Social Change
As the possibility of a second World War arose people began to form opinions on the United States' role in Europe. The general population disagreed on whether or not to get involved in the conflict with Germany. Some people believed in interventionism, the theory that the United States should do everything it could to support Britain without declaring war on Germany. Along with William Allen White they formed the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies. Others supported the idea of isolationism, which said that the United States should defend itself first. The supporters of isolationism formed the Committee to Defend America First which was supported mainly by pacifists and socialists and well as democrats and republicans. The majority of Americans were against the involvement of the United States. Congress acted on this general opinion by enacting neutrality laws and appropriating little money for the army and navy. Because of its poor funding, in 1939, the United States Army was small and ranked only 39th in the world. Much of its artillery was still drawn by horses (Harris, 17). After Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor the opinion of the American people drastically changed. Isolationism was eliminated v
In 1942 congress passed a bill requiring most Americans to pay the tax as funding for the war. Taxes met about 40% of the war costs; the government borrowed the rest " (Nash, 528). (Zeinert, 77) The government started to encourage this new trend by making advertisements like "Rosie the Riveter", that showed women as strong and able workers. From 1941 to 1945, the government's operating budget was $321 billion, nearly twice as much as its total spending in the preceding 100 years. I was stationed in Washington D. I decoded messages and had an in depth background check done on me before I could serve. Because so many men volunteered or were drafted into the service there was a severe shortage of laborers. Songs, advertisements from magazines and newspapers, billboards, and radio shows also picked up the war time trend. Flocks of American men, outraged from the Pearl Harbor incident, voluntarily signed up for the army and navy. By working overtime, workers could still earn a good deal more money. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was the largest organization of its kind and fought for the equal treatment for African-Americans.
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