Why Was Ww2 A Turning Point

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WWI and Blacks Mini-Essay Word Count:900 World War I proved to be a turning point for blacks in the United States from an economic standpoint, they were allowed new job opportunities; however WWI was not a turning point from a political and social standpoint because the war did not lead to an increase in their civil rights and still suffered from violence and discrimination. Economically, WWI proved to be a turning point in the war for black Americans because increasing need for textiles and war-related supplies, created more jobs. The Great Migration is an example of this because about 500,000 black Southerners moved northward for better opportunity. They were disenfranchised by Jim Crow laws, white supremacists, and had few jobs available,…show more content…
While blacks were able to work in industry and be productive members of society, they were heavily discriminated against in the work place and society. While the Great Migration proved successful in allowing Southern blacks to get jobs, it also allowed for the growth of racial prejudice and violence towards blacks. The influx of uneducated, impoverished blacks turned areas into ghettos, making Northern blacks resent the newcomers and whites began to feel uncomfortable with their living proximity to blacks. In the work place, blacks often found that there was no fair hiring. For example, a black and a white both went into an interview, the white tended to get the job, although the black had a higher education. There was also discrimination among workers. Whites felt uncomfortable and threatened working with blacks and it ended up in violence towards blacks with beatings and such. This shows the war is not a turning point as the economic gain that blacks made was negated by the violence and discrimination blacks faced in the work place. Furthermore, when blacks went into the war, they experienced severe mistreatment and racial discrimination, were given substandard tools, clothing and social services. Blacks within the army were still relegated to the worst of everything proving that the war was not a social turning point. They had no respect from their fellow white army members or civilians, despite being key to the war effort. Similarly, after the black soldiers returned from the war, blacks experienced a rise in lynching and race riots, as seen in Houston in 1917: 16 whites and 4 blacks died later 13 more blacks were hung with no trial. The returning soldiers needed work and whites felt even more threatened by blacks, therefore the violence increased to intimidate blacks away from jobs. Although they were decorated war heroes, unfair and violent treatment, including lynching, continued and escalated further
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