Clifton+Frazier

World War II: Before, During, and After
Clifton Frazier

June 4, 2013

Annual Project:

World War II

World War II generated many different innovations like Silly Puddy, and nuclear

technology. As a result of World War II, global awareness for human genocide was also

heightened. America and its people were never the same after World War II, but before the war,

America wasn’t in the best position either. America was in a bad situation before the war and

upon America’s official entry into the war, was saved from it. There’s three main points to back

this claim up, one main point for each period in the war. America was in constant change before,

during, and after World War II in the following ways: 1) before the war, America is in the Great

Depression and suffered from its effects. 2) Unification of American citizens to help their nation

during the global crisis. 3) How Americans were changed as a whole, once the war was finally

over.

In “Changing the Face of the Workforce” Colleen Brondou says that the role of wives in

a family was permanently altered once America was officially plunged into the war. American

family would never have the same views now that women were finally allowed to work. Women

were always expected to be housewives and to about 1939, they were. Women took up jobs that

the men left behind for war, the female gender was basically picking up where the men had left

off. In “Women Working During World War II” Rosie the Riveter states that women entering

the workforce was extremely important around the start of World War II. Since this was during

the Great Depression, women were against working at first as it was seen as women taking jobs

from unemployed men. The government launched a successful propaganda that lured American

women into the workforce, this increased production and saved America from the Great

Depression. America was in constant change before, during and after World War II. Before the

war even started, America was already changing with their official entry into the war. Women

took up abandoned jobs left by men going to fight in the war and pulled America from the Great

Depression.

America was in constant change before, during and after the war, but America was

affected the most during World War II. In “Did World War II Advance Minorities, Women, and

the Poor?” it states that World War II was a catastrophic event for the citizens of America, as

well as the armed forces. Millions of men were drafted from their nation and sent to war in

foreign land and hundreds of thousands did not return home. Back in America, the once

discriminated groups like African-Americans, women, and the poor all disdained separation and

prejudice as Caucasians did. America gained a new found sense of unification. In “The U.S.

Home Front During World War II” It states that “After December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on

the American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the U.S. was thrust into direct conflict with

Japan and everyday life across the country was dramatically altered. Food, gas, and clothing

were rationed. Communities conducted scrap metal drives to help build the armaments necessary

to win the war”. Something else that’s usually overlooked but affected thousands was how

Japanese-Americans were stripped of their rights and sent to live in enclosed areas with other

Japanese-Americans. Americans never remained the same, no matter what period in time they

were in during World War II. Events during the war were the most influential and created the

most change.

America was never the same before, during, or after the war, but the ending of the war

brought along more permanent changes. In “The Atomic Bomb & the End of World War II”

William Burr states that when the Atomic Bombs were dropped over Nagaski and Hiroshima,

that was the start of the Nuclear Age. Military power would never be the same after this

technological advancement. This achievement brought the end to one of the bloodiest wars in

history. In “Baby Boomers” asserts that “Almost nine months after World War II had come to an

end “The cry of the baby was heard across the land,” as historian Landon Jones later described

the trend. More babies were born in 1946 than ever before: 3.4mil, 20% more than in 1945. This

was the beginning of the so-called ‘Baby Boom’. America was never the same before, during,

and after the war, but after the war it was change for the better.

America remained under a constant evolution before, during, and after World War II.

Firstly, America’s horrendous situation before their entry into the war which led up to the

unification of its people in the workforce. Then how America was changed after the war was

finally over. This subject is important to people because it is important to know about their

nation’s history and how they overcame tough situations and rose to what they became now.

Little Boy
This was the codename for the Atomic Bomb which detonated over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. This bomb contained Uranium or element 235. This nuke was a gun type explosive which was detonated about 1,800 feet above Hiroshima. It weighed about 9000 pounds and produced an explosive force equal to 20,000 tons of TNT. It was the first nuclear weapon ever used in warfare.

Fat Man
This was the codename for the Atomic Bomb which detonated over Nagaski on August 9, 1945. It was the second nuke to be used in warfare and the third in the world to be detonated at that time. Unlike Little Boy, Fat Man contained Plutonium which produced a stronger explosion. It was about 10,000 pounds and around 11 feet long, it also had the blast force equal to 75 million sticks of TNT. An estimated 40,000 people were killed by the blast itself and around 25,000 were injured.

Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan) and is what caused America's direct entry into World War II. This was a surprise military attack which damaged all eight U.S. Navy Battle-Ships, and four of which were sunken. 2,402 Americans were killed and 1,282 were wounded. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, one mine layer  and 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed.

The Great Depression
The Great Depression is when the American stock market crashed and unemployment reached its peak. It was the deepest and most unforgiving of the 20th century. Though World War II helped put America back on its feet, The Great Depression never really came to an end until the end of World War II.

In conclusion, World War II brought upon many changes to America and not all of them were exactly beneficial. Though ultimately, World War II helped America out of a bad situation and saved it from collapsing on itself.