Double Victory Takaki Analysis

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The Societal Transformation Effect of WWII WWII helped create what culture and society in America looks like today. In Ronald Takaki’s Double Victory, Takaki examines a narrative from the viewpoint of different individuals and societies and their experiences surrounding WWII. In 1940, the U.S. passed an act that revised the existing nationality laws more comprehensively. This revision stated that a person born in the U.S., as well as being born abroad to a parent of a U.S. citizen, was eligible for nationality. The Nationality Act of 1940 also outlined the process for which immigrants could become a citizen through naturalization. However, it did outline specifications concerning race (Pineiro-Hall). After the start of WWII, many societies …show more content…

Roosevelt signed into law the Selective Service Act. This act included the prohibition of an integrated of black and white regimes. President Roosevelt’s refusal to allow a mixed army prompted anger and disbelief in the African-American community. George Schuyler opposed the Jim Crow army and stated “Our war is not with Hitler in Europe, but against Hitler in America. Our war is not to defend democracy, but to get a democracy we’ve never had.” A young soldier wrote a letter to the NAACP “If I fight, suffer, or die it will be for the freedom of every black man to live equally with other races. If the life of the Negro in the United States is right as it is lived today, then I would rather be dead” (Takaki 23). Camp conditions for black soldiers were degrading, they could not go to church services, and other training programs were segregated. Despite these conditions, African Americans contributed significantly to the war effort with support work and had some of the toughest battalions, including the well-respected 99th Pursuit Squadron and 332nd Fighter Group. In 1941, President Roosevelt signed the Executive Order 8802 which prohibited the discrimination of workers in the defense or Government because of race, creed, color, or national origin. This, however, did not do much to combat America’s race problem and caused animosity between whites and blacks. Many race riots and “hate strikes” happened as a result. Although some black soldiers were …show more content…

They felt that this country was taken away from them by the white man and should not be required to help in the case of attack, but when war was declared against the Axis powers, The Navajo Nation declared: “We resolve that the Navajo Indians stand ready… to aid and defend our government and its institutions against all subversive and armed conflict and pledge our loyalty to the system and a way of life that has placed us among the greatest people of our race” (Takaki 60). Altogether forty-five thousand Indians served in the U.S. armed forces. Despite this, Indian workers received lower pay that that of whites, In the cities, Indians also experienced discrimination. Ignatia Broker of the Ojibway wrote “Although employment was good because of the labor demand of the huge defense plants, Indian people faced discrimination in restaurants, night clubs, retail and department stores… and worst of all, in housing” (Takaki