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Effects Of World War II On America Essay

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In September of 1939, a global war had begun when Hitler led the German forces to invade Poland. The American president was reluctant on entering the war because he was building allies in the western hemisphere and was focused on making life better on the home front. Tragedy struck America on the morning of December 7, 1941 when the Japanese conducted a surprise aerial attack against the United States naval base at pearl harbor. The lethal and deadly force of the attack spurred President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to realize it was time to enter the war. As American troops were being sent off to war citizens' lives on the home front changed dramatically. The soldiers were being taken care of before the people and did not experience the …show more content…

A family may have cooked a pie, and the neighbors each had prepared a side dish to complete a meal. People never were hungry and always had a meal to eat," said Marjorie Smith (qtd. in Smith). Even with the war happening overseas the households constantly made the best of every situation to make sure the children were fed and well taken care of. Before World War II, the woman's role was primarily in the household taking care of the everyday needs of the house and the children, but that changed shortly when women were being moved into the working field. More than six million women took employment outside of the home, and many of the women had never been paid for working. Rosie the Riveter was an iconic figure during the war she showed women a sense of independence by taking them from the household into the workforce. Adult women in Oklahoma frequently went to work in oil fields, gas wells and built airplanes or even worked at-large ship yards. During the war-time, the women were able to prove to America that ladies were just as physically strong as the men were and would do anything to support their country. Mothers would generally barter with family members or neighbors on whose turn it was to watch the children while at work. "Mothers being taken out of the home to work is where child delinquency began, children were not getting the love and the discipline they needed from their parents," said Sharla

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