The Impact of the Second World War

The Second World War (1941–1945 for US involvement) had a profound impact on American society and the economy. It ended the Great Depression, transformed the role of women and African Americans, and established the United States as a global superpower. This lesson covers the key social, economic, and political changes brought about by the war.

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The End of the Great Depression

The war achieved what the New Deal had not — full employment and economic recovery.

Economic Impact	Detail
Unemployment	Fell from 8.5 million (1940) to virtually zero by 1943
Industrial output	American factories produced vast quantities of weapons, ships, aircraft, and vehicles
GDP	Doubled between 1939 and 1945
Government spending	Federal spending rose from $9 billion (1939) to$9billion(1939)to98 billion (1945)
Wages	Average wages rose by 50% during the war years

Exam Tip: A key exam argument is that it was the war, not the New Deal, that ended the Great Depression. Be prepared to evaluate this statement with specific evidence.

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Key Dates

Date	Event
September 1939	WWII begins in Europe; USA initially neutral
March 1941	Lend-Lease Act — USA supplies weapons and materials to the Allies
7 December 1941	Pearl Harbor — Japan attacks the US naval base; USA enters the war
1942	War Production Board established to coordinate industrial output
June 1944	D-Day — Allied invasion of Normandy
August 1945	Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Japan surrenders

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Women and the War

The war transformed the role of women in American society. With millions of men serving overseas, women filled jobs in factories, offices, and the military.

Change	Detail
Employment	6 million women entered the workforce during the war. By 1945, women made up 36% of the workforce
"Rosie the Riveter"	An iconic propaganda figure encouraging women to work in industry
Military service	Over 350,000 women served in the armed forces (WAACs, WAVES, WASPs)
Pay	Women were paid significantly less than men for the same work
After the war	Many women were forced out of their jobs when men returned. However, expectations had changed permanently

Exam Tip: Be prepared to discuss whether the war was a turning point for women. While many gains were temporary, the experience of wartime work changed attitudes and laid the groundwork for the later women's movement.

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African Americans and the War

The war also had a significant impact on African Americans, though progress was limited and uneven.

Change	Detail
Military service	Over 1 million African Americans served in the US armed forces, though in segregated units
Double V Campaign	African Americans campaigned for victory abroad (against fascism) and at home (against racism)
Executive Order 8802 (1941)	FDR banned racial discrimination in defence industries after A. Philip Randolph threatened a march on Washington
The Great Migration continues	Millions of African Americans moved from the South to northern and western cities for war industry jobs
Racial tensions	Race riots broke out in cities like Detroit (1943), highlighting ongoing inequality

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Japanese Americans and Internment

One of the most controversial episodes of the war was the internment of Japanese Americans. After Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 (February 1942), forcing approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans — most of them US citizens — into internment camps.

Aspect	Detail
Justification	The government claimed it was necessary for national security
Reality	There was no evidence of disloyalty. It was driven by racism and wartime hysteria
Conditions	Families were forced to abandon homes and businesses. Camps were surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards
Legal challenge	In Korematsu v. United States (1944), the Supreme Court upheld internment as constitutional
Redress	In 1988, the US government formally apologised and paid $20,000 compensation to each surviving internee

Exam Tip: Japanese American internment is a key topic for questions about wartime civil liberties. Always explain that it was driven primarily by racial prejudice rather than genuine security concerns.

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The War and the Economy

The war effort required massive industrial mobilisation, which permanently changed the American economy.

• The War Production Board coordinated the conversion of civilian factories to military production.
• The USA produced 300,000 aircraft, 86,000 tanks, and 2.5 million trucks during the war.
• Rationing was introduced for goods like sugar, coffee, meat, and petrol.
• War bonds raised over $185 billion to fund the war effort.
• After the war, the USA emerged as the world's leading economic and military power.

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Extended Worked Paragraph: Significance of WWII for American Society

A Q2 might ask: Explain the significance of the Second World War for American society. A strong paragraph should argue that the war's significance lies in the way mobilisation simultaneously resolved the economic crisis of the 1930s and reshaped the social structure that had persisted since Reconstruction. The economic significance is unambiguous: federal spending rose from $9 billion in 1939 to$9billionin1939to98 billion in 1945; unemployment, which stood at 8.5 million in 1940, fell to effectively zero by 1943; GDP doubled between 1939 and 1945; and average wages rose by approximately 50% in real terms. This was the stimulus the New Deal had been unable to deliver, and it was achieved through the War Production Board (January 1942), Lend-Lease, rationing and the issuing of $185 billion in war bonds. The social significance is equally profound. Around 6 million women entered paid employment, comprising 36% of the civilian workforce by 1945; the iconography of "Rosie the Riveter" — drawn from J. Howard Miller's 1943 "We Can Do It!" poster and Norman Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post cover — became a durable cultural marker of female capability in heavy industry. For African Americans, Executive Order 8802 (25 June 1941) — issued after the threatened March on Washington organised by A. Philip Randolph and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters — banned racial discrimination in defence industries and created the Fair Employment Practices Committee, the first federal civil rights machinery since Reconstruction. The Second Great Migration accelerated as roughly 1.5 million African Americans moved from the rural South to northern and western cities for war jobs. The significance of WWII is therefore that it generated the economic and demographic conditions in which the civil rights and women's movements of the post-war decades could emerge.

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Grade 4 vs Grade 6 vs Grade 9: A Worked Contrast

Consider: "The Second World War was a turning point for women in America." How far do you agree?

A Grade 4 answer describes women working in factories, mentions Rosie the Riveter, and concludes that the war was a turning point. Evidence is generalised ("lots of women got jobs") and alternative perspectives are not considered.