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The Social Impact of World War II on Minority Groups in America

This chapter explores the social impact of the war on African Americans, Mexican Americans, Native Americans, and Japanese Americans, including economic discrimination, segregation, internment camps, and the changing role of women in the workforce.

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The Social Impact of World War II on Minority Groups in America

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  1. Chapter 25 Section 5: The Social Impact of the War

  2. African Americans • Economic discrimination • Employers requested “whites only” during the Depression • June 25, 1941 FDR signed Executive Order 8802, opening jobs & job training programs in defense plants to ALL Americans

  3. Also created the Fair Employment Practices Committee to hear complaints about job discrimination in defense industries & the government • Committee had no real power • March to protest was called off

  4. African Americans shared in wartime prosperity • 1940’s more than 2 million moved to the north to find new job opportunities, but encountered new problems • Segregation • Fear & resentment from whites • Escalated into violence

  5. Divided Opinions • 1942 poll: 6 of 10 whites thought African Americans were satisfied with existing conditions & needed no new opportunities • Launched a “Double V” campaign • Victory against the Axis • Victory in winning equality

  6. Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Chicago 1942 • Believed in using nonviolent techniques to end racism • Sit ins

  7. Mexican Americans • The Bracero Program • 1942 agreement between Mexico & the US that provided transportation, food, shelter, & medical care for thousands of braceros • 1942-47 more than 200,000 worked on farms

  8. Zoot Suit Riots • Mexican Americans began to wear “zoot suits” (long draped jackets & baggy pants with tight cuffs) • Often wore slicked back “ducktail” haircut • Offended many people

  9. Groups of sailors roamed the streets in search of zoot suiters & would beat & humiliate them for looking un-American • June 1943- street fighting grew into full scale riots • Newspapers usually blamed the Mexicans • Army & Navy eventually intervened by restricting GI’s off duty access to LA

  10. Native Americans • 25,000 joined the armed forces • Many migrated to urban centers to work in defense plants • 23,000 worked in war industries

  11. Japanese Americans • Experienced strong racial prejudice after Pearl Harbor • Hostility grew into hatred & hysteria

  12. Japanese Internment • Government decided to remove all “aliens” from the west coast • Executive Order 9066 • Authorized the Secretary of War to establish military zones on the west coast & remove “any or all persons” from such zones

  13. Government set up the War Relocation Authority to move out everyone of Japanese ancestry • They would be interned in camps in remote areas far from the coast • Many lost their businesses, farms, homes, & other assets

  14. All camps were located in desolate areas • Families lived in wooden barracks covered with cots, blankets, & a light bulb • Shared toilets, bathing & dining facilities • Barbed wire surrounded the camps & armed guards patrolled the grounds

  15. Legal Challenges • 4 cases eventually reached the Supreme Court, which ruled that war time relocation was constitutional • Korematsu v. US (1944)- ruled that the relocation policy was not based on race

  16. 1945- government allowed Japanese Americans to leave the camps • 1988- Congress passed a law awarding each surviving Japanese American internee a tax free payment of $120,000

  17. Japanese Americans in the Military • Refused to accept them until 1943 • More than 17,000 fought • More were Nisei

  18. Working Women • New Kinds of Job • Before the war, most who worked were young & single • Mainly as secretaries, sales clerks, servants, etc.

  19. Except teaching & nursing few entered professional careers • Almost everywhere women earned less than men • Number of working women rose by 1/3 • Rosie the Riveter

  20. Benefits & Problems of Employment • Gave them self confidence & economic independence • Generally African American women worked in cooking, cleaning, child care, & other domestic jobs

  21. When they applied for defense jobs, they were often prejudiced against • Some fought back through lawsuits • 1940-44 percent of African American women in industrial jobs increased from 6.8% to 18%

  22. Problems • Hostile reactions from other workers • Earned less pay • Child care issues • Had to rely on family & friends • Also has household chores

  23. After the War • Assumed that when the war was over, women would leave their jobs & return home • Many wanted to continue working

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