California History Essay

The major turning point in California history, similar to the gold rush, was World War II. California became a sanctuary for wartime industries and also became a culturally diverse state as well. “California became a haven for those seeking better, more prosperous lives—just as California had been nearly a century earlier, throughout the Gold Rush” (Shmoop,2016). World War II brought jobs, industries, and many diverse families to California, but also brought fear, terror, and loss of loved ones who fought in the war. This fear of the Axis Powers bombing California, led Californians to hide their industries (this led to California being called Camouflage California) even though the community had the highest production rate in the U.S.A other

Civilians were free from The Depression because “Unemployment virtually disappeared and every one was called upon to do their share for the war effort. During the course of the war, California would by far acquire more military installations than any other state” (California Military History, 2016). This made The Depression and unemployment practically disappear, which was remarkable. This additionally caused more people of different culture and diverse ethnicities to migrate to California for wartime jobs. The working conditions in wartime California were tough. Many workers were very poor and the conditions citizens worked in were similarly

Also many women learned how to weld and learned many life skills. These women also made up Sixty-Five percent of all working women. Many of these women had children which made childcare a main priority. Over “101,000 women were working in the aircraft industries alone by 1943 and the existing child care facilities only served a fraction of the women’s children at that time” (Cherny, p.301). Childcare was one big issue because there were not enough facilities for the children to be placed in while their mothers worked for the war effort. This led to more juveniles being detained than