How Did Ww2 Affect The Us Economy

The U.S was affected by World War II in many ways. It affected the U.S economically, socially, and caused America to be established as a major world power. This war lead to accelerated major breakthroughs in science and a revolution of the tax structure previously put in place. It intensified the power of big business and sparked the mechanization of agriculture and agribusiness. It also vastly increased the amount of organized labor. Women became a very big part of the work force because men were out fighting the war. This played a large part in the advancements of women’s rights. They were severely needed in the workforce in order to make everything being used in the war effort and to compete in the arms race. The wartime economy even created …show more content…
Aviation and electronics grew in size and usefulness. The demands of the war not only generated new weapons but also new innovations in electronic intelligence and transportation. For example, radar and sonar was a new technology that became very useful during the war. Soldiers would watch the radar or sonar screen and send planes or ships to intercept oncoming enemies. Another major technological advancement that came as a result of World War II was the first atom bomb. A race took place against the Soviet Union called “The Arms Race” in which the U.S raced to create an atomic bomb in secret. Using newly discovered science, the United States underwent “The Manhattan Project”, that lead to the creation of a bomb that could cause devastation never seen before with any weapon (The 1940’s Science and Technology: Overview 2001). This bomb affected the U.S and the world forever. A weapon of this caliber caused many people to oppose it on moral grounds. Others thought it was necessary for protection. After the U.S dropped two on Japanese civilians, there was a lot of controversy. These bombs combined killed 109,000 instantly. The radiation killed another 200,000 by the end of the year. Other countries feared this power and scrambled to create atomic weapons of their own. To this day, countries attempt to have the most …show more content…
Men were drafted into the war so women took their place in the workforce. The work behind The Manhattan Project was largely performed by women. Even a good majority of the physicists working on this new technology were women. Furthermore, this was the first time women took this big of a rule in work that caused this type of labor. This played a great deal in the advancement of women. Women in America came together and played a very pivotal part in the war even though they were mostly not abroad. When men came back from the war, there was conflicts about who rightfully had certain jobs. Women believed they should not have to leave the jobs they were doing and men thought they should get their own jobs back. Even though men took over the majority of the workforce when they returned to the U.S, people’s perspective of women’s working ability changed (American Women In World War II 2010). Many saw them as much more capable, therefore advancing women and leading them closer to equality. They were able to get jobs easier because people saw the jobs they did during the