Economically, the war marked the end of the Great Depression. Factories shifted from consumer goods to military production, and jobs were abundant. As noted in "Mobilizing for War", “The war created 17 million new jobs at the exact moment when 15 million men and women entered the armed services.” This surge in employment, paired with high wages and government contracts, spurred prosperity—though it also led to inflation and rationing of everyday goods.
Women played a critical role in the economy. With millions of men overseas, women filled industrial jobs in unprecedented numbers. According to "Social Changes During the War", “For the first time in history, married working women outnumbered single working women.” The symbol of “Rosie the Riveter” represented this shift, as women took on roles traditionally closed to them, contributing directly to the war effort and helping to redefine gender norms.
At the same time, the war highlighted ongoing racial injustice. African Americans faced segregation in the military and discrimination at home. The same reading states a tragic quote from a Black soldier: “Just carve on my tombstone, here lies a black man killed fighting a yellow man for the protection of a white man”. This observation underscores the contradictions between the fight for freedom abroad and the reality of inequality at home.
Japanese Americans suffered perhaps the most severe violations of civil liberties. As the reading "Japanese-American Internment" describes, they “were locked behind barbed wire and crowded into ramshackle wooden barracks”, despite the fact that many were citizens who had committed no crimes.
Sources:
Digital History. “Mobilizing for war”.
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3491
Digital History. “Social changes during the war”.
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3493
Digital History. “Japanese American internment”
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3495
Women played a critical role in the economy. With millions of men overseas, women filled industrial jobs in unprecedented numbers. According to "Social Changes During the War", “For the first time in history, married working women outnumbered single working women.” The symbol of “Rosie the Riveter” represented this shift, as women took on roles traditionally closed to them, contributing directly to the war effort and helping to redefine gender norms.
At the same time, the war highlighted ongoing racial injustice. African Americans faced segregation in the military and discrimination at home. The same reading states a tragic quote from a Black soldier: “Just carve on my tombstone, here lies a black man killed fighting a yellow man for the protection of a white man”. This observation underscores the contradictions between the fight for freedom abroad and the reality of inequality at home.
Japanese Americans suffered perhaps the most severe violations of civil liberties. As the reading "Japanese-American Internment" describes, they “were locked behind barbed wire and crowded into ramshackle wooden barracks”, despite the fact that many were citizens who had committed no crimes.
Sources:
Digital History. “Mobilizing for war”.
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3491
Digital History. “Social changes during the war”.
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3493
Digital History. “Japanese American internment”
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3495