Amy T Peterson, Valerie Hewitt, Heather Vaughan, et al
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largest projects was the Tennessee Valley Authority, which provided a
variety of projects on the Tennessee River, including flood control and the
harnessing of electrical power.
Although many of his programs had detractors, FDR was successful in
getting the economy moving upward. He easily won reelection in 1936
and he continued his programs, most of which were aimed at breaking up
large corporate agencies and shifting the tax burden from the middle class
to the wealthier segments of the population. He also worked to develop
international trade and relationships with countries throughout the world,
not just in Latin America. His administration worked to obtain free trade
agreements with other countries, although FDR’s foreign plans never were
as successful as his domestic policies. Many foreign countries, Germany
and Italian chief among them, thought that their future lay in a strong
military and not in trade.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In 1932, a World Disarmament Conference was held in Geneva, Switzer-
land. The goal of the conference was to establish rules that would prevent
the military buildup of any country, thus preventing additional wars.
Because the United States, Britain, and France had improved their milita-
ries, Germany was able to denounce the conference and withdrew from it.
Germany had already begun to rearm and rebuild its military with the
express goal of regaining control of Europe.
Japan, a country that had not had a major role in the Great War,
nevertheless had ideas of becoming a power in Asia. During the 1920s,
the leaders of Japan believed that it could continue to grow and become a
world power only by taking control of Asia. In 1927, Japan began prepar-
ing to take control of Manchuria, an area in northern China that had a
large Japanese population. In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria and gained
complete control of the province by 1932. China appealed to the League
of Nations, but that organization was unable to force the Japanese to
withdraw from Manchuria. The League issued a warning that Japan had
The 1930s
43
to withdraw from Manchuria, but Japan instead withdrew from the
League of Nations. The League was powerless to do anything to help
China.
The United States was disturbed by the Japanese tactics, but the
Hoover administration refused to allow sanctions against the Japanese.
Although Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson wanted a tougher response
to Japan, President Hoover refused. A note was sent to Japan indicating
that the United States would intervene if American interests were vio-
lated. This doctrine, ironically, came to be called the Stimson Act. The
Japanese interpreted Hoover’s response to mean that the United States
would not prevent Japan from attaining additional power in Asia.
To a great degree, the Japanese were correct. Americans still remem-
bered the Great War, and they did not want to become involved in
another foreign entanglement. They believed the country was safe because
it was bordered by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Americans wanted to
remain neutral and let others fight their own battles. The attitude was
definitely isolationist. As Germany, Italy, and Japan increased their
aggressive behaviors during the 1930s, FDR became increasingly con-
cerned that the United States would have to enter another war.
Germany and Italy invaded other countries, and there was no real
effort to stop their aggression. Most countries would issue statements
condemning the German invasion of Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938
but believed Hitler each time he said that he would invade no other coun-
tries. Although his behaviors contradicted his comments to world leaders,
no one made any actual attempts to stop Germany until its invasion of
Poland in 1939. Much of Europe began to arm with the intent of stop-
ping Germany, but they had begun their preparations too late. By the end
of 1939, much of Europe was, or soon would be, under German control.
Recognizing that the majority of the people would not approve of any
signs of war preparations, FDR did what he could to prepare the military
and to help the country’s allies to prepare for war. FDR would frequently
meet with the new British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and the
two leaders would discuss how the United States could best aid Britain
and the rest of Europe. Both men believed that war was inevitable, but
they did not know how to overcome the intense American desire for iso-
lationism and neutrality.
ETHNICITY
The Great Depression was difficult for all Americans, but minorities were
hit especially hard. Whereas the general unemployment rate in 1933 was
44
POLITICAL AND CULTURAL EVENTS
25 percent, for minorities it was 50 percent (Simpson and Yinger 1985,
195). Minorities were the first groups who lost their jobs, and, for those
who were able to keep them, their pay was decreased. Racial discrimina-
tion was widespread during the Depression, and minority workers were
denied jobs in public works programs and overlooked by many charities.
Animosity toward minorities rose as the economy declined, and violence
including lynching increased.
In the south, many African Americans were sharecroppers. They
farmed rented land and lived in small shacks without electricity or running
water. As the Depression continued, hundreds of thousands of African
Americans left the south with the hope of more opportunities in the
north. Scarcity of jobs left many of these migrants waiting in bread lines.
FDR tried easing the nation’s suffering with the New Deal programs,
but African Americans were generally excluded from the benefits of these
programs. FDR’s second New Deal offered many more opportunities for
them. The administration remedied some of the discrimination in the
federal programs. They even appointed blacks to several federal positions.
Mexican Americans were poorly treated during the Depression. Like
African Americans, they were the target of racism because whites thought
their jobs were unfairly going to minorities. Most Mexican Americans lived
in the southwest as migrant farm workers. During Hoover’s administration,
were rounded up by county and local police and deported. The police would
often make mass arrests and go door-to-door demanding proof of residency.
During the 1930s, the FDR administration attempted to redress the
wrongs inflicted on Native Americans in previous generations. In 1934,
the Indian Reorganization Act was signed into law. The act made tribes
eligible for federal funds to receive social services, purchase land, and start
businesses. In the following year, Congress encouraged the production of
Native-American crafts by creating the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. It
even allowed Native Americans to trademark their designs.
T H E
1940S
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS
WWII transformed the life of Americans during the 1940s. Throughout
the 1930s, the United States had successfully st
ayed isolated from the
German aggression in Europe. On the morning of December 7, 1941, the
Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Shocked by this direct attack, Americans
were drawn into the war and became suspicious of Japanese Americans.
The 1940s
45
In the coming weeks and months, Japanese Americans were forced to
address difficult questions of identity, family, and patriotism.
Thousands of Japanese Americans on the west coast were sent to
internment camps in the spring of 1942, presumably to prevent spying
and sabotage. Their homes were seized, possessions confiscated, and free-
dom lost as Japanese Americans were forcibly evicted and incarcerated in
American-style concentration camps. Some were able to relocate outside
the restricted west coast zone, some enlisted in the military to prove their
loyalty to the United States, and others resettled in the midwest and on
the east coast (Cayton and Williams 2001).
After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States
entered the war, the U.S. government established the War Production
Board, which began rationing certain items that it deemed important to
the war effort. In 1942, the War Production Board began rationing sugar,
gasoline, and coffee, followed by meat, fat, cheese, canned goods, leather,
and shoes in 1943. Also, it began severely restricting the amount of fabric
used in garments. The board and the rationing it imposed were dissolved
after Japan’s defeat in 1945.
The spirit of isolationism as an American foreign policy ended when
representatives of fifty nations met in San Francisco in April 1945 to
design the framework of the United Nations. Containment of the Soviet
Union became American policy after the war. This containment called for
extensive economic aid to assist the recovery of western Europe. The
Marshall Plan, known officially after its enactment as the European Re-
covery Program, was the primary plan of the United States for rebuilding
the allied countries of Europe and repelling communism after WWII.
The reconstruction plan was developed at a meeting of the participating
European states in July 1947.
After the war, anticommunist Republicans began to surface. Senator
Joseph McCarthy and Congressman Richard Nixon attacked President
Truman’s administration for being too soft on communism. They con-
demned Republicans who embraced FDR’s New Deal programs, which
they described as ‘ creeping socialism.’’ The air of suspicion would con-
tinue through the Cold War in the decades to come.
ECONOMIC TRENDS
WWII pulled the United States out of the Great Depression, during
which millions of Americans were unemployed. The war called most men
into service, and the labor surplus was replaced with a severe labor short-
age on both farms and in factories. Although industry attempted
46
POLITICAL AND CULTURAL EVENTS
to alleviate its labor shortages by employing women and African Ameri-
cans, agriculture still felt the effects of the shortage. In some areas,
schools were closed to allow children time to help with the harvest.
Generally, women were proud to do their part to support the war
effort and were encouraged to join the workforce by Rosie the Riveter
posters. Traditional barriers clearly defining ‘ men’s work’’ and ‘ women’s
work’’ quickly dissolved as women became crucial to America’s production
efforts. Although wage disparity continued, women enjoyed the greater
opportunities that war work provided (Baker 1992).
The upturn in the economy exploded during the postwar period.
As price controls and restrictions were lifted, prices began to climb. The
rising prices forced many women to continue work to help buy things
their families needed, but working women faced criticism. Most Ameri-
cans were afraid women were taking jobs away from returning veterans.
Women were expected to go back home and tend to their families so that
the men could return to their rightful place as head of the household. It
was a difficult transition for both men and women. Some women who
had grown accustomed to their new-found independence did not appreci-
ate being forced back into a solely domestic role.
Employers were gearing up with new technology and an expanding
economy, and many returning veterans did not have the experience to
compete for the emerging jobs. The greatest injustice was to soldiers who
had been injured. Many employers did not want to be slowed down by an
employee who they believed would not be productive enough as a result
of a war injury.
Personal savings increased dramatically during the war because of higher
employment rates and a scarcity of products. As the workforce returned
from serving the military, companies were able to increase their production
levels. Released from the burdens of manufacturing for the war effort,
American industry focused on producing more consumer goods than ever.
Technological innovations led to new products, and exposure to mass media,
specifically television in the home, shaped the public’s desire for modern
conveniences. New installment-plan financing made consumer items more
easily available because families could now enjoy a new product before com-
pleting the payments.
The Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944, also known as the G.I.
Bill of Rights, provided a variety of benefits for veterans of the war. The
act included financial assistance to help defer the cost of education, which
allowed more men to attend college and training schools. The guaranteed
home loans for veterans offered by the act were of great value for getting
back on track after military service.
The 1940s
47
Advertising
during
WWII.
During
WWII, the Office of War Information
created the most extensive advertising
campaign in history. The foci of the
campaign were internal security, ration-
ing, war bond sales, precautions against
venereal disease, and calls out to women
to join the wartime workforce. The
Office of War Information established
the War Advertising Council in 1942 to
carry out the advertising campaign, and
they worked with private advertising
agencies that donated nearly all of the
copy and artwork.
One of the council’s most famous
campaigns, Rosie the Riveter, came out of
the J. Walter Thompson Agency. Initially,
the campaign starred Rose Will Monroe,
Norman Rockwell cover illustration for The
a riveter at the Willow Run Aircraft Fac-
Saturday Evening Post showing ‘‘Rosie the
tory in Michigan. She appeared in a pro-
Riveter’ taking a lunch break. [Library of
motional film about the war effort. Soon
Congress]
thereafter, she inspired a song, and J.
Howard Miller created the iconic image
of a female riveter with her bared bicep
Advertising for consumer goodsr />
under the slogan, ‘ We can do it!’’
also focused on the war effort. Compa-
Although she was not labeled as ‘‘Rosie’’
nies emphasized their contribution to
at the time, the fictional character later
the war effort and positioned their
became synonymous with the image. In
products in ways that contributed to it.
1943, Norman Rockwell’s depiction of
For example, Brer Rabbit molasses pro-
‘‘Rosie’’ appeared on the cover of The Sat-
vided recipes that conserved sugar, and
urday Evening Post. Rosie the Riveter
Stetson hats reminded consumers to
became a cultural icon and increased the
carefully guard information and ‘‘Keep
number of women working in factories.
it under your Stetson.’’ Advertisers
She also broadened the acceptability of
touted themes such as patriotism, con-
manual jobs for women.
servation, and teamwork.
48
POLITICAL AND CULTURAL EVENTS
Residential construction had virtually ceased during the Depression
and war years of the 1930s and early 1940s. After the war, new housing
became a critical need, because the marriage rate began to rise along with
the birth rate of babies, resulting in the ‘ baby boom.’’ These parents
wanted a yard and plenty of room for their growing families. In response
to these wants, a few developers pioneered the concept of suburban subdi-
visions. Accessible by cars provided by the growing automobile industry,
suburban living became part of the ‘American dream.’’
The American dream was a description of the popular ideal of Ameri-
can living. In addition to a suburban house, a shiny car, and a happy
nuclear family, the ideal espoused a host of modern conveniences. Every-
thing from dishwashers to barbeque grills were marketed to increasingly
materialistic Americans. Production of consumer products including inno-
vations from the war efforts now began to show up in stores and adver-
tised on the new medium of television.
During the late 1940s, the U.S. economic environment had shifted
from the deprivation of WWII to the prosperity and consumerism of the
1950s. Many families found it possible to buy a home in the suburbs, a
car, a refrigerator, a washing machine, and to have children and to give