Consequences of the armed war to the American society
American wars had great effects towards all aspects of the American society. This was characterized by rise in demand for weapons, invention, military tactics and a whole lot more. As a result, the American economy was affected and so was the political set up. The production industry, for instance, was had its greatest share as it basically controlled all aspects of the Americas from politics to economy (Daniel, 1998). Particularly, after America joined the second world war, there was need to produce more weapons so as to keep its military strategy on course. American manufacturers therefore had top keep on producing weapons which led to a demand in human resource and capital.
Consequently, the need to produce more weapons in a much shorter period led to developments in higher-level military technologies. As mentioned above, jobs were created from manual labor force to technical machine operations that required considerable educational qualifications. For once, since most men were at war, women were able to acquire jobs due to the shortage of labor. Moreover, African-Americans also took advantage of the prevailing situation and joined industries. As a result, there was a great boost in the economy with industries exploiting other resources that could be found in alternative forms of raw materials. At this moment, the American people began to view the war as a blessing in disguise. It had created new opportunities, broke the stigma that existed within women and getting jobs, brought to light the subdued African-Americans and thus began to establish America as an economic giant.
The growth in economy had its consequences. To begin with there was a societal re-stratification that arose since women could now to take the mantle of running their homes. Educational institutions began recording higher enrollment rates as individuals pursued professional knowledge so as to secure competitive jobs (Robert, 1989). Furthermore, with the increase in technological know-how, America wanted to define itself as revolutionary in warfare and therefore encouraged academic research activities. As a result, sophisticated machinery was invented together with mass killers like gas bombs.
However, the war too had a negative impact on the Americans since the ‘father-figure’ in most families appeared waning as most men had left their jobs and families to fight for their country. This left most families to be run by women who started visiting industries in search of jobs. Inasmuch as women began to feel empowered, they also felt the gap left by their. While men were out defending the country, women were far much vulnerable to other insecurities such as rape or sexual harassment. Moreover, with the absence of their men, some felt as if their marital rights had been overlooked and thus resulted in increased immorality. Deaths of their husbands also heightened such practices and rendered young women widows and children fatherless (Robert, 1989).
Further into the war, Americans brought a new era of diplomacy in terms of matters of war in Europe. Among the measures put up to avert such situations was that America was not to take part or be involved in any way in the wars in Europe. This was engraved in their foreign policies as it sought to enhance diplomacy. This was the case up until the 1940s. Ostensibly, the new diplomatic agreements not to engage in European affairs as well as expressing any anti-war sentiments were necessary and brought a new face to America (David, 1980). Long after the sex barrier had been broken and the period of peace defined in its foreign policies ensured that America channeled all its resources towards making it an economic leader. True to this, the period of peace resulted in great economic as well as social developments with the African Americans mustering their energy to seek their place within the Great America.
Furthermore, America also took the opportunity to salvage relations, particularly, the hatred that existed between it and the Germans (Daniel, 1998). The American men had been said to have ant-German ideologies with its climax being the burning of German books as well as German speaking churches (Daniel, 1998). Nonetheless, America had learnt from the war.
In conclusion, we can assert that the Second World War was counter-productive towards the American people. As we have observed, many people lost their lives, women became widows with children failing to experience a fatherly love. As a result, immorality and internal insecurity arose. Moreover, diplomatic relations were shuttered (in the case of Germany). However, there was a boost in economic growth with the increased demand for weapons. Women were empowered while African Americans were able to take up industrial jobs. Academic institution emerged with strong demand for professional grounding. These and a whole lot more defined the impact of the Second World War towards the American Society. It can be said that it was both positive and negative but outright emancipating in the end.
Daniel, T. (1998) Atlantic crossings: Social politics in a progressive age. Harvard College Press
David, K. (1980) Over Here: The First World War and American society. Oxford University
Press
Robert, H. (1989) Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American
Government. Oxford University Press
