Post-World War II Through the 1970s - Essay Example

Post-World War II through the 1970s Introduction The aftermath of the Second World War, more often than not considered a new era, defines a mixture of international cooperation the rebuild the dilapidated world. It started with the inauguration of the United Nations meant to settle the hostilities among the western countries and the Soviet Union in the so-called cold war. The end of the war brought many baby booms to most of the western countries. It began in the years immediately after the Second World War though no specific dates set for the exact times when it ended. By the time the war, ended, huge swaths of Europe and Asia had reduced to ruins. The war claimed lives of more than 80 million persons in less than a decade, which was more than 8 percent of the world’s population as at this time (Dowd, 2010). Germany, Japan, and many other territories were taken over by the allied forces who became the new occupies of those lands. Efforts were made to permanently dismantle the war making ability of the allied nations. The inauguration of the United Nations and the allied occupants led to settling at long lasting solutions to the prevalent problems in the world. There was a general fear for economic hard times following the decline in military expenditure. However, the increased consumer demand fueled a strong economic growth in the post war period. The automobile regained and entered in to a serious business of producing cars. The aviation and the electronics industry grew substantially stimulating innovation and facilitating trade. In the united states the trends of the post world war shows that the country moved in a liberal direction. This growth o liberalism in the country was uniform across the topics and trends that dealt with economic regulation and state authority. The situation progressed u to 1970s when most of the liberal trends slowed and others ceased reversing their direction of operation (Korkiasaari & Soderling, 2003). The Major historical turning points of the post war era Many events occurred after the Second World War that transformed the world positively. These events that occurred that time were many and generally historical; therefore, it bids hard to slice out some of these events as the major turning points. According to my perception and judgment, the turning points of the Second World War first occurred on October 1941. At this time, the Japanese navy and the United States military entered into a serious fight where each had commitment to victory. The American entry changed the old perception of the inevitably old deadly demeanor and irrevocably sealed the axis of defeat. The German in France had seriously beaten Britain. This is still another important turning point of the Second World War era. The war between the German and the Britain was a very important turning point because it showed the world that Hitler wad undefeatable. The position of the pacific during the war is also another dark hour of the post war period and recognized as one of the turning pints of the era. The sinking of the submarines transporting military from the United States and Japan translated great military loses of these countries. The incident led to collaboration of the Britain and the United States military to function as a single force. The Germans who had occupied the Europe land waged for war with the united military. This battle claimed lives of million. A nuclear bomb dropped in Japan at the Hiroshima and the Nagasaki made the Japan military and the country in general withdraw from the fight. This led to formation of the United Nations to replace the League of Nations because it had failed to attain the goal of war prevention (Kopczuk & Emmanuel, 2008). Impacts of the major historical turning points selected on America’s culture, politics, and economy At the end of the Second World War, the United States faced a momentous effect on the economic and the political condition of the country. It resulted to the great depression come to its end. Millions of persons recovered jobs in the various sectors of economic development. Still the American industries wanted more personnel to involve in the production process. Therefore the World War II is renowned to have shaped world to its current state. The turning points of the Second World War have historical happening. For example, the war between the German and the Great Britain claimed lives of more than eighty million persons of which the majority were children and women. Millions of persons were also displaced from there homes. The United States recorded great .loses in terms of economy and military from the ship that sank in the Pacific Ocean heading towards the Great Britain (Dowd, 2010). The worst impact of the war was at Japan from then bomb that was released to the country by the Soviet Union. These events have had an effect to United States current economy, culture and politics. Currently, the United States has established methods on war protection, a program supported by the country’s constitution. Some of these events however have steered the economic condition of the United States to the current state. The culture of the country is also dictated by the Second World War. Why the Americans wanted stay away from the Europe conflict that translated to the Second World War in The 1930s The president of the United States during the 1930s was Franklin Roosevelt. He proposed for the congressional measures to would grant the country victory over the other western countries. However, he bill faced a lot of opposition as few nationalists wanted pressure on aggressions and international conflicts. A tension rose over the Europe due to the rise of the Nazis congress in their land. The act made the Europe call fro a neutrality acts to stop the entangled united states in the external conflicts. Franklin Roosevelt favored this policy. Ha acquiesced to it, he wanted the entanglement with the external conflicts because he had assurance of winning. The natives did not propose the idea of Roosevelt because they feared the conflict with Europe would translate to an economic depression and claim lives of innocent citizens. The Europe situation grew more prevalent in the years of 1937. Majority of the citizens compared the compared the international conflict with the aggression to a diseases that the country was to work on (Dowd, 2010). The situation of the Europe grew worse and the second Sino-Japanese war began in Asia. The president of the country gave a speech that intended a biological turn down to the aggressors. However, the opinion of the majority turned to complete neutrality supporting an actual and impromptu intervention of the war. The claim could not hold water, the majority of the Americans waged for the war and definitely entered into war with the Japan. Europe joined later; this marked the start of the Second World War. Role of women in the World War II For most of the world women, the Second World War not only brought sacrifices but also new jobs, and skills. Women played as a secret in the mobilization to meet the very challenges of the war. The women made it possible to expand dramatically to meet the wartime needs. Women were required to fill the traditional male jobs during the war. They made various advertisements to encourage other women to take charge over those jobs and roles. Women joined the military as nurse corps and in the armed forces so that men could be strictly involved in war and not being send to combat nursing roles. Women leaders influenced a lot in the outcome of the war and the subsequent peace that came afterwards. Women entered into professions like the government girls to help in the running and the expansion of the federal government. Women formed part of the labor in the production of firearms in the United States. At the community level, women raised funds to for the waging war bonds, donated and collected blood for the injured members of forces, and rolled bandages for the fighters (Kopczuk & Emmanuel, 2008). Women aided in civil defense and tended victory gardens where they hosted troops and dealt with strains rotating around raising of children. Civil breakthroughs of African Americans at the end of the Second World War The African Americans received a lot of neglect in the era before the Second World War and their rights totally denied. After the war, a movement for the civil rights began. The African Americans started to have confidence and believe on themselves. During the war, the African Americans served the country with honor. This made moves start to better the lives of the African American. This move started in North America where most of the blacks had better living conditions. A new organization named as the National Association for the Advancement of the Colored people (NAACP) started to fight for the rights of the non-whites (Dowd, 2010). This group attracted many members and gained a lot of support from the blacks and whites and the preceding personalities like the Martin Luther King. The civil rights got a break through in the 1950s when the Supreme Court decided that segregation of schools on basis of color was against the constitution. Rosa Parks, a black woman was arrested in Montgomery because she refused to let a white passenger take her seat. This event raised national concern and the blacks rioted over and boycotted buses led by Martin Luther King. The riot led to establishment of a law that barred discrimination in public fields. Another break through was when the African American got the right to vote. The Martin Luther King wanted to improve the rights of the blacks in a non-violent way. However, others like Malcolm preached that blacks should use force and violence to achieve freedom and equal rights. How the Vietnam War brought political awareness to anew generation of the young people In the history of the United States, the Vietnam War was the longest and the most unpopular war that it has ever fought. The Vietnam War however brought a baby boom generation in the wake of the World War II. The preceding generation after the war was hardworking and pragmatic generation. This generation had an entrepreneurial orientation and ready to change the politics of the United States. They were computer-savvy who wanted to turn the Utopia into an economic bubble. Programs by president Johnson’s on the Great society that are evident today President Johnsons had a very unique personality which sharply contrasts with the urbane but emulate that of Jeff Kennedy. He emphasized that a country should be great society where all persons co-relate. He held that in the great society, the government through various reforms should eliminate racial injustices, poverty, and disease (Dowd, 2010). He therefore pushed policies that would ensure a majority rule. He used his political skills to influence and push for equality of the poor and the minority. These programs, which President Johnson advocated for, are very practical in our current society. In our societies, we need to practice unity and equality for all persons inconsiderate of color, origin, or ethnicity. References Dowd, D. (2010). Wall Street and the Financial Crisis. Retrieved on 21 may 2012. http://www.dougdowd.org/articlesAndCommentary/pdf/WallStreetAndTheFinancialCrisis_WhatsNext.pdf http://www.nber.org/papers/w10399 Kopczuk, W. & Emmanuel, S. (2008). Top Wealth Shares In the United States Evidence from Estate Tax Returns. Retrieved on 21 may 2012 Korkiasaari, J & Söderling, I. (2003). Finnish Emigration and Immigration after World War II. retrieved on 21 may 2012. http://www.migrationinstitute.fi/articles/011_Korkiasaari_Soderling.pdf Read More