African Americans After Ww2

World War II caused many changes for the United States across seas and most importantly on the home-front. The United States previously endured a major change with the Great Depression and had yet to adapt to another change with the start of World War II in 1939. With the Great Depression taking millions of jobs from the people of the United States, World War II brought them out of the depression and gave back millions of those jobs and more. The main reason for the jobs to return was to help with the war efforts of World War II. As the United States did not enter the war until 1941, Germany previously invaded Poland in 1939 and formed the axis powers with Japan and Italy. The United States tried to remain neutral during the war until Japan

Before the war, African Americans had little rights and were still under the Jim Crow laws. They wanted to be treated and ‘seen’ as Americans just as everyone else was. African Americans earned social citizenship by fighting for jobs in the economy and military. This is referenced in “A Call to March on Washington”, and stated “ We call upon you to struggle for the integration of Negroes in the armed forces..” (A Call to March on Washington, 213). African Americans wanted to do what they could for the good of the country because they truly cared for and believed in the United States. They felt as if they could fight for their country, they should be considered a citizen of the country. African Americans also fought for jobs in the United States to not only earn a living but also to help with the war efforts in defense industries. In “A Call to March on Washington”, it also states “We call upon you to demonstrate for the abolition of Jim-Crowism in all Government departments and defense employment” (A Call to March on Washington, 213). African Americans wanted to help but racial discrimination kept them away from jobs. The real March on Washington was proposed by A. Philip Randolph in 1941, in which he wanted FDR to force the economy to hire African Americans. FDR went on to issue Order 8802 which prohibited discrimination against African Americans in defense industries

Apart of the process to fill these jobs, the Government was able to bring in 10,000 Mexican workers with the Bracero program (Rizzi, “WWII and the Origins of the Cold War”). The main purpose of these workers was to help with the agricultural market and keep it going during the war. Although the program kept going after the war, it involved very bad working conditions and wages. Many would think that the workers would strike while under these conditions but the Smith-Connolly Act of 1943 prohibited such. This act forbids strikes during wartime efforts and political contributions. Political citizenship was experienced very differently during the war mainly because of certain conditions the government needed to follow to keep the United States under control and progressing. An order the government had to established was Order 9066, which forced Japanese from their homes and held them in camps. Japanese Internment could be interpreted for occurring because of the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. President Roosevelt forced the order, as it is recalled by Mikiso Hane, “President Roosevelt signed Executive Order No. 9066 on February 19, 1942, authorizing the evacuation and internment of all West Coast Japanese including Japanese-American citizens” (Japanese American Mikiso Hane Remembers His Wartime Internment, 1990, 227). Many Americans believed