Although America was still a place dominated by race hatred and oppression in the time leading up to and following the war, it is undeniable that the Second World War was a turning point in America’s attitude to race and in turn Black Americans attitude towards themselves. Although Black American’s position in society remained firmly inferior to the whites at this time, the war did have direct impacts which brought about economic, social and political improvements, which were key in bringing about change in the black situation. I shall discuss the changes which gave Black Americans cause for optimism following World War 2, and the reality of the grim situation which remained. The experience of war itself radicalised black soldiers. For northern blacks were exposed to the formal segregation of the south when training in rural military camps.
I agree that African Americans were treated as second class citizens in the USA in 1950 due mainly to the way they were treated and public attitude towards them. However, by this time attitudes were in fact changing due to President Truman’s stance on black rights and the 1948 election as well as post second world war. After the Second World War, the American public were informed of how Jewish and other victims of Hitler and the Nazis were treated. This made Americans questions whether the segregation of the African American community was morally right and many were scared that it could lead to treating them similarly to the victims of the Second World War. Attitudes were beginning to shift.
In that respect they were better off after the war than before it and they have more rights. However in the north there was evidence of private discrimination and prejudice. This is the down side of a black person going to the north. The reason of a black person going to the north is to escape the racism, but they could be going straight to it and they would not know until they have experienced it. All over the south racism was still going on.
Why was progress towards racial equality so slow in the period 1945-1955? In this essay I will discuss why progress towards racial equality in the period 1945-1955 was so slow and the various reasons behind this. I will evaluate whether racial equality was a slow process or whether it was in fact aided and sped up considerably based on political, social and economic factors. Many factors affected the progress of racial equality from 1945 to 1955; one major reason was the nature and the severity of discrimination in the majority of the southern states. The level of racism in the southern parts of America was the most extreme and prejudice and greatly impacted upon the speed of racial equality in America.
The 15th amendment (1870) gave black men equal voting rights with white men. However they were threatened or physically stopped from voting. It was no good having rights which were not enforced. Yet inequality increased at the end of the 19th century and continued in the early 20th century through Southern states passing the ‘Jim Crow’ laws which increased segregation. WW1 did little in stopping the rising tide of segregation.
How far do you agree that the Second World War was the main reason the position of African Americans improved in the years 1945-1955? The Second World War was an absolutely huge factor in improving the position of African Americans between 1945-55 as it led to Federal Support. However it wasn’t as important as the use of Direct Action which for the first time, was able to convert De Jure change into De Facto change, which other methods such as federal support, Supreme Court rulings, and the work of other civil rights organisations were unable to do. The impact of the Second World War was influential in improving the lives of African Americans because it led to federal support. Following the Second World War which African Americans had played such a large part in, and ended up still coming home to beatings and brutal racism, President Truman felt obliged to commit to Civil Rights for African Americans.
This was at first an unpopular idea because at the time many people considered African Americans inferior, however due to the great need for troops they allowed the Africans to work on the Red Ball Express. The Red Ball Express was in many ways considered a life line because of its use in the time. Despite the usefulness of the highway, it was destroyed in a planed aliied bombing so that it could later not be used by the Axis powers. (On the Road to Victory:” The Red Ball Express”) There were also many harder to recognize points that greatly contributed to an Allied force that was victorious. These include Germany errors, a strong American force, and a transformation of the Soviet power.
Though the fifteenth amendment gave black males the right to vote a poll tax was introduced to eliminate the black vote. It was effective because the large majority of blacks were poor and needed the money for priorities other than voting. Policies like these drove blacks deeper into poverty and only made the color line more definite. Racism also played a large role in immigration. Immigrants from all over the world were flooding the shores of the U.S. looking for the promise of the American Dream.
Why was progress towards racial equality so slow in the period of 1945 – 1955 ? Following the Second World War , the African American movement towards racial equality radicalised as more African Americans , especially ex-soldiers realized that they deserved racial equality just as they had in Europe whilst fighting . This led to a giant leap in the fight for racial equality however , many argue that the speed at which it happened was equivalent to a snail’s pace as this was a new experience for most fighting for civil rights and so their actions were sometimes proven ineffective . This coupled with the lack of political support , the opposition by the public and South and the poor media attention led to the slow progress of racial equality between this time . Before this period of time , there had not been much opposition to racial inequality in the USA .
ADJUSTMENT AND STEREOTYPES AGAINST JEWISH IMMIGRANTS 1 Insight on Hardships of Jewish Immigrants Matt Fischetti Union County College Professor Cohen; Minorities in America, Sociology 206 ADJUSTMENT AND STEREOTYPES AGAINST JEWISH IMMIGRANTS 2 In the late 1930’s and early 1940’s the world was falling into despair and chaos. Some European Countries, especially Germany were staging a genocide of an entire ethnicity. At the helm of all these horrific actions was a man named Adolph Hitler. He still could not get over the mortifying truth behind the World War I. He tried so desparately to create a total blonde-haired, blue eyed poplation and anyone who wasn’t of that demographic was to be executed.