subjected to their former roles as housewives as the men took up their jobs. b) Did the purpose of the document conflict with reality in any way? During the social revolution period that took place in 1942, women were still subjected to discrimination at their places of work. The men at the work place never fully accepted them as their equals at the work place, and thus subjected them to different forms of discrimination such as sabotaging their jobs. Even after the social revolution, women continue to face discrimination in their roles in society. Though they may be able to gain form employment, back at home they are expected to perform their housewife duties as expected. This practice is still common to this date, and it is for such reasons that clarify why the document does not conflict reality in any way. Question 3; ‘Why should we march by Philip Randolph’ a) Topics and their relevance to Randolph’s argument. Military; before the executive order given by President Roosevelt in 1941, recruitment into the American defense forces was exclusive to the white community. The white community was given preference in recruitment and promotion in the military, an opportunity which equally deserving and qualified African Americans were denied. It is for such reason that the protest march was organized by the African American community, to air their grievances on the same. Lynching; African Americans were not granted justice through the judicial systems in place before events in 1942. They were subjected to acts of lynching mostly by the white community whenever they committed an offence. Others were simply lynched because of their skin color if they were spotted in purely white neighborhoods. Such barbaric acts of injustices were part of Randolph’s argument for supporting the march. They demanded proper legislation that sought to protect the life of every individual, regardless of their race or skin color (Ayers, 2009). Education; it was a privilege of the white community before 1942. The few African American people who received education were mostly from wealthy backgrounds, though they too were restricted from attaining higher forms of education. This kind of discrimination was part of the reason for organizing the march, as argued by Randolph. b) Important issue of timing as argued by Randolph. During this time, the United States was actively involved in World War II. To win this war, the nation needs the support of all its citizens to this cause. However, there was internal conflict within the African American community. They saw no need support the cause, yet they needed to be delivered from the discrimination of the white community. It is as a result of this that they decided to pursue their cause at this particular time (Ayers, 2009). It would have been extremely difficult for Randolph to pursue this cause earlier than 1942 since the circumstances at the time would have been different. The government would not have been under any pressure to heed to the demands of the African American community despite the non-violent protest marches. Identifications 1) Battle of Midway It is considered one of the most successful victories of the United States Navy. The Japanese had planned to lay an ambush on the American Navy at Midway, just like they had done in the Pearl Harbor attack, in 1942. Their plan was to destabilize the American Navy, therefore, neutralizing them as a recognized power in the pacific. The Japanese also hope that their success in the Battle of Midway would give them an upper hand as they prepared to attack both Samoa and Fiji. Their plans, however, were thwarted following revelations by American code-breakers of their intentions. This allowed the American Navy to lay an ambush on the Japanese fleet, causing them catastrophic damage. 2) "Double V" Campaign Originally coined by Robert Vann, the double- V campaign was an African American movement that sought to fight for Victory abroad over Nazism and victory at home over discrimination and inequality, hence the slogan ‘Double - V’(Ayers, 2009). This movement enabled African American leaders to gain public support through civil rights campaigns. The program gathered political support because of its ideologies that sought to fight for the democracy of the African American community. 3) War Relocation Authority Instituted through an executive order in 1942, the War Relocation Authority was United States agency that was mandated to deal with the forced detention and relocation of Americans of Italian, German and Japanese decent during World War II. These individuals were placed in intermittent camps, which were able to provide housing, to approximately five-thousand people. A total of ten intermittent camps were established during that period. 4) Yalta Conference Held in February, 1945, the Yalta Conference was held to discuss post war reorganization of Europe. The meeting was attended by three heads of states; the united States (represented by president Franklin D Roosevelt), the United Kingdom (represented by Prime Minister Winston Churchill) and the Soviet Union (represented by General Secretary Joseph Stalin). Though controversial, the Yalta conference intended to discuss re-development of countries that were war-torn in Europe. Its intentions were, however, divided during the onset of the Cold War which divided the continent. 5) "Rosie the Riveter" It is a term that was coined during World War II, to represent American women who sought employment in factories that mostly dealt with the production of war supplies. These women replaced most of the male workers, who by then had joined the military. They, therefore, took up jobs that were considered masculine in nature resulting to the economic empowerment of women. The term ‘Rosie the Riveter’ was first used in 1942 by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb who were song writers. Bibliography AYERS, E. L. (2009). American passages: a history of the United States. Boston, MA, Wadsworth/Cengage Learning Read More