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How did culture, events and leadership shape and reflect post-WWII America?

 

Sports &  Games 

An impression of the sports

     As you know the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. During the early 1940s the sports schedules temporarily disrupted and many of the men were signed up for military service. They were drafted involuntarily and this was not the first time the United States used the draft system, but they without doubt drafted many men.  As we went into World War two, woman athletes became more in demand during this time. After the war was over professional sports had become an immense business. The Great Depression was over, and people had more time and money on their hands. Paychecks for athletes increased as well as television and more. As sports became more popular in America, there was a direct correlation between the number of fans you had and the amount of money you made.

 

     Later in 1940s sports progressively became a huge role in the entertainment industry. The National Sport baseball became very popular and gained much money through the 1940s also. Culture, events, and leadership shaped and reflected post WWII America by the changes made in sports through this time period. Women gained more popularity as men got drafted to work in the war in the early part of the decade. Later on the industry gained much money as the Depression ended. Salary’s rose for example between the years 1946-1952 the income for MLB increased from one million to five million. Through the decade as we struggled through depression and war, we gained women sports players, gained a lot of money, and had an positive outlook for Sports in America.

  

Business & the Economy

 

     During the 1930s, there was an economic crisis going on in the United States.  The country was in the Great Depression.  World War II had played a huge role in getting the United States out of the Great Depression and into an economic boom.  When the United States had gone to war during the early 1940s, jobs were being produced constantly and people were being hired to create planes, guns, ammunition, and several other types of war-type products.  1942 was the beginning of the great economic boost for the United States.  Unemployment dropped very close to 0%.  Workers incomes also increased tremendously.  On average, wages had doubled, even shooting up to a 250% increase for farmer’s wages.

 

     Business during the 1940s was mainly based on production for World War II.  Artillery, machinery, and weapons were examples of the many things that were produced for the war.  According to American Decades, “Americans built nearly 300,000 airplanes, nearly 400,000 pieces of artillery, 47 million tons of artillery ammunition, 44 billion rounds of small arms ammo, nearly 87,000 warships, 86,000 tanks, and 6,500 ships.”  This shows how much business had revolved around war production.  The jobs created helped increase the economy and decreased the unemployment rate during the era of the 1940s.

 

     After World War II, business in the United States had not been about war production as much as it had been during the war.  Business had been mainly about entertainment, houses, luxuries, and many things related to this.  As people had come back from the war, they had wanted to spend their money that they had earned.  People that had not gone to war and stayed at home had money saved up from working so long and hard.  As soon as the war heroes returned, money was spent on several goods and wants that the people wanted.  Although the war was over, there was still a tension between the United States and Russia.  There was a slight distrust between the two nations, and chemical industries were still producing nuclear bombs during the time to threaten Russia if they were to attack the United States.  According to American Decades, “From 1946 to 1948… unemployment rose and the American economy slowed…”  After World War II there were still many jobs, but due to the end of World War II, most of the businesses that had taken place during the time had gone out of business due to the fact that they were not needed anymore.

 

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Education

 

During the 1940’s America saw a profound change in their education system. At the turn of the decade, American primary and secondary education was underfunded, poorly organized and had very low standards. However, by the end of the century American education was completely reformed. Schools and universities became better funded; more organized, and even became more culturally active.

            America’s involvement in World War 2 is what initially brought to light the vast reforms that were needed to be made in American education. The differences in education levels of the army draftees were shocking, and millions were even rejected from the army due to illiteracy. Also, as more and more men were drafted into the army, there were more service jobs vacant and not enough qualified people to fill them. The military was even forced to train their individuals in ballistics, aeronautics, cartography, metallurgy, cryptanalysis and pay for their advanced education themselves. As military necessity for better education grew, more colleges started adding two year degree programs to their courses and reforming their scientific and technical training. The national government also loaned universities millions of dollars to integrate higher education into the war effort. MIT alone was given 117 million dollars from the government for their Radiation Laboratory and radar research. The government aid also helped increase the revenues of struggling universities saved them from being shut down.

            Another aspect of education America was faced with at the World War 2 was that after the drafted soldiers came back from the war, many of them needed to integrate themselves back into American life. To do that, the veterans they needed a proper education. Therefore, in 1944, the United States government passed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 or what was more commonly known as the G.I. Bill. It was stated in the bill that individuals who had served more than ninety days in the Second World War would be given benefits to help ease them back into American society. The G.I. Bill paid for the college tuition of 7.8 million war veterans, most of whom were the first to get a college degree in their families, and made them some of the most successful people of middle class.

 

Fashion

     The War greatly affected Fashion and the trends we had by a great deal. Regulations on the amount of cloth you could use were made, and people were rationing clothing because of uniforms being created for the Soldiers at the War. Some fashion designers were used for the uniforms also, but the ones who weren’t had very few materials and styles to work with. Americans had to wear more simple and short type of clothing. For example women would wear shorter skirts due to the fact that they replaced the jobs of the men in the factories. Due to the fact that fashion was on the simpler side, people would try to stand out in different ways, for example using accessories to be fashionable. Women would wear high heels and carry colorful purses, and men would wear different types of hats.

 

     After the War, due to the United States prosperity there were new styles and looks coming out. People had more money to spend and would spend it on fancy new outfits for parties. The 1940s was a mix of two different kinds of fashions. At the beginning of the decade people would ration the amount of clothing they bought and used due to the War, and post War people would celebrate in parties and have extravagant outfits. Our attitude post was confident and vibrant which reflected our clothing styles too.

Film and theater

 

     The film and theater industry of the US did not start the decade with a promising start. The Pearl Harbor bombing and loss of foreign markets left many Americans unmotivated to go to the theater as often as they would have before. However, the movie industry soon made its comeback by 1943 and recorded an all time high for the decade for theater attendance in 1946. Most movies were also now using Naturally, some of the most notable films of the 1940’s were Casablanca, the Best Years of Our Lives, and the Story of G.I. Joe. What each of these films had in common is that they all took on a realistic tone and were used as war-time propaganda. As the fighting escalated, the number war films made increased as well. In fact, some of the era’s most famous stars and directors enlisted to serve in the American army during World War 2. Others decided to contribute to the war time propaganda of the 1940s in different ways. For example, Charlie Chaplin’s first talking picture, which he directed and starred in himself, called The Great Dicator was a less than subtle satirical attack on a Hitler-esque dictator. These war-time films and propaganda instilled a sense of pride in the American people and have forever been written down in history because of it.  

Food &  Drink

During the 1940s there was a diminished food supply therefore the government implemented food rationing policies. I” In 1942 the U.S Office of price Administration came up with ways to equally distribute food. The government encouraged people to grow home and community gardens.  For the most part people wanted to make more with less. Cookbooks implemented and introduced people to ideas of substitutions. The lack of food was partly due to the fact that farmers from rural areas moved into urban areas to support military industries. This caused FDR to extend his Works Progress Administration to support the much needed National School Lunch Act.

New Foods in 1940s

“1940 Red Cheek Apple Juice, Dairy Queen soft serve ice cream
1941 M&Ms, Cheerios
1942]Tootsie Rolls, Post Raisin Bran, Kellogg's Raisin Bran, Dannon Yogurt
1944 Chiquita bananas
1945 Kraft Parmesan Grated Cheese, Welch's Junior Mints, Constant Comment Tea
1946 Pillsbury pie crust mix, frozen french fries, Ragu spaghetti sauce, French's Instant Potatoes, & Tupperware
1947 Pillsbury hot roll mix, Reddi-Whip, cake mixes, Lady Borden Ice Cream, Almond Joy, frozen orange juice
1948 V8 Cocktail Vegetable Juice, Nestle Instant Tea, Minute Rice, Nestle's Quik chocolate milk additive, Cheeto's brand snack foods
1949 Kraft sliced American cheese, Fritos Corn Chips marketed nationally, Sara Lee Cheese cake, Junior Mints, Smarties” (Kimmerle).

 

SOURCES: The Century in Food/Beverly Bundy, The Food Chronology/James Trager & Candy: A Swet History/Beth Kimmerle                                     

http://www.foodtimeline.org/fooddecades.html
© Lynne Olver 2000
7 March 2010

 

 

Print Culture 

     Since the beginning of World War 2 in 1939, it dominated the American media until its end in 1946. The media consistently brought news and images from the war in Europe, keeping the public updated to the minute. War propaganda was also very common in the beginning half of the decade, urging the American public to contribute to the war effort by carpooling with others and buying war bonds. President Roosevelt’s death was also highly publicized by the print media as the country mourned his death. However, depressing topics such as World War 2 and Roosevelt’s death was not the only aspect of print culture of the 1940s. Unlike most other decades, children and teenagers could finally find books and magazines that were targeted specifically for them.  The 1940s was saw the first issues of Highlights and Seventeen as well as the rise of comic books and famous comic book characters such as the Green Lantern and Captain America.

 

 

Music

                During the 1940’s blues and jazz and country swing dominated the music industry. These different types of music helped give voice to the feelings of the American public. Music also played a large role in World War 2 whether it had been as musicians enlisting to serve in the army or bands enlisting to entertain the troops during the battle. Musicians in the war, like Bing Crosby, helped keep the morale of the allied troops high. Much of the World War 2 music focused on the trauma and pain the war must be putting people through, but at the same time kept an optimistic outlook for the future. The Jazz musician Cob Calloway also gave birth to the phenomenon of scat singing, or putting nonsense syllables together to the melody of the music after forgetting the words to one of his songs in the middle of a performance. The freedom and easy going feel of 1940s music also brought around the beginning of the rock and roll era by the end of the decade.

 

 

 

 

"The Way We Lived"

 

     In the early 1940s World War II and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor greatly impacted the way we lived our lives. More jobs were thrown into the economy, but raw materials were in short supply, clothing materials were saved for uniforms, and there were shortage on foods, buildings were simpler as furniture was too. Clothing was kept simple because designers were forced to use whatever they could. It was to be kept “simple and elegant.” Wartime jobs increased and payed well, many people worked in factories because their lifestyle was better off. After the war manufacturers used their skills to make other inventions possible, cars became larger and better. Household furniture and designs became more elegant.

 

     The nation simply was on its way to the top. Trends of people attending the church showed to be increasing after the war also. The middle class was expanding as more and more suburbs were being made. People enjoyed the victory of the war greatly. It was a more secure society for families. Culture, events, and leadership shaped and reflected post WWII America because without WWII and Pearl Harbor occurring, we wouldn’t have needed to make so much effort towards our military, which put jobs into our economy. And with these jobs people’s way of living their lifestyle became grander this directly deposited money back into the economy. Trends and Fashions we made wouldn’t have existed, and we would have had a far less wealthy nation. Leaders are more focused on the task of war, and our culture shows how we became a much more united nation due to the War.

 

Government & Politics

During the first half of the 1940s America’s government and politics were strongly focused on WWII. FDR made attempts to assure U.S citizens that the United States would not get involved with the conflict. "I have said this before, but I shall say it again and again and again: Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars."

Although, the climate of the culture presented an isolationist sentiment, President Roosevelt and the government made steps to improve the U.S military. September of 1940 Congress passed the Burke Wadsworth bill which was the first peacetime military draft in U.S history. In addition, Congress permitted the formation of an army of 800,000 reservists and 1,200,000 troops. Also, in the 1940s Franklin Roosevelt gave Britain fifty naval destroyers for 99 year leases on 8 strategically placed British naval and air bases. FDR justified the exchange by claiming it was of a "defense of the Western Hemisphere" program. The Lend Lease bill of 1941 most certainly reveals the government’s position on fascism and Germany. It enabled the U.S to sell and exchange military equipment to other countries.

In fear of Germany’s inhuman attacks on Britain and the Soviet Union the U.S took further steps with the drafting of the Atlantic Charter of 1941. The Atlantic Charter presented the ambitious objectives of Great Britain and the U.S to oppose fascism, though U.S was neutral war at the time of the drafting.

The objectives that the U.S agreed to (along with Pearl Harbor bombings) would help to shift the government’s sentiments past those of isolationism.

 *Eight political objectives of the Atlantic Charter:

 “First, their countries seek no aggrandizement, territorial or other” (Rosenman).

“Second, they desire to see no territorial changes that do not accord with the freely expressed wishes of the peoples concerned” (Rosenman).

“Third, they respect the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live; and they wish to see sovereign rights and self government restored to those who have been forcibly deprived of them” (Rosenman)

“Fourth, they will endeavor, with due respect for their existing obligations, to further the enjoyment by all States, great or small, victor or vanquished, of access, on equal terms, to the trade and to the raw materials of the world which are needed for their economic prosperity” (Rosenman).

“Fifth, they desire to bring about the fullest collaboration between all nations in the economic field with the object of securing, for all, improved labor standards, economic advancement and social security” (Rosenman).

“Sixth, after the final destruction of the Nazi tyranny, they hope to see established a peace which will afford to all nations the means of dwelling in safety within their own boundaries, and which will afford assurance that all the men in all the lands may live out their lives in freedom from fear and want” (Rosenman).

“Seventh, such a peace should enable all men to traverse the high seas and oceans without hindrance” (Rosenman)

“Eighth, they believe that all of the nations of the world, for realistic as well as spiritual reasons must come to the abandonment of the use of force. Since no future peace can be maintained if land, sea or air armaments continue to be employed by nations which threaten, or may threaten, aggression outside of their frontiers, they believe, pending the establishment of a wider and permanent system of general security, that the disarmament of such nations is essential. They will likewise aid and encourage all other practicable measures which will lighten for peace-loving peoples the crushing burden of armaments” (Rosenman).

In 1941 Congress declared war on Japan. In addition, Congress supplied troops for allied invasions of Germany with Britain and the Soviet Union. 7 May 1945, Germany surrendered. The surrender led the leaders of the allied forces to Yalta Conference of 1945. Here FDR pushed for the organization of free markets and free democratic governments in the regions of Asia and Europe affected by WWII. The Yalta Conference can be viewed as the U.S governments follow up to the Atlantic Charter. However, the U.S could not persuade the Soviet Union to settle on the first objective of the Atlantic Charter. The U.S gave the Soviet Union territory in parts of Germany. FDR’s actions bring into question his commitment to the objectives of the Atlantic Charter which were the general objectives upon entering the war.

The war on Japan would soon come to an end as well. 1945 August 6, the U.S dropped an atomic bomb on Japan. This forced Japan to surrender on September 2, 1945.

At the end of WWII the U.S began the battle against communism. The allied powers emerged from the war seeking to establish and regain political power. The United States sought to impede the advancement of communism. Thus, the Cold War began in 1945. April 4, 1949 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded. NATO was established as a military alliance opposing communism and the Soviet Union.

 

On the home front American culture and government challenged communism as well. Due to a fear stricken nation the Red Scare began in 1947. After WWII some Americans feared that communism would expand to the U.S and corrupt democratic ideas. As a result, the U.S government began investigating and jailing communist or potential communist. However, such fear was not well founded considering that the evidence used against many of the convicted communist was rather weak. 

 

Aside from the negative influences of WWII, the war challenged democracy. Recognizing this president Truman began to challenge the lack of civil right on the home front. In the election of 1948 Truman established a political platform that supported the advancement of civil rights and protection in the U.S. Truman said, “"I believe in brotherhood….of all men before the law….if any (one) class or race can be permanently set apart from, or pushed down below the rest in politics and civil rights, so may any other class or race……and we say farewell to the principles on which we count our safety. The majority of our Negro people find but cold comfort in our shanties and tenements. Surely, as free men, they are entitled to something better than this" (McCullough 291).

 

 

 

 

 

Leadership

 

     During the first half of the 1940s, the president at the time was Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  He had been president of the United States during the years 1932-1945 due to his death.  He was the only president to have more than two terms.  In fact, he was on his 4th term when he died.  He had created a good relationship with Stalin, who was the leader of the Soviet Union at the time.  This was good for the United States, because the Soviet Union was a great world power at the time.  Throughout his four terms, he helped get the United States out of the Great Depression with many of his acts which decreased unemployment in the US and increased the economy.  He had created a deal with Stalin which was that Stalin would be the person to attack Japan, and not the United States.  This deal had been broken by Truman when he bombed it with atomic bombs.

     After Roosevelt had died, Harry S. Truman was the vice president at the time and he had taken over Roosevelt's presidency.  Truman was not aware of many of the things Roosevelt was doing during his presidency.  This had caused several problems with the Soviet Union and the United States.  Truman had broken the deal that Joseph Stalin and Franklin Delano Roosevelt had been having together.  The deal the two of them had kept from Truman was that since Japan had allied with Germany, the Soviet Union would be the country to attack Japan instead of the United States.  The United States had done it instead under Truman's presidency.  This had upset Stalin greatly, because it had ruined the plans that he had in the future for his country.  This event had caused the relations between the United States and the Soviet Union to go to a downfall, which had lead to the start of the Cold War.

 

Law &  Justice

 

     

     There were several different varieties of cases that had taken place during the Nineteen Forties.  An example of types of cases that had been taking place during this time were the Jehovah's Witnesses trials.  The people of the Jehovah's Witness religion had constantly been going from door to door telling several people that Jesus was going to return for a second coming soon.  They had been sued several times for disrupting people constantly.  The Supreme Court had claimed that the people of the Jehovah's Witness religion who had constantly been going door to door were not guilty.  This was because the Civil Rights movement at the time had been increasing, and the Supreme Court had declared the people of the religion were not guilty due to the First Amendment, which gives people the freedom of religion.  However, the Supreme Court had then allowed the states to take care of these cases by passing laws of allowing time, place, and manner for people to be able to express their religion.  This shows how the Supreme Court at the time had been improving compared to years before.  The Supreme Court was taking into consideration the fact that people were expressing their religion, which was legal and still is.

 

     Throughout the 1940s, there was also a trial against Nazi Saboteurs in the United States of America.  On the 13th and 17th of June 1942, German groups had landed in the areas Florida and Long Island.  The mission for these groups were to destroy the aluminum plants in the area.  The people who were a part of the group had previously lived in the United States, and they knew many of the traditions of the United States.  They also spoke fluent English.  The group in New York had been caught and arrested, and had revealed the location of the other saboteurs that were in Florida.  They had also been arrested, and the bombs that they had planted on the United States had been disarmed, and they were all executed after going into trial.  This shows how the court during the 1940s had taken Nazi's very seriously.  They had executed the saboteurs that had tried to bomb aluminum plants in America.  The court had treated them very harshly, and it created a statement for Germany not to try to do something like this in the United States.

 

 

Religion

In the 1940s American religions as a whole were revived. The  uncertain time of the Great Depression and the WWII seemed to have added depth to Americans’ faith. Throughout the United States thousands of congregations were created. “In general, fifty five percent of American citizens were affiliated with a religious organization. 1949-50”(Baughman) . “This was an increase from just forty three percent before WWII” (Baughman). The primary religion of the U.S in the 1940s was Protestant. During  the 1940s Protestant –Methodist  with eight million in the congregations, established seventy seven institutions of higher education.

 The rise in Jewish religion was due to WWII. Many Jews fled Europe in search for harsh persecution and mass murder. After WWII Jewish- American immigrants were able to embrace their religion on a larger scale. While post war America did present prejudice to Jewish immigrants,  the settling social climate and sentiments for social justice by Eisenhower administration diminished the effect.

For the most part Protestantism was a faith concentrated in rural areas while Judaism and Catholicism were the primary urban religions. During WWII people had migrated to cities to find jobs and relief after the great depression. Thus, due to the war the post war society was able to achieve a greater diversity and acceptance of other religions. For example, African Americans began to learn the some of the teachings of Catholicism and Protestant traditions influenced Catholics.  Overall, the post war society was a positive for religion.

 

POLITICAL CARTOONS 

 

This is the negative political cartoon because it show's the United States at world war II and how we just waited for the war to finish off itself rather than help out until the very end.

This is the postive political cartoon it is showing how we wanted the countrys pride and support and help because the government cannot win the war by itself.

 

 

 

 

 

MYP Unit Question: How did culture, events and leadership shape and reflect post-WWII America?

 

 

     

     The United States in the 1940s was a country in War. Our whole focus was on the war and how we could win. The War was a good and bad craze for America. It fueled money into the economy in many ways. Many jobs were created at war time, increasing the middle class, and lowering the poverty rate. The Lend Lease Program would give out weapons and give the United States money in return.

 

     Our country prospered from the war in other ways too, our infrastructure grew better, manufacturing became very popular and chain assembly lines made many new inventions possible. These companies helped women gain rights and African Americans as well.  Women were gaining rights in sports too as men were gone in the war, someone needed to replace them. Fashion was simple and plain during the first half of the decade. Food and Drink was changed too, people were saving foods and rations for the soldiers. It was a decade of self sacrifice yet the Americans were living the life in the 1940s.

 

     Leadership affected Post-WWII America greatly.  The leadership of the United States at the time of the 1950s was Truman, and he had begun the distrust between the Soviet Union and the United States.  This had been the beginning of leadership causing distrust between many countries.  Also, there was a common distrust between countries later on due to the fact that the United States had been creating nuclear weapons.  Aside from nuclear warfare causing distrust, the United States created distrust because Stalin had believe we had lied to the Soviet Union.  Roosevelt created a deal with Stalin that Truman was unaware of, and Truman had broken the deal.  The United States top military force and constant creation of nuclear weapons as well as artillery, and many other weapons and ammunition had caused a threat to several different countries as well as the Soviet Union.  Post-WWII America was mainly consisted of distrust between the Soviet Union and the United States during the 1950s.  And after the 1950s, many countries had feared the United States due to these reasons.  Distrust played a very big role in leadership Post-WWII.

 

   

 Works Cited 

"Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union.." The American Presidency Project. 2009. University of

     California. Web. 17 Jun. 2009 .

 

Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Eds. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: U*X*L, 2002. Print.

 

Cooke, Jacob E. "Washington, George." Presidents: A Reference History. Ed. Henry F. Graff. 3^rd ed. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. 1- 21. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Farmington Hills: Gale. Web. 30 Apr. 2008.

 

Dirks, Tim. "Film History of the 1940s." Greatest Films - The Best Movies in Cinematic History. Web. 5 June 2010. <http://www.filmsite.org/40sintro.html>.

 

"Education in the 1940s: Overview." DISCovering U.S. History. Gale Research, 1997. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/

 

"Europe Divided on Familiar Lines To Two Speeches." Prescott Evening Courier 54(1948): 6. Print.

 

Musser, Rick. "History of Journalism." EHub. Jan. 2004. Web. 10 June 2010. <http://ehub.journalism.ku.edu/history/1940/1940.html>.

 

"Postwar Boom." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2000. 810-812. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 9 June 2010.