Aim: What were some lasting effects of WW2 on women and the U.S.?

• Do Now: Read the “1943 Guide to Hiring Women” on your own and answer:

1. Which of these tips is most surprising to you? Why?

2. What does this show about how women were thought of and/or treated in 1943?

1945: World War 2 Ends; U.S. becomes a superpower

• Superpower: an extremely influential and powerful nation

American soldiers or “GI’s” • Draft: when men are

randomly selected to join the army.

• GI Bill of Rights: (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act) provided money for college, medical, home, and business loans for WW2 veterans

African Americans

• Second Great Migration – African Americans migrated

North after WW2

• President Truman ordered integration of armed forces by Executive Order

• WW2 contributions influenced the Civil Rights Movement

Women

• Women’s Army Corp. (WAC): female military unit in WW2

• Rosie the Riveter: slang term used for women who worked in wartime factories

– Economic gains ($$$)

United Nations

• International peacekeeping organization

– Preserve peace, promote international cooperation, end hunger and disease, improve education

• U.S. & Soviet Union, major world powers joined

What was one result of World War II?

1. The arms race ended.

2. The Cold War ended.

3. Communism was eliminated.

4. Two superpowers emerged.

In 1944, Congress enacted the GI Bill of Rights in order to

1. provide economic aid to veterans

2. reduce military expenditures

3. ban racial segregation in the armed forces

4. create government jobs for returning soldiers

The experiences of African Americans serving in the military forces during World War II

influenced their postwar decision to

1. renew support for the principle of separate but equal

2. join the armed forces in record numbers

3. increase efforts to end racial discrimination

4. move back to the rural south

During World War II, posters of Rosie the Riveter were used to

1. recruit women into wartime industries

2. encourage women to serve in the armed forces

3. promote women’s suffrage

4. support higher education for women