Download 1941-1950

The United States of America
1941-1950
Meghan Vaill and Maria Zumpano
Thesis Statement
Although significant change brought about
noteworthy progress both socially and economically
during the period of 1941 to 1950, the majority of
advancement was of a political nature, as a number of
the most powerful political figures reigned, the
Second World War completed, and the foreign policy
shifted from isolationism to containment, terminating
with the United States emerging as a world
superpower of the Cold War.
Political Change
1941-1950
Altering of Neutrality
Leaning away from the Neutrality policy that Roosevelt held in the
United States for some decades, he began to help the Allies of the
Second World War with provisions such as the Lend-Lease Act, the
Bases for Destroyers deal with Great Britain, and the Atlantic Charter
in August of 1941, where FDR met with Churchill to converse about
the termination of the United States’ isolation and future war
strategies.
Shift in Foreign Policy:
Containment and the Truman Doctrine
In fear of communist
expansion by the USSR,
Truman issued the Truman
Doctrine in which he asked
Congress to provide $400
million for the economic
and military aid to Greece
and Turkey in the hopes of
containing communism; this
soon became known as the
United States foreign policy
of Containment.
"I believe that it must
be the policy of the
United States to
support free peoples
who are resisting
subjugation by armed
minorities or by
outside pressures.”
-Harry Truman
Dixiecrat party
The States’ Rights Democratic Party, known as the
Dixiecrat Party opposed racial integration and valued Jim
Crow Laws; it was a short lived political party that broke
away from the Democratic Party in 1948 led by Strom
Thurmond.
NATO
The epochal pact signed
on April 4, 1949, the
original 12 countries
promised to aid one
another with “armed
forced”, marked an
astonishing endeavor
from American political
convention, an increase
in the likelihood for
European unification,
and a significant step in
the militarization of the
Cold War.
“…to keep the
Russian’s out,
the Germans
down, and the
American’s
in.”
-The American Pageant
Social Change
1941-1950
Propaganda
A large portion of art during World War II was used as propaganda to
encourage Americans to enlist in the armed services to fight against
Axis Powers, and to work in factories and war industries; it had a
immense power of persuasion affecting not only men, but women as
well.
Japanese Americans
The hysteria after the attack on Pearl Harbor led Americans to
force over 110,000 Japanese-Americans to live in
concentration camps due to the fear Americans had they
would act as saboteurs for Japan; the ruling of the court case
Korematsu v. United States ruled this constitutional.
The Baby Boom
After the uncertainties
of World War II of the
many deaths and
hardships, many
service men traveled
back home to settle
down and start a
family, creating an
enormous generation of
children during the
time period roughly
between 1946-1964.
Truman’s Proposal
for Civil Rights Legislation
Under President Truman,
various advancements for
African Americans were
made, including the
appointment of a
presidential committee on
Civil Rights in 1946, Jackie
Robinson playing for the
Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947,
desegregation of the armed
forces in 1948, and the
segregation of seating in
railroad dining cars ruled a
violation of the Interstate
Commerce Act in 1950.
McCarthyism
The Second Red Scare
Beginning in 1950, McCarthyism was characterized by a fear of
communism hidden within America and the threatening to
overthrow capitalism; in panic, many false accusations were
made, similar to the Salem Witch Trials.
Economic Change
1941-1950
The Home Front
During the war, the home front greatly supported the war effort
through women and minorities working in factories and help
from people at home by recycling goods and rationing
techniques.
The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan
project was ongoing
from 1942-1946 and
was the secret name
for the US, Canada,
and UK’s
development of an
atomic bomb, which
would later be
dropped on Japan to
end World War II.
G.I. Bill
Technically known as the
Servicemen’s Readjustment
Act of 1944, the GI Bill
provided generous sums of
money for veterans to
attend college after World
War II, partly out of fear
that the employment
markets would not be able
to handle the 15 million
Americans returning from
the service.
Employment Act of 1946
The Employment Act of
1965 was a drastic act
whose main goal was to
lay the responsibility of
economic stability on the
Federal government by
creating goals for hiring
women and other
minorities without racial
or religious
discrimination.
“…to promote
maximum
employment,
production,
and
purchasing
power.”
–The American Pageant
Marshall Plan
The Marshall plan was passed in 1948 in order to help rebuild
the economies of various Western European countries and to
limit the spread of communist influence throughout the world.
Conclusion
Substantial change was brought through noteworthy
progress of social and economic ways during the
period of 1941 to 1950, but the major advancement
was of a political nature; the Second World War began
and ended as the Cold War started its course, leading
the United States shifting their foreign policy from
isolationism to containment while emerging as a
world superpower.
Works Cited
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http://www.myhistorymuseum.org/turningpoints/mccarthy/McCarthycartoon.jpg
http://www.salem-news.com/stimg/june062008/gibill.jpg
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://kids.usembassy.or.kr/ENG/images/05_history_11_35_03.jpg
http://reportingcivilrights.loa.org/timeline/?decade=1940
http://latinolikeme.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/t1_jackierobinson.jpg
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http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Dixiecrat.htm
http://countrystudies.us/united-states/history-110.htm
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The American Pageant