The impact of WWI and WWII on the role of women and minorities
by Rit NosotroComparative Essay
Compare the long term impact of WWI and WWII on the role of women and minorities
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Summary:
In the time period of the First and Second World Wars, society was undergoing great amounts of change. Both the First and Second World Wars set into motion a great change in the way women and some minority groups interacted with the rest of the world. While a great deal of the men in the United States and other countries fought battles in other countries, women took on many of the roles that had traditionally belonged to men. Many people belonging to minority groups also took on jobs that traditionally they had not. Women took on jobs in the in the war effort, including those such as military nurses, working near battles around the world to save wounded men, as factory workers, building the machines necessary to fight wars, and as journalists, reporting the happenings of the battle front to news agencies in their home countries. Many of those in minority groups also took on jobs in the war effort; many were recruited into the military. These jobs were among the many that women took on during the war. Both World War I and World War II certainly sped up the change of the role of women in society.
In the time before the era of World War I and World War II, the role of women in society had already progressed far. Women did not play as large a part in society as they do now, but were slowly gaining more rights, beginning many years ago with the right to vote, and slowly progressing from that great step. In the 1920's, women began to grow more independent; some of this grew from the first World War, in which many women were employed in the war effort. While World War I really began the transformation of how women act in society, World War II showed that even more changes were to come.
One of the most common jobs for a woman to take on during the World War I or II was that of a nurse. Many women joined the military forces as nurses, to go near the battle front and work to heal wounded soldiers. At first men doubted that the women would work well in a battle situation, but those doubts quickly disappeared after the nurses proved themselves. Another important job taken on by the women of the United States (and other countries fighting in the war) was that of the factory worker. With nearly all of the men gone from the country fighting in the war, there were very few men to work in the factories which created the things needed to fight a war. Without men to work the factories, the factory owners had no choice but to employ women. The women proved to work well in the factories, doing their best to help in the war effort. Women were not the only ones who worked in the factories; many minority groups also took on work in factories. Unfortunately, accidents frequently occurred in the factories, and those working in factories were sometimes seriously injured.
Once the idea caught on, the government put a great deal of effort into recruiting women for the various jobs they could perform in the war effort. Campaigns such as those featuring "Rose the Riveter" appeared on posters in many places, telling the women that they too could take part in the war effort. Women were not the government's only target for recruitment. The government also decided to begin recruiting more minorities for many of the same reasons it began recruiting women. In World War II, they recruited nearly one million African Americans alone.
Many of the minorities recruited into the military were segregated into a separate group. These minorities went on to show they could perform as well as their Caucasian counterparts. Though at first the government thought they could not do as well, those who thought that soon stood corrected. The minority soldiers did their best, showing that their race had no effect on the way they performed their duties.
The roles women and minorities played in each of the World Wars had an effect on the future each of those groups. Because of the part women played in both of the World Wars, their roles in society are much different than they were before World War I and II. It is now commonplace for women to hold jobs, their role in society has expanded greatly since the era prior to World War I. The role that minorities played in World War II may also have had an effect on the situation those belonging to a minority group found themselves in during the time that followed World War II. Because the minorities were segregated in World War II, it only seemed natural to segregate the minorities (especially African Americans) in the years after the war. Though segregation had existed before the war, it only became worse in the years after it. The first and second World Wars did much to awaken the women and minority groups. It showed the women that their place in society could expand much farther than their status before the war. It also brought about poorer conditions for the minorities, with increased segregation; however, without the conditions for minorities getting worse, it may have taken much longer for them to see the condition they were in and begin vying for more rights.
Quick Quiz: Sources:
Various authors. Rosie the Riveter and other Women World War II Heroes. The University of Arizona. 3 Dec 2004
<http://www.u.arizona.edu/~kari/rosie.htm>.
"Women in the War". valourandhorror.com. 3 Dec 2004
<http://www.valourandhorror.com/DB/ISSUE/Women/index.htm>.
Captain Wilson, Barbara A. WWI "Thirty Thousand Women Were There" 13 Oct 2004
<http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvets4.html>.
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