3.3 Social and Cultural Changes Flashcards
WPA
Works Progress Administration
-support for the arts
-by 1937, thousands of artists had created more than 15,000 individual pieces of art, such as murals, paintings and posters
-it employed 6,000 people
-notable writers such as Saul Bellow who won a Nobel Prize for Literature
-began the Federal Writers’ project
-this aimed to offer employment to out-of-work teachers, librarians and writers who could have better employment , i.e American State Guides and America Eats
-support offered to unemployed musicians, Federal Music Project
-gave under-represented groups such as black Americans, women and Hispanics a chance to play music and be paid for it
-also encourage a revival of traditional music and folk songs with the creation of a national archive
-The FMP offered low-cost or free concerts to the poor and underprivileged and courses in musicianship
-this provide the US with a pool of musical talent that would have otherwise gone untaped
The role of women in WW2
-helped transform the role and status of women
-social changes in the 20s opened up new opportunities in employment, but these are seemed as insignificant compared to the millions of jobs created by WW2
-Even before, USA entered the war, they were producing a lot of war material for Britain under the Lend-Lease Act 1941.
-They mobilised 11.9 million men, therefore women stepped into the vacuum
Black Americans and the FEPC
Fair Employment Practices Commission
FDR signed an executive order creating the FEPC. It outlawed racial discrimination based on colour or national origin
-gave black Americans opportunities for employment and helped encourage further migration from the South to Northern cities associated with war production such as Detroit.
HOWEVER
living conditions were overcrowded and many black Americans were forced to live in segregated housing areas.
Some employers were forced to take on black Americans but gave them low wages and menial jobs
white workers saw their average wages rise 60% during the war whereas black workers only saw a 40% rise
Wartime domestic propaganda
-USA helped gain popular support through this
-the war involved maximum effort, not just who were fighting but also those who were at home
-propaganda was seen as important as bullets, ships and aeroplanes
-1942, they created the Office of War Information. This was to communicate the Gov’s views on the war
-Posters appeared in public places such as railroad stations, billboards on highways and schools
-They created Rosie the Riveter to encourage women to participate in war industries. Including the slogan, ‘Woman power’, they had posters warning them against spies, spreading gossip or telling people about their own war work
-National War Bond campaigns were across the country. They were bought by ordinary Americans and was a major source of funding for the war. In 1945, the marine soldiers who raised the US flag, featured in a nationwide gov advertising campaign
HOWEVER
propaganda could also be seen as negative and was used to demonise the enemy.
Germans and Japanese were depicted as bestial, almost sub-humans who were determined to destroy the US way of life
Hollywood in WW2
-launched an investigation into whether Hollywood was playing its part in the campaign to support Britain in the war
-The committee hoped that pro-British messages in films would help the cause of supplying Britain with Lend-Lease war materials
-Gary Cooper won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Sergeant York, a fictional US soldier who captured 20 German prisoners of war in WW1.
-In 1942, the Best Film Oscar went to ‘Mrs Miniver’ a film about how a fictional British family was standing up to the Germans on the Home Front
-John Ford was employed by the US Navy to make films about the naval war in the Pacific, he also made a Hollywood film about that war starring John Wayne
-Several Hollywood stars such as Clark Gable and James Stewart volunteered and joined the air force
-12% of Hollywood actors and 25% of Hollywood employees fought in the war
-Bing Crosby and Bob Hope sold war bonds
Walt Disney
-many of Disney’s most popular cartoon characters appeared in magazines such as the ‘Coronet’ dressed as marines and Red Cross volunteers
-Disney worked with the Treasury Department
-produced two income tax films and produced numerous cartoon posters selling war bonds
-one of the most successful campaigns was to encourage Americans to grow their own food in ‘victory gardens’
OVERALL
Hollywood proved to be an effective weapon in raising morale, explaining US war aims and supporting gov programmes
The Growing power of radio in WW2
-FDR showed the power of radio in “Fireside Chats’ during the New Deal era
-most people had access to a radio so it was the most effective way to communicate gov messages
-1941, series of talks, ‘Speaking of Liberty’
-The US Treasury sponsored a number of shows where war bonds were sold in commercial breaks
Popular Music in WW2
-Swing, a type of band music, was the most popular style of the war years
-Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw joined the forces who were band leaders
-Bands went on tour in US camps and abroad during the war to entrain the troops and lift morale.
-Musical entertainment received effective moral support, support that also included regular mail and decent food
