Part I- Wars Effect on American Identity
Trend 3- Wars Effect on the American Faith in their Government
A third major change in the way Americans saw themselves and their place in the world is the change of America’s place as a superpower. World War Two left America victorious. America’s success in World War I was great, but in a military respect and reputation as a superpower was much more prominent after World War II. America was a force to be reckoned with. America reached the highest number of military personnel ever, a total of 12,123,455 active members from all branches, at the end of World War II. (bluejacket.com, WWII Facts, April 21, 2007) Even during Vietnam and Korea our military was not as powerful as it was after World War II.
America not only was a powerful nation, but the people were also proud of their nation. The pride that filled the country at the fall of the Nazi regime was immense. People filled the streets of New York celebrating on the day that came to be known as Victory Day, May 9 1945. The headlines as well as the celebration can be seen in Figure 1, "Nazis Give Up!".
Nearly every citizen of the country was affected by the war. Many were involved and contributed heavily to the war effort. Roosevelt encouraged women, children and families to contribute to the war effort. People made the sacrifice of rationing food and goods such as nylons and bought Victory Bonds. To compensate, it became the fashion for young women to paint their legs so it appeared that they were wearing nylons.Figure 2 shows a ration book that was used during WWII as part of the war effort. (Victory Class Discussion) |
Figure 1. |
Figure 2. |
Following World War II, the American identity changed as a whole. Americans believed in the government and had faith in the nation, a nation that prided itself on freedom and justice for all. As well, following World War Two, the image of women changed drastically. Because they had worked in the factories while the men were away, women now felt empowered. In 1945, 18,449 were in the workforce of the U.S. Following World War II, that number kept rising and by 1970 increased by 70%; a total of 31,233 were in the work force (American Work Force Data Set). |
World War II had an extremely positive affect on the American national identity. Life was good after World War II. Men returned home and started families. It became acceptable for women to work. The nation gained a lot from the war. They prospered and were enjoying the benefits. Little could be foreseen that all the elation and pride would soon change. America was beginning to take notice of a new threat: the Soviet Union and its communistic influence that would change the way how Americans saw themselves and the world around them.(Victory Class Discussion)
The happy atmosphere and success from World War Two did not last long. Following World War II, tensions rose between the United States and the Soviet Union. America felt threatened by the power of the Soviet Union.
| The fears pushed America to compete with the Soviets in science and technology. America, especially the government, advised the younger generation to go to school and receive an education because the nation needed more educated people, particularly scientists and researchers. In 1944, approximately 141,582 Americans received college degrees, yet only a few years later in 1950 that number quadrupled to 496,874 (Victory, James. College Degree Conferred Data Set.) The nation needed the young to help in the race of science and technology against the Soviets. The nation also had many young people at its disposal. As you can see in Figure 4, the median age of the United States was lower during this period than ever before. Thanks to the GI Bill, thousands of soldiers who returned from the war also had the opportunity to go to college with government aid. Figure 5 shows President Roosevelt signing the GI Bill of Rights. Both good and bad came from the Cold War, but thing for sure is that the Cold War pushed America off its pedestal of superiority and down to a nation that needed to prove they were still the best.(Victory Class Discussion) |
Figure 5. |
Figure 4.
During World War II, America broke scientific barriers and developed the atomic bomb, but soon after America dropped the bomb other nations harnessed the technology. Russia had its own atomic bomb by 1949, according to Dr. Goncharov in his article “The Development of the First Soviet Atomic Bomb.” America developed the first hydrogen bomb, but Russia followed soon after in a short span of time. Soon, the United States was at a technological war so to say with Russia. (Dictionary of American History, Arms Race, Thomas Carson & Mary Bonk, April 21, 2007) The competition between the technological developments of the two nations can best be seen in what is known as the Space Race.
On October 4, 1957 students hid under their desks while the alarm sounded all over the U.S. The government believed America was about to be bombed by the Soviets. As it turned out, Russia had not launched a bomb, but in fact the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, Sputnik (European Space Agency). This still worried the United States. Because Russia had beat the United States technologically meant that America was behind, a place they weren’t used to. Both Russia and America began competing fiercely to see which nation would be the ones to send the first human to space. The United States won what was known as the Space Race when they sent the first successful flight mission to the moon in 1969 aboard the Apollo 11 (onegiantleap.org).
America was also competing with the Soviets on a different scale. Because of our stand as anti-communist, we were determined to stop the spread of communism. The Cold War affected our foreign policy. America started becoming more involved in world affairs and were no longer the isolationists they were pre World War II. America even went to war with Korea and Vietnam in hopes of stopping communism from rising in South East Asia. The U.S. believed now that they were a super power it was their duty to protect the world from communism. (Victory Class Discussion)
The Vietnam Era was another era that had profound change on the United States. Different from post- World War II, where American pride was dominant, and the Cold War, where Americans united against their fear of the Soviets, the Vietnam era became a time when Americans began to lose their faith in the government, which resulted in many rebellions and riots.
Figure 6. |
The U.S. participation in the Vietnam conflict began when President Kennedy set troops Democratic Republic of Vietnam from taking over and turning Vietnam communist. Kennedy originally sent small numbers to train the Vietnamese soldiers, but he eventually increased the number from hundreds to thousands. After his assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson took over and went full force into the war effort. Figure 6 shows the number of troops in Vietnam and the drastic increase that occured. Between 1964 and 1965 the number of troops more than quadrupled, which shows how quickly Johnson sent troops to Vietnam following Kennedy's assasination. (Victory Class Discussion) |
Americans did not understand why the United States was at war again. The country had been through so much in the past 60 years: World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and the ongoing Cold War. To the American public, those events had specific enemies and pinpoints, but now that the U.S. was fighting communism, people didn’t how the ideology of communism could be an enemy. One soldier, Keith Franklin, wrote in a letter home his thoughts on the war, “If you are reading this letter, you will never see me again, the reason being that if you are reading this I have died. The question is whether or not my death has been in vain. The answer is yes. The war that has taken my life and many thousands before me is immoral, unlawful and an atrocity” (spartacus.schoolnet).
Figure 7. |
Because of this lack of understanding, riots and rebellions began. The youth of nation burned the draft cards in anger. They gathered in streets and protested. Certain riots such as the Chicago Police Riot of 1968 and the Kent University shooting in 1970 were pivotal examples of how tense the feelings were between the government, older generation and the youth of the nation. Thousands of people gathered in the streets of Chicago to protest the Democratic National Convention;the riots apparently got so out of hand the police began beating people, although many argued that the police began the beating of the people for no reason. Figure 7 shows the police beating the protestors at the convention. (The Anti-War Movement) |
Figure 8. |
("Confrontation at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago" http://www.jofreeman.com/photos/convention69.html) Two years later and Kent State University in Ohio, 4 students were killed by the Ohio national guard, who shot into a crowd amidst a war protest. Clearly, many Americans did not support the government’s actions. Figure 8 shows the Kent State shooting. You can see the anguish and outrage on the student's faces because their peaceful protest had turned into a murder.
| The straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back came nearly two years later when party members of President Nixon’s were caught breaking into the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate building. After investigation, it was revealed that President Nixon had a history of crimes against him (Victory, James. Class Discussion 4/19/07.) Figure 9 shows the portrayal of Nixon after the scandal. He was thought of as evil and is the last end in the people's trust of the government. Nixon resigned from office before he would have been impeached. It was after this that all hope was lost in the government. Americans now believed that our leaders were shady and had led us into a war that cost of thousands of lives and really had no positive outcome. Americans became far more suspicious of the government. (Victory, James. Class Discussion 4/19/07.) It was time to leave; remaining troops began leaving Vietnam in the 70’s and coming home to a nation that would never again look the same in the eyes of Americans. The viewpoint that Americans had of themselves was forever changed. |
Figure 9. |
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