Monday, November 7, 2011
WWI: Struggle for Equality
Our WWI chapter highlights contributions of African-Americans and Mexican-Americans (and women) to the war effort. How do you think the war impacted their struggles for equality? Consider the postwar treatment of immigrants (Sacco & Vanzetti) and communists (Red Scare). Why were these groups targeted? Are certain ethnic groups targeted today? Why?
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Women, African-Americans and Mexican-Americans significantly contributed to WWI. As a result, they were thought of higher because Americans discovered that they can contribute to the war just as much as anyone else. For instance, 350,000 African-Americans had served with the American Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in WWI. Also, both Mexican-Americans and African-Americans received better job opportunities because since there are so many Americans going to war, there are much more open jobs available. This caused the Great Migration, when around 1.2 million African-Americans moved to the north to find better jobs. Mexican migrants also fulfilled farmworker jobs because of the increase in food demand and decrease in workers. Women also contributed to the war, therefore giving them a different figure in society. More than 25,000 women served in Europe in WWI, either nursing the wounded, provide food and other supplies to the military, serve as telephone operators, entertain groups and work as journalists. The stereotypical "perfect housewife" was beginning to disappear as women began to have regular jobs.
ReplyDeleteAs Mexican-Americans, women, and African-Americans begin to receive better equality, immigrants and communists were not. After WWI, America was afraid of communists, socialists, and anarchists. That may be because of the series of strikes that occurred in 1919, where "Reds", or communists, were believed to be the cause of the strikes. This may be because of an anarchist had shot and killed President McKinley. However, the most likely reason is that Americans were uninformed of what communism actually was, and decided to be scared by it because of the image anti-communism speakers such as Seattle mayor Ole Hansen showing fear in the subject. The fear of communists, socialists, and anarchists became known as the Red Scare, and practically everyone in the United States got involved. The Red Scare may have led to the mistreatment of immigrants. If an immigrant from Russia, a communist country, arrived in the US with a thick accent, they would often be targeted against and arrested. A good example of this would be the Sacco and Vanzetti execution. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian immigrants. Sacco and Vanzetti were found guilty for murdering and robbing a paymaster and his guard. While there was little evidence against them, the fact that they were anarchists made the verdict easy for the jury, because of the Red Scare.
Today, there are certain ethnic groups that are often targeted today. One group would be Muslims. Al Qaeda, a terrorist group responsible for the attacks of 9/11, was a Muslim group. Because of Muslims being behind 9/11, many Americans feel uncomfortable around Muslims in planes. Muslims are also often picked out in security checks and are watched more closely than anyone else just because of their religion. If someone tries to build a mosque close to where the World Trade enter once stood, people would tear it down. The US has killed almost 30 Muslims for every American lost. Muslims are definitely targeted in America today.
World War one, or the Great War as it was known back then, called for the services of young men. Most of the men who registered for the war where working middle or lower class. When all of the men went to war their jobs became open. These jobs needed to be filled. The only available people, now, where the “minorities”. African Americans, women, and Mexican Americans filled all of the jobs. Many African Americans either went to fight or moved up north to fill the empty factory jobs. About 1.2 million blacks moved from the southern states to the northern states, this movement was later referred to as The Great Migration. Women also made huge steps during this war. Although some women went overseas to help with nursing the wounded with the Red Cross, most women stayed home. The women who stayed home worked in clerical and industrial jobs, and even as train conductors. In fact, in the summer of 1914 only 3,224,600 women had jobs, but by 1918 4,814,600women had jobs! Some Mexican Americans went to help fight, but most stayed back help with the farm. During this time women, Mexican Americans, and African Americans where thought of more highly and gained more respect from their fellow Americans.
ReplyDeleteWhen the war ended all the soldiers came home to find that their jobs had been taken. As a result, in 1919 there were many race riots and lynchings. In Chicago a race riot lasted 13 days after of the drowning of a black boy. The African Americans where once again out of jobs. They stayed in the cities however, so the cities became over populated, and there were many black ghettos. For women, after the war there were fewer women working in1920 than there had been in 1910. Many women went back to being average house wives that had to keep house and learn to live off of her husband’s salary. The Red Scare also started. At this time in America everyone was afraid of communism. Many immigrants were suspected of being communists. Immigrants were often wrongly accused of crimes, like Italian immigrants, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. These two men were accused of shooting and killing two men during a holdup in 1927. They were tried, convicted and sent to the electric chair. It was later proven that the court had almost no evidence other than the fact that they were Italian.
Even today people discriminate again certain groups because of their heritage. Today many people discriminate again Muslims. People assume that all Muslims are terrorists because of Al Qaeda, the terrorist group responsible for 9/11. This is almost exactly like The Red Scare. It is almost sad to think that people haven’t really changed since then. Even today we are discriminating against people for their heritage or their beliefs. Whether it is today’s Muslims or the 1920s communists and immigrants, people haven’t really changed. You have to wonder whether we ever really will change, and hope that we eventually will.
WOW! Loaded posts ladies-good job:)
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