Whenever the United States embarks on a war, either voluntarily or involuntarily, there is some guarantee that the war will have an impact on American society. The United States has traditionally been very pragmatic in responding to the demands of wars, as well as other significant incidents present to American society. There is often a transition that comes in the U.S. from war. For instance, following the Civil War, People witnessed drastic improvements in government decisions on administration, which was an attempt to prevent another civil war. Nevertheless, of all the wars that the United States has been a participant, the Second World War led to the most significant impact on American society (Greco, 2019). While there have been several shifts in American society as a result of the war, there have been three key fields that have undergone a major drastic change: gender dynamics, cultural relations, and the United States foreign policies.
Background.
The United States' participation in the Second World War began December 8, 1941, just after the Japanese targeted U.S. military and naval stations at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Since Japan was deemed an Axis force, the U.S. decided to wage war on Japan, a decision that was later made by Germany and Italy too. America's focus was to remain in a state of isolationism and neutrality, but the developments occurring across Europe escalated the tension between America, Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union. President Roosevelt had a keen interest in U.S. participation in the war. In 1939, he provided restricted authorization and support care to the National Guard and the American army. The Japanese led an invasion at Manchuria, and as retaliation, there was the elimination of trade between the United States and Japan as authorized by Roosevelt (Tucker et al. 2018). These actions led to further tension between the two countries. Both countries were experiencing an increased demand for raw materials in their industries. As a result, Japan led an invasion of Dutch and British territories, forcing America to go to war.
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The Impacts on American Society.
The impacts of World War 2 on American society entail a revolution in gender norms, especially in the workforce. The war brought about rapid industrialization and a prosperous market with a glimpse into America's own preconceptions, and a loss of daily existence. Due to an increase in demand for war equipment, there was a stop in the production of goods for local consumption in American factories as they were producing commodities required to combat the war (Tucker et al. 2018). The rapid industrialization in terms of exports led to the stabilization of the economy during the Great Depression. The recovery saw a reduction in inequality, fulfilling the objectives of the New Deal policies. As many men went to help in the war overseas, the workforce had to accommodate women, which led to a change in trend in the American workforce. Since then, women are taking up positions in the industrial workplace, which was once a reservation for men. Women are now working as riveters, welders, and even large machine mechanics. By the year 1945, the occupation of women in the workforce was at 36%, which has been increasing over the years. Currently, women even own their own businesses, such as Patricia Miller, who owns Matrix 4, a plastics manufacturing company (Vague et al. 2019).
During the war, American people and troops experienced new concepts, languages, and cultures. Americans were compelled to re-evaluate their own perceptions back at home. Although Hitler and Nazism advocated the destruction of non-Aryan German, African Americans, and other American societies, Americans were fighting to win recognition for the United States regardless of race or culture. Although only white American males participated in previous wars, many other cultural societies saw World War 2 as a quest to prove their importance. Cultural communities, for example, African Americans, Native Americans, and Chinese Americans, all came together as a collaborative force fighting for America (Greco 2019). The experience of such diversity and seeing what it could do for the American people led to the American society embracing diverse cultures. Besides, with the demand for labor force rapidly increasing, many states in America shifted to accommodate all cultures, by changing laws to accommodate the needs. There has been the existence of a diverse workforce since then. Currently, we see CEOs from all cultures, which was close to impossible before the war. A good example is CEOs for fortune 500 companies such as John W. Thompson, a CEO at Microsoft Corporation (Refauter 2018).
The international policy of the United States is very prominent globally. Actual effects on American foreign policy arose during the Second World War. American foreign policy was initially isolationist until the outbreak of the Second World War. America believed that there was no relationship between the concerns of other countries with America, as the state had no direct threats from these concerns. Isolationism had to stop as international problems were affecting the American people, and they had to be resolved. Using its prominence and strength, America utilized its power to become internationalists. Furthermore, the war led to the acceptance of diverse ideologies that substituted missionary policies (Greco 2019). America was allied with countries that were loyal to it after the war. The Second World War made the U.S. one of the greatest nations globally. To date, their international policies have affected other countries one way or another. The U.S. continuous participation in the United Nations shows how much it continues to value foreign policies.
World War II is among the most intense wars ever to happen globally. Its effects were immense as many people died. The destruction of infrastructure was tremendous, with a great deal of money wastage. There are several explanations why the U.S. decided to join the war, and the effects on its population, culture, background, and growth that came about as a result (Tucker et al. 2018). Despite the struggles, the results of the war boosted the post-war economic rebound that had been interrupted by international conflicts. However, the Second World War involved substantial sacrifices by the Americans. These sacrifices are pale in comparison to the aftermath loss of lives and displacement of people by the war. Economically, the advantage of economic position would have been America's, if the U.S. had never participated in the war. Additionally, the global thrive in the economy would also have been better without the war. There are consequences to war, whether intended or not. Collateral damage in war is real, a devastating outcome of poorly-considered actions, and there are better policies to solve international conflicts other than war. The discussion should be on how to ensure future wars are prevented before their actual occurrence.
References.
Greco, A. N. (2019). The Impact of World War II on American Society and Scholarly
Publishing: December 7, 1941–1942. In The Growth of the Scholarly Publishing Industry in the U.S. (pp. 33-45). Palgrave Pivot, Cham.
Refäuter, C. (2018). Microsoft' s renewal: the effect a new CEO can have on strategic change
and firm performance (Doctoral dissertation).
Tucker, R. P., Keller, T., McNeill, J. R., & Schmid, M. (Eds.). (2018). Environmental Histories
of the First World War . Cambridge University Press.
Vague, M., Chan, G., Roberts, C., Swartz, N. A., & Mellies, J. L. (2019). Pseudomonas isolates
degrade and form biofilms on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic. bioRxiv , 647321.
