the United States in 1945 Flashcards
what were the legacies of the second world war?
America had faced a “good war” as they had not faced the same economic turmoil as Europe and no foreign soldier would set foot on the US. They had a low number of deaths with 400,000 people dying and only 6 civilians died. in 1945, the US only had 7% of the worlds population and yet they had 42% of the worlds wealth and 50% of its manufacturing output and 62% of the found oil. The days of the Great Depression were over. Though the the idea that America would of had ‘good war’ would have been a myth as the sense of nostalgia would hide the harm that the war did. Racism affected the US forces and America would be dragged into the war due to pearl harbour.
Why was Truman in a difficult position?
FDR died in 1945 and he would leave behind a very strong legacy, his approval ratings would never dip below 48% and he did not have a strong amount of political experience. He had only been Vice President for 3 months and prior had only spent a small amount of time in the senate. Truman did not have the same level of political capital as some people had increased the executive power for FDR. the constitution does not make a strong reference to foreign affairs and Truman would do a lot better there. There would also be difficulty as Truman would have to decide whether he wanted to use the atomic bomb, which he did in 1945. FDR would not listen to congress or the Supreme Court much in his presidency and he would be the only one to know about national security and defence.
Truman would later admit “the weight of the government had fallen on my shoulders”, though he would also say that his decision to drop the atomic bomb was once that he never gave a second thought to. Though people have criticise this action, in 1946 it would be confirmed that the Japanese surrendering from the second world war would be imininet.
The political parties
FDR would create more of a social liberalism Democratic Party and this would change from the Democratic Party that supported segregationist parties.
The Republican Party would become more conservative and since 1964 many people in the south have voted for the party.
why did America benefit from post-war prosperity?
The economy flourished due to the help that other countries needed regarding the war, they would have programmes such as the lend lease programmes and repayments of loans. The Average American would benefit and the CIO and AFL would also fight for their rights and higher wages.
What regional devisions did America face?
The North/East was seen as the prosperous area of America and would be home to many major cities and would house 18/32 presidents. they would also be the home of many key industries for example the automobile industry in Detroit would provide the raw materials on Pennsylavania.
The midwest was not home to much of the national politics and was sparsely populated, though they would receive their income via agriculture. there would be political tension over the prices of agriculture.
the South was much more traditional and was still very harsh in enforcing segregation and many of these states would also experience a population explosion, their political influence was limited. the region would be affected due to dustbowls which would affect the farming. the TVA in the New Deal would also help this region. within this state it would become the norm that African American people were treated the way that they were. within the south there would be common poverty among white and black people which would create tension.
the West Coast was associated with the American Dream and would be home to major cities and they would resent their perceived lack of political influence.
what Ethnic divisions did America Face?
in 1945 there would be 130 million white people.
there would be a greater influx of Americans for example the Irish-Americans
the immigration and nationality act of 1952 made immigration easier for Americans, in 1980 there would be 3.5 million asians.
The Japanese-americans would face prejudice and many believed that this went against the melting pot idea in America.
the African- American groups were the second largest ethnic group and they represented 10% of the population. they would face mass discrimination for example the Jim Crow laws and this would lead to the great migration where people moved to the North.
the Hispanics were the second largest group of people with 2 million people living in America.
the most neglected people were the indigenous people of America and they would amount to only 350,000 people.
There would also be religious prejudice against Jews in WW2 and JFK’s father claimed that he was never accepted by Boston high society due to his Irish/catholicism background.
What were the social divisions faced by Americans?
the ‘blue collar” workers had their rights protected by trade unions, though this was not replicated in the minority groups of America as hispanics and African Americans were far more likely to live in poverty and work in worse conditions. Poor white people living in rural areas could also face the same kind of hardship. there would be 36% of women that worked in the workforce due to the war and there would be 12 million men that would do off to fight and when they returned home it would pose a problem, a pole in 1945 would highlight that 63% of people would disapprove of women working if their husbands could- it would be no longer seen as necessary for women to work. Black men would see that the GI bill did not aid them and Jim Crow laws were still in place, the GI bill would be discramatory against black men, for example in 1947 black men would be attacked for netering chicago housing development. there would be a growing fear of communism and the membership of trade unions would fear many.
membership of unions had grown under FDR and in 1946 4.6 million people went on strike and 116 million days were lost.
Did America have a good or bad war?
GOOD WAR:
in 1945 the GDP was $220 billion and the wages and salaries were at $120 million.
high level of patriotism that was evident in ww2
less than 10 civilians would die and 290,500 people would die which is much lower than other countries.
in 1945, the federal budget would be 100 billion compared to 9 billion prior.
BAD WAR:
the national debt levels were very high with $250 billion of debt.
there would be 9-10 million people that would need to find jobs.
16 million military force would die.
pearl harbour would highlight just how vulnerable the US was.
what was the FEPC?
1941- this was bring African Americans into the war effort in order to help. There was also the fact of limiting racial discrimination that takes place. Phillip Randolph would threaten to bring 100,000 people to the capitol in order to protest.
The FEPC would not continue in 1946 and the FEPC was designed to simply get more people involved in the war.
what was the GI bill?
1947- this was designed to help veterans for example it would create hospitals and low-interest mortgages were established.
lasted until 1956.
1944-1959 nearly 9 million veterans reviewed close to $4 billion.
this would be extended until 1956.
what was Trumans 21 point programme?
1945-
this was a time of recession and was the shift from a war-time economy to a peace-time one. some of the key goals were, expansion of social security and full employment.
his goals would be very unrealistic
1946 inflation would be at 18%
the progressive policies are not realistic.
why was the economy improving?
US had 42% of the worlds income American exceptionalism had grown and there would be a national sense of pride.
New Yorkers could afford a lot more cars and the sales rose from 2.1 million in 1946- 7.9 million in 1925.
there were $185 billion of war bonds injected into the economy.
employment had grown to 61 million.
How were Native Americans seen in society?
they were seen as being left.
they were an ethnic minority and key example of someone breaking away form this is Dr Susan la Feche.
what was the Indian Reorganisation Act 1934?
GOV set aside land as “Indian reservations and native people would organise themselves there.
what was the Plessy V Ferguson case?
13,14 and 15 amendments sought to end slavery and this would leave some grey area as people inferred this differently.
Plessy would refuse to move on a bus and under Louisiana law he was black even though he only considered himself 1/8 black.
Supreme Court ruled that this was constitutional.
Another Judge, Harlan ruled that the constitution is colour blind and that the law was designed to separate the races.
1954 brown v board would help to overturn this.
