Since the end of the First World War, the American had no intention of getting involved in any war, and they were ready to sigh and isolation policy in 1940s. Though the will to sigh the policy was there, the Americans felt hurt when Japanese attacked their allies in Europe on the 7th December years 1941 (U-s-history.com. 2014).
This resulted in the turnup of the events, and the country decided to support its friends in the war. It is then, that the Americans did away with signing of the isolator policy, and got into the war with Japan, and other European countries which were supporting it. The paper will, therefore, scrutinize the changes in American lives in support the Second World War.
When the then president Franklin D Roosevelt declared war on Japan, the Americans lives changed drastically to support the war. Firstly, the labor force of the industry changed as majority of the working age were obliged to join military training. The country, therefore required its citizens to work for more than average hours to close the gaps of those who had left for the army. The role of a woman in the society changed drastically as they were required to start working in industries to replace the men who had gone to the war. In addition, the women began training themselves hand labor to be able to work at the production level. Most teenagers were forced by circumstances to drop from schools and join the workforce. This came at a cost of breaking the laws guiding children, but it was necessary for the country. Therefore, the State sacrificed its legislation to foster in the world war. The statistics show that the school dropout increased from 1million to around 3 million (Manythings.org, 2014).
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The roles of children, therefore, changed as they sacrificed to work for the nation in support of the war.
Most Americans had to put up with changes in lives. Separations from the lovely family members, and the loved friends who had joined the war given their fate were not known, meant a life of anxiety and bravery at the same time. The outcome of the war was not predictable and so, whenever a beloved one or a family member joined the army, the lives left behind were worried. The war resulted to over 3millions war widows left behind by the military husbands, taking care of the siblings (U-s-history.com, 2014).
Besides, the government cut the social findings, and the whole burden was laid to those who were left to take care of the families. Consequently, poverty levels rose, and many Americans were starving.
The nation required a lot of input in the war and, therefore, individuals could donate whatever they had to support the war. The government started selling war bonds to fund the warfare. Besides, the taxes skyrocketed; food staffs and all other commodities prices went high. The whole effort of raising the price of everything was to come up with the money to support the war. Americans were forced to start glory gardens to produce their foodstuffs as buying food was becoming very expensive.
More so, the big industries changed their production into production of war equipment. There was a need for raw materials for production and, therefore, Americans were forced to recycle most of the items, especially anything that could make a weapon. This was to support the government with the necessary resources to supply the mushrooming war-equipment production industries. This culminated in a change of clothing style as most of the materials were used in weaponry production. The president ordered the production of 20,000 anti-aircraft guns, 45,000 tanks, and 60,000 warplanes. This was required within one year and would cost the state $250 billion (Nationalww2museum.org, 2014).
Therefore, rationalizing on commodities, and rising the prices of other essential commodities was to contribute to the required funds. Besides the sacrifices by Americans, racism within the nation shot into higher levels. At one point, the Army General, John Dewitt, said that Japanese is Japanese needless where they are. The statements provoked the Americans from other origins, raising their anger over the Japanese-Americans and were being discriminated against. The situation was dangerous as because in some part of the country, and the Japanese Americans had to be relocated by the Federal Government, while others left homeless. The banks also discriminated against them and could not lend them money. These Americans and the African-Americans were the first ones to be fired and the last to be hired. This was especially, experienced in the Western coastal regions of the States. The rule of the day was that the rich get richer as they were earning above $7 per hour while the poor were making an average of 65 cents per hour (Backus et al., 2002).
The Term Paper on How Far Did World War One Change the Lives of British Women?
Before World War One, women faced many problems, and were subject to generally extremely sexist attitudes (in hindsight) by men. No gender equality existed, and men and women had very clear and different roles in society. Firstly, they were expected to do certain things. At school, girls were taught with a big emphasis on home economics, for example, washing, ironing, cleaning and cooking. When ...
Therefore, the result was a significant gap between the rich and the poor in the USA. In conclusion, the Americans lives changed significantly in support of the Second World War. As discussed, the role of women and children in the society changed, there was rationales imposed on all necessary commodities, life of separation, poverty levels increased, the government expenditure turned in the favor of the war, among other things which took place resulting in total change in the Americans lives. Moreover, there was an internal problem of racism as discussed, and this resulted in changed lives.
References
Backus, M., Mark Twain Media., & Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company. (2002).
World War II & the post-war years. S.l.: Mark Twain Media, Inc.
Coleman, M., Ganong, L. H., & Warzinik, K. (2007).
Family life in 20th-century America. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.
Manythings.org,. (2014).
American History: On the Home Front During World War Two (VOA Special English 2006-12-06).
Retrieved 8 December 2014, from http://www.manythings.org/voa/history/194.html
Nationalww2museum.org,. (2014).
The National WWII Museum | New Orleans: Learn: For Students: WWII History: America Goes to War. Retrieved 8 December 2014, from http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2-history/america-goes-to-war.html
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Wars have been fought throughout the history of America. Some have had great influences on the way America is today. Some wars have had advantages and some disadvantages, but none the less every war America has fought has influenced the way Americans live today. The Revolutionary War gave American colonists the opportunity to create its own country. With opportunities like this, people have the ...
U-s-history.com,. (2014).
The American Family in World War II. Retrieved 8 December 2014, from http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1692.html
