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How Did Ww2 Change American Society

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World War II brought about a radical changes in the American society. One of the most obvious changes was how society viewed gender and the roles of men and women. World War II changed ideas about “masculinity” and “femininity” for Americans by creating more equal opportunity for men and women to participate in the war either directly or indirectly because America needed the efforts of every citizen irrespective of gender or race to win the war; by supporting men in the war to achieve victory, women proved they were complementary to men. World War II provided men and women with a variety of opportunities to defend the nation. If not directly, by supporting the soldiers on the front line with supplies and medical aid. The effect of the war …show more content…

Women came out from every corner to support men fighting on the front line. Contributing to this, there had been a revolutionary mobilization in the workforce. Even disabled men did not hesitate to work for the great cause of the country. Hercules Powder Company encouraged men who were not able or allowed to deploy to aid in the war effort by working in munitions manufacturing. The women workforce relieved men for combat duties by taking over a variety of jobs in the maintenance of the planes. The nation stressed that no exceptions or special excuses should keep some people away from serving the nation for the cause of the war. Soldiers were suffering on the frontlines for everyone, and so the effort on the home front should be unified without any exceptions. The society looked down upon those men who did not participate in this great effort. There were social stigmas about these men who stayed at home while their wives joined the workforce. The World War thus changed the idea of masculinity in American lives. To achieve victory in this war, America needed massive man power which was not possible for men to provide alone. So, the different organizations working behind the war either directly or indirectly needed women in the workforce. In May 1942, the US Army formed the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (W.A.A.C) to train and prepare women to …show more content…

This changed the prejudice of the society as seeing women from weak to strong and hard working. Since the attack on Pearl Harbor, America, with the help of the women workforce, produced 5000 Boeing bombers. This indicates American women were giving their best to support men in the war to avenge the attack by the Axis. They kept on producing Boeing bombers, tanks, weapons and munitions to keep the US soldiers well supplied in order to defeat the Axis powers. Women enjoyed more independence, both in their home and their workplaces than ever before in America. They started getting out of their home and some made their way to the battlefields. If not in the field they worked behind the scenes to support the military irrespective of their race or class. Life of American women during the war was totally different from the stereotypical view of women’s life in the family. The media started writing and broadcasting the bravery of American warriors in the war and urged people from all walks of life irrespective of class, race or gender to join the war effort. The mentality of American women to work for the nation, even if that was beyond their capability, redefined the role of women in a new and revolutionary viewpoint. World War II was the first time when the Army included women in the war and they started working in occupations

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As World War 2 progresses, we will see millions of males being drafted after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This created a lack of manpower in the workforce which women beginning to take the jobs that men usually before the war. As women move into the workforce during World War 2 they will experience inequality and discrimination. Despite the inequality and discrimination that women had to endure to while working during World War 2 was a good experience for women across America. Women entered the workforce open up many opportunities, “It had been long assumed women couldn't do those jobs -- engineering, other professions in the sciences, manufacturing jobs that had been considered men's work, things women were believed to be too weak to do” (kcts9.org).

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But they worked increasingly in war industries such as military equipment, manufacturing munitions. Women also joined to the agriculture. They worked as framers to keep products. The Women’s Land Army was set to

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World War 2 had changed life on the homefront and completely switched gender roles. As men went off to war the women had to replace their jobs and work in factories manufacturing firearms, bullets, vehicles, etc. The boys who were not old enough to go to war collected scrap material to make items for the soldiers. People even had to put a certain type of shades on their windows to stop light from being seen on the outside in fear of giving the enemy bombers a target. World War 2 even started many social justice movements to stop racism even though it was still present during the war.

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When the men went off to fight in World War II, women took over their jobs to aid the war effort by joining organisations which allowed the men to be recruited into the war as soldiers. For the

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Women during the war became nurses, cost guards, sold war bonds, telephone operators, anything that needed to be done. When the men left for war the women stepped into to every role. Women's hard work showed that they were not as fragile as men believed and they were capable of everything a man could do. A large part of America's success in the war is attributed to the work of women. The work of women also helped convince President Wilson to support women's rights.

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The statement that “the Home Front during World War II provided many social groups in American society an opportunity for advancement that they would not have otherwise had” is somewhat valid since not all social groups received such opportunities. Women are a specific example of a group that benefitted economically and socially from the war. Advertisements and propaganda encouraged women who had never entered the workforce before to “find their war job” (Doc. 2). New jobs had opened

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This impact was negative because it’s proving thats once war ended, they let women workers go. Which meant that later on, woman could not get a job. And that is unfair if they just served in the army. According to the World War II impact slides, it was talking about how woman often faced sexual harassment on the jobs and how they were paid way less than men. For example, men would get paid $22 a day and women would just get paid $7 a day, and that was a big difference even if they did the same job.

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However, with the outbreak of war and men being drafted into the military, women were called upon to fill the void in the workforce. Women took up jobs that were traditionally seen as "male" jobs, such as factory work and construction. This newfound sense of independence and self-sufficiency fundamentally changed the social landscape in America. Women felt empowered and capable of contributing to society in a meaningful way. As a result, after the war, women continued to work and contribute to the workforce, paving the way for advances in women's rights and the feminist movement.

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The Effect of Women on the Outcome of World War Two World War II effected women tremendously by taking them out of their comfort zones and chucking them into the work force and pushing them to do most of the work men normally would have been doing. The war also effected women by providing opportunities for them to serve in non-traditional roles; in fact, some of them enlisted into the military to serve the United States. The way the war effected women is that they had to take care of family in addition to performing work normally done by men. It was difficult to find people to watch after kids which made life during this time very difficult. After the end of World War II society in general was effected considering the baby boom.

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The industries changed to the mass production of war materials, and without the people working in the war industries, we would have never survived and won the war. However, one of the biggest attitude changes were the ones women created about women working in the factories alongside men. Just like WWI, when the men went off to work, women would work with materials to help provide for the family. Women did the same in WWII, but they kept working. Everyone’s attitude changed toward women in the workplace.

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America was put into a desperate position to allow all of America to contribute to a total war effort. America’s hand was forced to allow women and African Americans to support America domestically and later on in military and overseas. Women and African Americans stepped outside of their stereotypes, discombobulating the world, and they set into movement activism for equality, in their era and in the future. Not only was society altered, but so was the declining economy. Our withering economy inverse into a powerhouse economy due to the total war effort, broad-base labor force, allies, anticipation of another Great Depression, etc.

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So, as seen in source 4, women were needed to work and contribute to the war effort. They were needed as teachers and taxi and bus drivers and a lot more types of jobs. Every job that men had left, the women needed to fill. This resulted in a change in the role of women. They were now able to do more, which impacted women’s rights and roles for the years during and after the war.

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American Women during World War 2 had many responsibilities at war, work, and home. But they did not have many equal rights compared to the rest of the society. The women’s rights and responsibilities topic is very interesting. One is understanding and knowing the history about the responsibilities women had to do and how hard working they were. This topic is very important because there was a big change in women’s rights and responsibilities during World War 2.

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The 1940s “The 1940s was perhaps the greatest decade in American history.” , (“Life in the 40’s”, n.d.). The 1940s was a decade of big changes.

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In the book written by (Gavin, 1997) it was cited that “As women took over from their absent men in hundreds of new and challenging occupations, many of which had previously been considered inappropriate”. From the beginning of the World War 1, the German women were participating a great deal. They contributed to half a million-people working on the munitions manufacturing alone (Gavin, 1997). It also mentioned in the book that over in the U.S, the men in charge refused to let the women participate up until April 1917 (Gavin, 1997). The U.S government never formally authorize the enrolment of women, despite Army officials repeatedly asking for such personnel’s.

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