Amy T Peterson, Valerie Hewitt, Heather Vaughan, et al

by The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing Through American History 1900 to the Present (pdf)

  largest projects was the Tennessee Valley Authority, which provided a

  variety of projects on the Tennessee River, including flood control and the

  harnessing of electrical power.

  Although many of his programs had detractors, FDR was successful in

  getting the economy moving upward. He easily won reelection in 1936

  and he continued his programs, most of which were aimed at breaking up

  large corporate agencies and shifting the tax burden from the middle class

  to the wealthier segments of the population. He also worked to develop

  international trade and relationships with countries throughout the world,

  not just in Latin America. His administration worked to obtain free trade

  agreements with other countries, although FDR’s foreign plans never were

  as successful as his domestic policies. Many foreign countries, Germany

  and Italian chief among them, thought that their future lay in a strong

  military and not in trade.

  INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

  In 1932, a World Disarmament Conference was held in Geneva, Switzer-

  land. The goal of the conference was to establish rules that would prevent

  the military buildup of any country, thus preventing additional wars.

  Because the United States, Britain, and France had improved their milita-

  ries, Germany was able to denounce the conference and withdrew from it.

  Germany had already begun to rearm and rebuild its military with the

  express goal of regaining control of Europe.

  Japan, a country that had not had a major role in the Great War,

  nevertheless had ideas of becoming a power in Asia. During the 1920s,

  the leaders of Japan believed that it could continue to grow and become a

  world power only by taking control of Asia. In 1927, Japan began prepar-

  ing to take control of Manchuria, an area in northern China that had a

  large Japanese population. In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria and gained

  complete control of the province by 1932. China appealed to the League

  of Nations, but that organization was unable to force the Japanese to

  withdraw from Manchuria. The League issued a warning that Japan had

  The 1930s

  43

  to withdraw from Manchuria, but Japan instead withdrew from the

  League of Nations. The League was powerless to do anything to help

  China.

  The United States was disturbed by the Japanese tactics, but the

  Hoover administration refused to allow sanctions against the Japanese.

  Although Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson wanted a tougher response

  to Japan, President Hoover refused. A note was sent to Japan indicating

  that the United States would intervene if American interests were vio-

  lated. This doctrine, ironically, came to be called the Stimson Act. The

  Japanese interpreted Hoover’s response to mean that the United States

  would not prevent Japan from attaining additional power in Asia.

  To a great degree, the Japanese were correct. Americans still remem-

  bered the Great War, and they did not want to become involved in

  another foreign entanglement. They believed the country was safe because

  it was bordered by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Americans wanted to

  remain neutral and let others fight their own battles. The attitude was

  definitely isolationist. As Germany, Italy, and Japan increased their

  aggressive behaviors during the 1930s, FDR became increasingly con-

  cerned that the United States would have to enter another war.

  Germany and Italy invaded other countries, and there was no real

  effort to stop their aggression. Most countries would issue statements

  condemning the German invasion of Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938

  but believed Hitler each time he said that he would invade no other coun-

  tries. Although his behaviors contradicted his comments to world leaders,

  no one made any actual attempts to stop Germany until its invasion of

  Poland in 1939. Much of Europe began to arm with the intent of stop-

  ping Germany, but they had begun their preparations too late. By the end

  of 1939, much of Europe was, or soon would be, under German control.

  Recognizing that the majority of the people would not approve of any

  signs of war preparations, FDR did what he could to prepare the military

  and to help the country’s allies to prepare for war. FDR would frequently

  meet with the new British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and the

  two leaders would discuss how the United States could best aid Britain

  and the rest of Europe. Both men believed that war was inevitable, but

  they did not know how to overcome the intense American desire for iso-

  lationism and neutrality.

  ETHNICITY

  The Great Depression was difficult for all Americans, but minorities were

  hit especially hard. Whereas the general unemployment rate in 1933 was

  44

  POLITICAL AND CULTURAL EVENTS

  25 percent, for minorities it was 50 percent (Simpson and Yinger 1985,

  195). Minorities were the first groups who lost their jobs, and, for those

  who were able to keep them, their pay was decreased. Racial discrimina-

  tion was widespread during the Depression, and minority workers were

  denied jobs in public works programs and overlooked by many charities.

  Animosity toward minorities rose as the economy declined, and violence

  including lynching increased.

  In the south, many African Americans were sharecroppers. They

  farmed rented land and lived in small shacks without electricity or running

  water. As the Depression continued, hundreds of thousands of African

  Americans left the south with the hope of more opportunities in the

  north. Scarcity of jobs left many of these migrants waiting in bread lines.

  FDR tried easing the nation’s suffering with the New Deal programs,

  but African Americans were generally excluded from the benefits of these

  programs. FDR’s second New Deal offered many more opportunities for

  them. The administration remedied some of the discrimination in the

  federal programs. They even appointed blacks to several federal positions.

  Mexican Americans were poorly treated during the Depression. Like

  African Americans, they were the target of racism because whites thought

  their jobs were unfairly going to minorities. Most Mexican Americans lived

  in the southwest as migrant farm workers. During Hoover’s administration,

  were rounded up by county and local police and deported. The police would

  often make mass arrests and go door-to-door demanding proof of residency.

  During the 1930s, the FDR administration attempted to redress the

  wrongs inflicted on Native Americans in previous generations. In 1934,

  the Indian Reorganization Act was signed into law. The act made tribes

  eligible for federal funds to receive social services, purchase land, and start

  businesses. In the following year, Congress encouraged the production of

  Native-American crafts by creating the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. It

  even allowed Native Americans to trademark their designs.

  T H E

  1940S

  GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS

  WWII transformed the life of Americans during the 1940s. Throughout

  the 1930s, the United States had successfully st
ayed isolated from the

  German aggression in Europe. On the morning of December 7, 1941, the

  Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Shocked by this direct attack, Americans

  were drawn into the war and became suspicious of Japanese Americans.

  The 1940s

  45

  In the coming weeks and months, Japanese Americans were forced to

  address difficult questions of identity, family, and patriotism.

  Thousands of Japanese Americans on the west coast were sent to

  internment camps in the spring of 1942, presumably to prevent spying

  and sabotage. Their homes were seized, possessions confiscated, and free-

  dom lost as Japanese Americans were forcibly evicted and incarcerated in

  American-style concentration camps. Some were able to relocate outside

  the restricted west coast zone, some enlisted in the military to prove their

  loyalty to the United States, and others resettled in the midwest and on

  the east coast (Cayton and Williams 2001).

  After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States

  entered the war, the U.S. government established the War Production

  Board, which began rationing certain items that it deemed important to

  the war effort. In 1942, the War Production Board began rationing sugar,

  gasoline, and coffee, followed by meat, fat, cheese, canned goods, leather,

  and shoes in 1943. Also, it began severely restricting the amount of fabric

  used in garments. The board and the rationing it imposed were dissolved

  after Japan’s defeat in 1945.

  The spirit of isolationism as an American foreign policy ended when

  representatives of fifty nations met in San Francisco in April 1945 to

  design the framework of the United Nations. Containment of the Soviet

  Union became American policy after the war. This containment called for

  extensive economic aid to assist the recovery of western Europe. The

  Marshall Plan, known officially after its enactment as the European Re-

  covery Program, was the primary plan of the United States for rebuilding

  the allied countries of Europe and repelling communism after WWII.

  The reconstruction plan was developed at a meeting of the participating

  European states in July 1947.

  After the war, anticommunist Republicans began to surface. Senator

  Joseph McCarthy and Congressman Richard Nixon attacked President

  Truman’s administration for being too soft on communism. They con-

  demned Republicans who embraced FDR’s New Deal programs, which

  they described as ‘ creeping socialism.’’ The air of suspicion would con-

  tinue through the Cold War in the decades to come.

  ECONOMIC TRENDS

  WWII pulled the United States out of the Great Depression, during

  which millions of Americans were unemployed. The war called most men

  into service, and the labor surplus was replaced with a severe labor short-

  age on both farms and in factories. Although industry attempted

  46

  POLITICAL AND CULTURAL EVENTS

  to alleviate its labor shortages by employing women and African Ameri-

  cans, agriculture still felt the effects of the shortage. In some areas,

  schools were closed to allow children time to help with the harvest.

  Generally, women were proud to do their part to support the war

  effort and were encouraged to join the workforce by Rosie the Riveter

  posters. Traditional barriers clearly defining ‘ men’s work’’ and ‘ women’s

  work’’ quickly dissolved as women became crucial to America’s production

  efforts. Although wage disparity continued, women enjoyed the greater

  opportunities that war work provided (Baker 1992).

  The upturn in the economy exploded during the postwar period.

  As price controls and restrictions were lifted, prices began to climb. The

  rising prices forced many women to continue work to help buy things

  their families needed, but working women faced criticism. Most Ameri-

  cans were afraid women were taking jobs away from returning veterans.

  Women were expected to go back home and tend to their families so that

  the men could return to their rightful place as head of the household. It

  was a difficult transition for both men and women. Some women who

  had grown accustomed to their new-found independence did not appreci-

  ate being forced back into a solely domestic role.

  Employers were gearing up with new technology and an expanding

  economy, and many returning veterans did not have the experience to

  compete for the emerging jobs. The greatest injustice was to soldiers who

  had been injured. Many employers did not want to be slowed down by an

  employee who they believed would not be productive enough as a result

  of a war injury.

  Personal savings increased dramatically during the war because of higher

  employment rates and a scarcity of products. As the workforce returned

  from serving the military, companies were able to increase their production

  levels. Released from the burdens of manufacturing for the war effort,

  American industry focused on producing more consumer goods than ever.

  Technological innovations led to new products, and exposure to mass media,

  specifically television in the home, shaped the public’s desire for modern

  conveniences. New installment-plan financing made consumer items more

  easily available because families could now enjoy a new product before com-

  pleting the payments.

  The Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944, also known as the G.I.

  Bill of Rights, provided a variety of benefits for veterans of the war. The

  act included financial assistance to help defer the cost of education, which

  allowed more men to attend college and training schools. The guaranteed

  home loans for veterans offered by the act were of great value for getting

  back on track after military service.

  The 1940s

  47

  Advertising

  during

  WWII.

  During

  WWII, the Office of War Information

  created the most extensive advertising

  campaign in history. The foci of the

  campaign were internal security, ration-

  ing, war bond sales, precautions against

  venereal disease, and calls out to women

  to join the wartime workforce. The

  Office of War Information established

  the War Advertising Council in 1942 to

  carry out the advertising campaign, and

  they worked with private advertising

  agencies that donated nearly all of the

  copy and artwork.

  One of the council’s most famous

  campaigns, Rosie the Riveter, came out of

  the J. Walter Thompson Agency. Initially,

  the campaign starred Rose Will Monroe,

  Norman Rockwell cover illustration for The

  a riveter at the Willow Run Aircraft Fac-

  Saturday Evening Post showing ‘‘Rosie the

  tory in Michigan. She appeared in a pro-

  Riveter’ taking a lunch break. [Library of

  motional film about the war effort. Soon

  Congress]

  thereafter, she inspired a song, and J.

  Howard Miller created the iconic image

  of a female riveter with her bared bicep

  Advertising for consumer goodsr />
  under the slogan, ‘ We can do it!’’

  also focused on the war effort. Compa-

  Although she was not labeled as ‘‘Rosie’’

  nies emphasized their contribution to

  at the time, the fictional character later

  the war effort and positioned their

  became synonymous with the image. In

  products in ways that contributed to it.

  1943, Norman Rockwell’s depiction of

  For example, Brer Rabbit molasses pro-

  ‘‘Rosie’’ appeared on the cover of The Sat-

  vided recipes that conserved sugar, and

  urday Evening Post. Rosie the Riveter

  Stetson hats reminded consumers to

  became a cultural icon and increased the

  carefully guard information and ‘‘Keep

  number of women working in factories.

  it under your Stetson.’’ Advertisers

  She also broadened the acceptability of

  touted themes such as patriotism, con-

  manual jobs for women.

  servation, and teamwork.

  48

  POLITICAL AND CULTURAL EVENTS

  Residential construction had virtually ceased during the Depression

  and war years of the 1930s and early 1940s. After the war, new housing

  became a critical need, because the marriage rate began to rise along with

  the birth rate of babies, resulting in the ‘ baby boom.’’ These parents

  wanted a yard and plenty of room for their growing families. In response

  to these wants, a few developers pioneered the concept of suburban subdi-

  visions. Accessible by cars provided by the growing automobile industry,

  suburban living became part of the ‘American dream.’’

  The American dream was a description of the popular ideal of Ameri-

  can living. In addition to a suburban house, a shiny car, and a happy

  nuclear family, the ideal espoused a host of modern conveniences. Every-

  thing from dishwashers to barbeque grills were marketed to increasingly

  materialistic Americans. Production of consumer products including inno-

  vations from the war efforts now began to show up in stores and adver-

  tised on the new medium of television.

  During the late 1940s, the U.S. economic environment had shifted

  from the deprivation of WWII to the prosperity and consumerism of the

  1950s. Many families found it possible to buy a home in the suburbs, a

  car, a refrigerator, a washing machine, and to have children and to give