Thanks to the American consumer culture, the country has developed distinct ways of expressing and emphasizing values or customs, for instance, through commercial advertising. Politicians used media and advertising slogans to convey statements about desirable or undesirable behavior to society (Witkowski, 2003, p. 69). As a result, posters became a powerful propaganda tool for communicating important messages to the population during World War II (WWII). They focused on several key announcements, like the importance of frugality or investing in bonds. The current paper explores an example of a poster created in the early years of the war. Although posters from the WWII era contain only images and short slogans, they could influence the population by appealing to their emotions, and today, they have become critical sources of information about the period.
The Poster Context: Bonds
Waging war requires significant funds, and the government needs to look for ways to obtain and use them effectively. During WWII, tax increases did not cover the military spending enough, and Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury, proposed expanding the sale of bonds to the public (Knowlton, 2019, p. 48). Following Samuel (1997), the government had several goals in addition to covering military expenses (as cited in Knowlton, 2019, p. 48). They include curbing inflation amid rising personal incomes in the emerging military economy and releasing cash after the war to facilitate peacetime transition (Samuel, 1997, as cited in Knowlton, 2019, p. 48). Thus, the sale of bonds was supposed to benefit the United States significantly.
However, it was important for the government to ensure a high level of sales for bonds. Therefore, posters became an essential tool for their promotion – they developed a sense of belonging to the country’s defense (Knowlton, 2019, p. 49). Bonds have become an opportunity for any citizen, such as housewives or the older generation who were not directly involved in hostilities, to make their contribution (Knowlton, 2019, p. 49). For these reasons, many posters dedicated to bonds were created during the war to engage the population to help.
Analysis
The poster under study, Bonds or bondage: Everybody – every pay day 10%, deals with the issue of bond purchases (see Appendix A). It depicts a middle-aged man who, considering his clothes – overalls and a cap – represents the working class, which means that the target audience of this advertisement is also workers. After the difficulties of the Great Depression, the US economy began to develop rapidly during WWII, and the working class in the country could finally afford some surplus (Witkowski, 2003, p. 70). However, the government needed to reduce consumption, and as mentioned above, bonds had to solve this problem. This wartime feature in the United States explains the choice of audience and character for the poster.
The poster was created to convey an important message to its target audience using design features and specific symbols. The split into two parts suggests citizens can expect two options for the future. In the case of bond investments, this is a chance to win the war, implying freedom, development, and happiness, presented on the left through the flag, factories, and the character’s smile. If the opportunity to invest is ignored, the scenario is bondage and decline, represented by shackles with symbols of Nazism on the right. In this way, the poster is aimed at evoking citizens’ psychological and emotional responses to stimulate the purchase of bonds, which is typical for most posters created on the issue at that time (Hollins, 2015, p. 51). The advertisement’s tone is serious and cautionary, which enhances the emotional impact.
One can use the poster to analyze ways of waging war. In particular, posters are part of propaganda, which aims to mobilize hatred against enemies, support allies, and prove the justice of their actions (Welch, 2017, p. XIV). The poster in question demonstrates the embodiment of two of the directions listed. It fuels hatred of the enemy by associating it with slavery and demonstrates the fairness of US efforts by linking the country’s actions to protecting freedom. Moreover, President Roosevelt positioned the initial preparations for the war as a defense (Knowlton, 2019, p. 47). More broadly, the poster demonstrates the struggle and protection of the democracy of Western states against totalitarian regimes. At the same time, the use of propaganda suggests that the way of warfare of Western countries includes multilateral methods like soft power, not just battlefield efforts.
I believe that the poster studied is a crucial and credible historical resource. It has features characteristic of the propaganda of its time and, therefore, can tell much information. The poster confirms the features of the circumstances in which it was created. Its study can be supplemented by the analysis of propaganda materials of a similar nature since they all have a common direction and verify each other’s messages.
Conclusion
Thus, the conduct of US military operations during WWII also includes the use of propaganda. Posters are its instruments that were generated by the consumer culture. The poster example considered in the paper was devoted to the call for the purchase of bonds and the opportunity to acquire the government expanded for the entire population. The bonds helped cover military spending and reduce consumption levels to promote frugality. Posters, in turn, in addition to calling for purchase, strengthened hatred of the enemy and supported the justice of the struggle against them.
Seventy-seven years ago, on a small piece of land in the Kursk region, the largest tank battle in history began, in which more than 2 million people took part. In many ways, the Battle of Kursk predetermined the further course of the Second World War. According to experts, then a turning point came, which significantly influenced the balance of power in the international arena. The courage of the Soviet soldiers and the wisdom of the generals left Hitler no chance. As a result of the Battle of Stalingrad, which ended in early February 1943, the war machine of the Third Reich suffered serious losses but was by no means broken. Although the fighting efficiency of the Nazi troops decreased due to a decrease in the number of available equipment and the transfer of auxiliary units to the front, it was still a formidable force. The Battle of Kursk, which became one of the turning points of the Second World War and finally defeated the Nazis, is an important historical event that will be investigated below.
Historical Background of the Battle of Kursk
The War imposed on the whole world by German fascism was the largest military clash of the 20th century. It began under extremely favorable conditions for Germany. Its army was completely mobilized, had two years of experience in waging War in Europe on a large scale, and its economy was long ago converted to a war footing.
Germany was given a serious military advantage by the surprise attack. The German command had an emphasis on powerful strike groups, significantly outnumbering the troops of the Red Army. In addition, the gaps in assessing the possible time of the attack on the USSR by Hitlerite Germany and the associated omissions in preparing to repel the first strikes played a role. The extremely heavy blows that fell on the Soviet armed forces in the early days of the War did not crush or disperse them, which the fascist German command hoped for. Soviet soldiers fought with genuine self-sacrifice. The whole country was turned into a single military camp.
Heavy bloody battles took place in three main directions: northwest, west, and southwest. The victory over the Nazi troops near Moscow was a decisive military event during the first year of the Second World War. An important turn of world-historical significance took place near Moscow. The plan blitzkrieg was finally eliminated, and the myth that the Germans could not be defeated was abandoned as well. The plans of the Nazis to seize Moscow, Leningrad, and the Caucasus were thwarted (Hickman).
Given such a substantial defeat, Germany decided to change its strategy and tactics. The German army started an attack in the southwest to nab the Caucasian oil areas, industrial regions of Stalingrad, as well as the richest agricultural regions of the Don and Kuban. From mid-July 1942, the historic Battle of Stalingrad took place, which had a decisive part in the Great Patriotic War (History.com Editors). The triumph associated with the defeat of the Germans on the Volga marked the turning point in the entire Second World War. The Red Army snatched the initiative of military action from the Nazis, consolidated it in subsequent operations, and after the Battle of Kursk, apparently dominated until Germany was completely defeated.
Having suffered a heavy defeat in the winter campaign of 1942-1943, the Germans attempted to take revenge in 1943, assuming, in the presence of a favorable situation, to expand the actions of its troops to eliminate the Kursk salient, and then attack Moscow (Kasdorf 6). At the launching stages of the summer battles, the German forces had about 230 divisions within the scope of the Soviet-German front. Germany continuously tried to break through the defenses of the USSR forces in the Belgorod region; however, such actions did not contribute to significant results. Instead, the Nazis faced a plethora of losses, as well as we’re forced to consolidate their position on the achieved line. Both sides were preparing for the decisive battle.
After the end of the operations of the winter campaign of 1942-1943, there was a strategic pause on the Soviet-German front (Kasdorf 7). Both sides ceased active hostilities and began comprehensive preparations for the summer battles. In the center of the Soviet-German front, the so-called Kursk balcony was formed – the initial bridgehead for inflicting flank attacks on the Orel and Belgorod-Kharkiv Nazis’ groupings. Subsequently, favorable conditions were created for the deployment of following offensive operations on the territory of Ukraine, Belarus, and Crimea.
The forces of a number of fronts that were on the Kursk salient were a threat to the flanks and rears of the German’s army groups “Center” and “South” (History.com Editors). These Nazi’s groupings that occupied the Oryol and Belgorod-Kharkiv bridgeheads were provided with favorable circumstances for the delivery of an advanced flank attack against the USSR’s forces that defended the area (“Battle of Kursk”).
Predispositions to the Battle
By the start of summer-autumn military actions of 1943, the front line ran from the Barents Sea to Lake Ladoga, then along the Svir River to Leningrad and further to the south; at Velikiye Lugs, it turned to the southeast, and in the Kursk region, it formed a huge ledge, which went deep into the location of the enemy troops (Trust 1). In general, by the summer of 1943, before the Battle, the Red Army was superior to the German fascist forces both quantitatively and qualitatively (“Battle of Kursk”). The USSR now had all the required possibilities to crush the Nazi’s troops, as well as to resolutely and firmly preserve strategic initiatives in all crucial regions and dictate its will to the Germans. The Hitlerite military-political leadership, realizing that its armed forces had lost their former superiority over the Red Army, took total measures to send the best troops to the Soviet-German front.
The Nazis took advantage of the absent second front in Europe and transferred the most combat-ready troops from France and Germany in significant numbers (Schaufler 224). The military industry, working constantly, was in a rush to provide new tanks “Tiger” and “Panzer” and heavy self-propelled guns “Ferdinand”. The Air Force received new aircraft Focke-Wulf-190A and Heinkel-129. German troops received significant replenishment of personnel and materiel (“Battle of Kursk”). To carry out the planned operation at Kursk, the Germans concentrated their best forces. More than 900 thousand people were ready for hostilities. The Nazis were confident of success; fascist propaganda devoted a lot of effort to raise the spirits of the troops, promising an absolute triumph in the upcoming battles.
The crucial point here is the reasons why Germany decided to conduct its general offensive in the Kursk region. The fact is that the operational disposition of USSR troops on the Kursk Bulge promised great prospects for the Germans (Schranck 477). Here, two large fronts, Central and Voronezh, could be surrounded at once, as a result of which a serious gap would have formed, allowing the Nazis to carry out major military actions in the southern and northeastern directions.
The fascists also took into account the exceptional strategic significance of the bulge for the Soviet troops (Schaufler 229). By occupying it, USSR could strike at the rear and flanks of both the Orel and Belgorod-Kharkiv enemy groupings. In their assessments of the situation and possible options for the Germans’ actions, the Soviet authorities proceeded precisely from this premise, which was later confirmed. The USSR’s operational-strategic command was unanimous in its assessment of the further enemy actions. In this unity of opinions that was founded on a profound evaluation of all factors, the increased skill of the Soviet staff was best reflected. Taking into account the created situation, an operation plan was developed, which provided for the repulsion of the enemy offensive with the subsequent transition to a decisive counter-offensive on Orel, Belgorod, and Kharkiv.
The Soviet governance figured out the Nazis’ plans in time and carefully prepared the forces to repulse, creating a mighty defense and pulling up reserves that were superior to the Germans’ ones. This could no longer be claimed about the Nazis who did not demonstrate an appropriate and deep evaluation of the situation and comprehensiveness of the plan (Trueman). Given the fact that the Nazis lost strategic initiatives, they could not overcome the increased difficulties, which was aggravated by a sharp decline in the military spirit among the soldiers.
The most dangerous defense lines in the Belgorod area were occupied by the 6th Guards Army. By the time of the defensive battle, Soviet troops, both quantitatively and especially qualitatively, were superior to their enemy. The increased power of aviation, armored forces and made them capable of creating shock groupings in a short time, rapidly breaking all resistance of the German troops (“Battle of Kursk”). This provided the USSR’s military-strategic command with the opportunity to be prepared and confidently carry out the defeat of the German forces in the area, to thwart Hitler’s widely conceived offensive plan.
In the Battle of Kursk, the Soviet troops possessed better manpower and plenty of military resources than the Germans. However, relying heavily on tanks and motorized troops, the Nazis grouped them in narrow areas, which contributed to their tactical advance at the launching stages of the battle (Grossman 228). Nevertheless, when the Soviet forces, located in the operational depth, entered into action, the superiority was gained by the troops of the USSR.
The Battle of Kursk
On the morning of 5 July 1943, the Battle of Kursk began. The German troops moved forward their main forces. In total, seventeen tank, three motorized, and eighteen enemy infantry divisions participated in the action. Carrying out the meticulously but stereotyped Citadel plan, the Nazis aimed to concentrate the mentioned forces on narrow areas of the frontline (Schaufler 228). The idea was extremely simple: to break through the defensive lines of the Red Army simultaneously from two opposite sides of the Kursk Bulge. As they said then, concentric strikes in the general direction to Kursk had to cut off and then eliminate the USSR’s forces stationed there.
To comprehend these possibilities, the Nazis’ military command started preparing for the primary summer offensive. It hoped to defeat the USSR’s forces by inflicting strong counterstrikes, regaining strategic initiatives, and changing the conditions in its favor. The operation, code-named Citadel, envisaged the delivery of two powerful concentric oncoming strikes against the Soviet troops in the area to encircle and defeat them (Grossman 239).
In the following strategy, the German forces, given the completed encirclement of the USSR troops in the Kursk region, intended to inflict a swift blow to the rear of the Southwestern Front, to conduct the second stage of Operation Citadel (Kasdorf 16). For this, after the completion of this encirclement of the USSR armies, it was supposed to use all the free mobile German formations. Meanwhile, the German forces did not rule out the possibility, after the implementation of the Citadel operation plan, to develop success in another direction – to the northeast, bypassing Moscow, to reach the rear of the entire central troops of the USSR forces. This operation was supposed to be a general battle on the Eastern Front and demonstrate the superiority of German military strategy, the increased power, combat capability, and irrepressibility of Nazi Germany.
The USSR governance was capable of accurately determining the time of the start of the Nazis offensive. All units were put on alert. Counter-artillery training of the Soviet artillery outstripped the German. On 5 July, at 6 o’clock in the morning, the Nazis struck at the Soviet troops; however, they failed to break through the defenses of the guards’ division (“The Battle of Kursk”). The fascist forces suffered a blow at the junction of the 78th and 72nd Guards Rifle Divisions in the area of Maslovoy Pristan. The Nazis managed to force the Seversky Donets in several places and wedged into the main line of defense.
The guardsmen showed considerable resistance to the Germans. On 5 July, the Nazis lost plenty of tanks, hundreds of soldiers, and officers there. On the second day, the Nazis left about 60 tanks and 500 killed and wounded on the battlefield. From 7 to 8 July, the guards destroyed 80 tanks and assault guns. In four days of bloody battles, the Germans managed to advance 8-10 kilometers and reach the second army line of defense, but could not break through it. The Germans were feeling exhausted and could not handle the situation at all (Schaufler 228). In contrast, according to Grossman, the Soviet troops started to feel capable of overcoming any German trick (237).
A huge role in disrupting the Nazis’ offensive plans belongs to the triumph of the Red Army forces in the tank struggle in the Prokhorovka area, which is to be considered as the largest one – there were 1200 units from both sides. It should be noted that a substantial part of the Soviet forces here belongs to the unbreakable spirit of soldiers. For instance, there is a sound story of Lyuba the Tank Killer, who, in extremely short terms, converted herself from a military nurse to a full-scale warrior and destroyed a great number of the enemy’s tanks (Loza 4). It should also be noted that the Soviet soldiers were significantly prepared to eliminate the German tanks with the antitank rifle (Voenizdat of the NKO USSR, 4), which contributed to the strategic advantage of the USSR during the Battle to a great extent (Schranck 486). Heavy steel cars turned into heaps of scrap metal. Towers and cannon barrels flew from the tanks, and caterpillars were torn to pieces. Both sides had to face big losses.
On 12 July, the fascist German troops were stopped in the Orel-Kursk direction, where they managed to advance 9-15 km, and on 16 July, they were stopped near Belgorod, where they advanced 15-35 km. By 24 July, as a result of a counterattack by the USSR forces, the Germans were thrown back to their original positions (Trueman). The enemy’s summer offensive was a complete failure.
Following this, the Red Army turned to offensive tactics on the Orel and Belgorod-Kharkiv bridgeheads – the enemy’s most powerful strategic bridgeheads, from which it intended to leap Moscow. The aims of the USSR troops in the counter-offensive were very complex and difficult. Both on the Oryol and the Belgorod-Kharkiv bridgehead, the enemy created a strong defense (Trueman). The first of them was fortified by the Nazis for almost two years and considered it as a starting area for attacking Moscow, and they considered the second a bastion of the German defense in the east, a gateway that blocked the paths for the Russian armies to Ukraine.
At dawn on 3 August, significant artillery began a counter-offensive by the USSR forces in the Belgorod-Kharkiv direction under the code name “Commander Rumyantsev” (Trut 1); the Nazis’ defense was interrupted. On 4 August, the Soviet troops, breaking the enemy’s resistance, advanced. The Nazis resisted especially stubbornly north of Belgorod in the related offensive zones. The Germans tried with all their might to hold these areas that were near the breakthrough of the Red Army and to hamper the maneuver of the tank divisions that broke through, and, under favorable circumstances, to strike at their rear.
Soviet aviation was active, firmly holding air supremacy in its hands. The assault formations of the 2-1 air army suppressed the enemy’s artillery, struck at his reserves and communications. It should be stated that the aviation conducted about thirty air battles, in which about 40 Nazis aircraft were shot down. During the stubborn struggles on 4 August, the formations approached the Tomar knot, wedged into its defenses in several places, and covered the knot in a half-ring from the north, east and south. east. The Germans’ attempt to stop the troops advancing north of Belgorod was also unsuccessful. The second and third defensive lines of the Nazis broke through, and the infantry and tanks were quite close to the city.
A difficult situation for the German troops took place on the eastern and southeastern approaches to Belgorod. There, the USSR forces eliminated the enemy’s bridgehead on the right bank of the Seversky Donets, as well as crossed the river in several areas. Then, the Red Army reached the northern outskirts of Belgorod. But a more dangerous situation for the enemy developed on the western approaches to Belgorod. On 5 August, Belgorod was completely cleared of the Germans. The Nazis hastily retreated to the south, leaving over 3 thousand people killed in the streets of the city. The offensive impulses of the Red Army were increasing day by day. On August 7-8, the 1st and 5th tank armies captured the towns of Bohodukhiv, Zolochev, and the village of Cossack Lopan. With the arriving tank formations in the area of Bogodukhov, the Germans’ defense was interrupted to the entire operational depth. The Battle ended on 23 August – with the liberation of Kharkiv (Kasdorf 17). However, according to Grossman, several following small battles in the area went on (242).
Impact of the Battle
The Battle of Kursk might be characterized as one that had a substantial influence in both the military-political and international frameworks. It substantially increased the importance and global authority of the USSR (Grossman 231). It became apparent that given the mightiness of the Soviet troops and forces, the Nazis were forced to face an inevitable lesion. The sympathy of the global community towards the USSR increased as well. Plenty of the occupied countries and citizens were considering the Soviet Union as the ray of hope that would set them free from the fascists’ oppression. There were numerous national fronts inspired by the Battle – starting from France and ending with Norway. The anti-Nazi struggles were intensified throughout the whole world, which was an important mental advantage over Hitler and his allies.
Then, the victory at Kursk had a notable impact on the German people, undermining their state of mind and belief that they are a superior nation that cannot be defeated. The Nazis were losing control over their allies, and there were many splits within the fascists’ blocs – all these resulted in continuous political and military crises (Balck 303). The launching steps of this collapse were evident from the end of Mussolini’s regime when Italy decided to stop its relationships with Germany.
The triumph in the Battle of Kursk that was discussed above forced Germany to turn to a defensive strategy at all the fronts of World War II (Zapotoczny 2). It had a significant influence over the whole theatre of military actions. The transfer of the major part of the German troops from the West to the Soviet-German frontlines, as well as their losses from the battles there, considerably alleviated the disembarkation of Anglo-American forces in Italy and predefined the success of the latter ones (Grossman 231).
Finally, given the effects of the triumph of the Soviet forces, interactions between the world-leading governments of the anti-Hitler coalition were enhanced (History.com Editors). Soon after the Battle of Kursk, the Teheran conference was conducted. There, the heads of the Soviet Union, the US, and Great Britain were present and formally established the allies’ relationships between the three mentioned countries. During the meetings, it was decided to open a second front in Europe.
The Battle of Kursk failed the strategy of the offense of the Nazis; their attempts to seize strategic advantages and overcome all the resistance had no positive results in the aftermath. The USSR leaders completely defended their strategic initiatives and did not lose them until the War ended. After this great battle, the balances of forces substantially changed in favor of the Red Army. In contrast, the troops of the Germans had to launch a defensive strategy to survive and take the lead where possible, which – unsurprisingly – did not happen.
Conclusion
The Battle lasted for fifty days, which puts it in line with the longes battles of the War. More than four million people took part in it from both sides, and a plethora of military means was utilized as well. The Nazis faced such a drastic struggle from which they could not simply recover during the further flow of the War. Soviet forces considerably advanced in the southern and southwestern directions, eliminating the Orel and Belgorod-Kharkiv troops of the Germans, as well as creating favorable circumstances for the free of left-bank Ukraine and access to the Dnieper.
Then, it should be emphasized that the won of the Soviet forces in the Battle had a significant political and military impact. Given the results of this Battle, the Nazis’ offensive aspirations could last no longer. The triumph demonstrated several radical changes within the vector of the War. The Germans were forced to turn to merely defensive actions, and their allies were abandoning them one by one. Under the impact of the Battle explored, resistance movements throughout the whole world started to be more active, which undermined the fascist positions to a great extent as well. Then, the military art of the USSR became even more advanced, and the airspace nearby Kursk was fully occupied by the Red Army air forces after the Battle.
More than a hundred thousand Soviet soldiers who took part in the Battle gained their rewards – orders, medals, and recognition. The battles of Moscow, Stalingrad, and Kursk might be considered three crucial stages within the scope of the struggle against the Germans during the War – three critical milestones that led to the won over the Nazis. The initiatives for actions on the Soviet-German front were completely seized by the Red Army forces, which contributed to the absolute dominance of the USSR in this frontline. Subsequent operations were conducted under the conditions of our undivided possession of this initiative, which was an important factor in achieving new major military victories over the Nazis.
First of all, arguing on the matters of the inevitability of World War II it is necessary to point out, that the causes of it take the roots at the end of World War I, the foundation of the Versailles-Washington system of international relations particularly. Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which ended World War I. Therewith, the country had to cede huge parts of its territory, had to give up most of its military forces, and was forced to pay the enormous amount of 132 billion Goldmark as reparations. The so-called war guilt Article 231 stated that:
“Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.” (Eubank, 2004)
Germany, as the defeated state was restricted in army forces, lots of territories were separated from Germany, which became the reason for the policy of appeasement in the late 30s. (Lee, 1997)
Discussion
The organization. Which was claimed to keep the world in peace – the League of Nations – failed to. It was an infant institution, which actually could not prevent the approaching war. Hitler’s ambitions towards Austrian and some Polish territories were so huge, that LN, with the USA at its head, started appeasing Germany, instead of imposing sanctions. At that time everyone realized, that this leads to war, but no one made a single step to prevent it. This can be explained by the two following assumptions: the parties either were afraid of Hitler, or they had their own plans towards his aggression. The first one seems to be incredible, the second – unbelievable. But both made the war inevitable
While the parties all believed in the necessity for war, there were no delusions about the charges in blood — at least, not originally. Even Hitler took note of the stillness of the Berlin crowds as their warriors marched to war. In Britain and France, there was definitely no celebrating when war was announced.
Participants in World War II did not have any optimistic anticipations about the consequences of this war at its eruption, in stark contrast to the prequel. Nevertheless, this war radically reduced the number of war-related victims within the states engaged. With something like 50 million dead, Europe and Asia in ruins, probably the dramatic decline in the struggle ought not to be astonishing. Human beings have some type of group memory and at the end of the war, the notion of war on this scale turned to be associated with self-obliteration. Peace was attained. And remembering the dead was a praise to the sacrifices made to attain this end. (Divine, 1969)
Conclusion
Actually, any war is started with the “honored” aims and with the promises of a better life to soldiers and their families. Hitler required the coal mines of Donbas and oil derricks of the Caucasus. Soviet Russia wished to stop the aggressor, and the Allies seemed to be afraid of rapid decisions, as the second front was opened only after Hitler’s defeat became obvious. Such an approach to the war made it inevitable.
References
Divine, Robert A., ed. Causes and Consequences of World War II. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1969.
Eubank, Keith. The Origins of World War II. 3rd ed. Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 2004.
Lee, Loyd E., and Robin Higham, eds. World War II in Europe, Africa, and the Americas, with General Sources: A Handbook of Literature and Research. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997.
Japan as a country constitutes of 3000 islands and has the 10th largest population in the world, standing at 128 million people. Archeological research indicates that their initial cultural practices were mainly influenced by the Chinese, and then this was later followed by a long duration of isolation from any external influence. Before the adoption of the new constitution in 1947 (courtesy of Americans), their system of governance was that of Shogunate style. But since then, they have maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with a ceremonial emperor and highly powered upper house parliament (Reischauer, 200-205). Japan’s Tokugawa Shogunate which literally means “military dictatorship” was established in the year 1603. This period saw the ushering of a very prolonged period of Japan’s isolation from foreign influence for more than two centuries. During that time, Japan in turn secured a powerful kingdom that enjoyed stability both in the political realm and traditional cultural sense.
In 1854, Japan signed a treaty with the United States (the Kanagawa Treaty) which saw it open up its ports for business with the rest of the world as well as an outlet to their modernization and industrialization strategy (Sugimoto et al, pp. 50-54). By the late 20th Century, Japan had grown into a powerful region such that countries like Russia and China were no match to it. The superiority attitude got into them, took a toll and they decided to invade Korea, Taiwan, and South Sakhalin Island which they all occupied. Japan surged with the inversion trend undeterred, in 1937, it launched a large-scale inversion of China and four years later in 1941, it attacked the US, triggering the entry of America to the Second World War.
The US-led bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities of Japan led to a great economic slump in Japan. The attack brought the country to a point of near extinction. In order to revive themselves and be once again on their feet, Japan decided to form an ally with the US…the results were positive, as they eventually recovered their economy, their emperor retained a powerful status more than ever before (this stability became a symbolize national unity), they elected political leaders and established a strong input of bureaucracy and business executives. Though the Japanese economy experienced a great slowdown towards the end of the 20th Century, as a result of unprecedented growth for thirty years, it still remains a major economic power not only in Asia but Globally.
Post War Period
As a common saying goes, “I might be down, but not out”. The Japanese knew this so well that they could make it practical and revive their economic survival…but this success highly depended on how they had to treat themselves after the war. The damage had been done, and there was no point wailing, agonizing, or crying over “spilled milk”. They had to do something, and time was of the essence. That is why the Japanese swallowed their pride and got into an alliance with the same people (US) who had brought them to their knees…the government put into use all the available resources that they had within their reach into use to help revive the staggering economy.
The countries industrial cooperation, mastery of strong technology, and strong work ethics coupled with relatively small defense allocation (1 percent of their GDP) helped it to rapidly advance to be the second most powerful economy technologically in the entire world after the United States. By measure on a Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), Japan can boast of having an economy that is the third-largest in the world after the US and China (Flath, pp. 339-340).
Another notable aspect that has worked well for Japan is the way manufacturers suppliers together with distributors have worked as a unit in a closely-knit group referred to as “keiretsu”. The Japanese government after seeing that their economy was at least picking up, embarked on the system that guarantees lifetime employment to a good portion of the urban labor force, but this policy has since been abolished.
Only 11.64% of the entire Japanese land is arable land and by only having fish (they account for nearly 15% of global fish catch, second to only China…World Factbook; Japan-Economy, 2006) as their natural resources, they are left to import a lot of items. Japan has no energy resource and is the world’s largest importer of coal and the world’s second-largest importer of LPG to drive their industrial sector. With the tiny agricultural sector, the Japanese government greatly subsidized and protected their crops so much that their yields are among the highest in the world, but they still have to import at least 55% of their food on a calorific basis.
In the index of Economic Freedom, it scoops the number five position of the most laissez-fair out of a total of 30 Asian countries. It is very easy to do business in Japan. Among the 128 developed countries, it falls at position 12 in 2008.
The steps that Japan put in place have achieved greater results than no economist would have imagined just after WW II. Research findings reveal that out that apart from being the second-best economy in the world, Japan since 1956 has been a member of the United Nations (UN), G8 OECD, and OPEC, it is number five in the world in the defense budget and the 4th largest exporter in the entire Globe.
When it comes to the living standards for her citizens, Japan has overcome all the post-war huddles and crises to give her citizens the best living standards (8th Highest HDI). Modern Japan is the world’s leader in technology, robotics, and machinery (Jesse Arnold, pp. 61-63).
The post-war situation of Japan though was fragile was handled with a lot of caution and tactics especially in foreign and military relations. Together with their key ally, the US, Japan has established a strong security alliance to serve as a foreign policy cornerstone. (Michael Green, 240). The latest reports have it that Japan is currently seeking to be Security Council permanent member . Modern Japan is very much of a contrast to what has been torn into pieces just a few decades ago, instead, it is presently trying to get involved in several diplomatic ties with partners around the world as well as resolution of political disputes in countries that were hardly affected by the war. Japan is officially the third largest donor of Development Assistance after the US and UK. In 2004 alone the Japanese government parted with over US$8.86 billion.
Though things seem to be okay with the war dust having settled, not all is well with the now, prosperous country. There is still no peace between Japan and its neighbors like Russia, China, and PRC. Japan is involved in a territorial dispute with the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan over the Senkaku Islands, with PRC over EEZ situated around Okinotorishima and with Russia over South Kuril Islands, and lastly with South Korea over Liancourt Rocks. Japan is still technically at war with Russia since no peace treaty has ever been officially signed between the two countries. These disputes are not giving Japan peace at all, thanks to their historical dealings with their neighbors. But it is very hard for them to get involved in any inversions presently owing to the strict military regulations that they have put in place. In article nine (9) of the Japanese constitution, Japan is forsaken from declaring any military action on any country or state as a measure of settling international disputes. They have instead used their forces (Japan Ground Self Defense Force-JGSDF and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force-JMSDF) to promote Global peace in the troubled countries.
Conclusion
When Emperor Meiji, in 1868 initiated a model of the free market by adopting the American and British of Enterprise Capitalism, there was an instant economic expansion that saw Japan emerging as the most developed nation in Asia. Overall, the growth rate in Japan has been spectacular. Reports indicate that a shrewd trade policy placed Japan at a more advantageous level than the other countries in the Western markets. This form of imbalance did not go well with the United States. The said policy led to a great overall growth “The Japanese Miracle” in Japan’s GDP. In the 1960s the average growth was 10%, and in the 1970s it was 5% and 4% in the 1980s. Overinvestment and bubble in the asset prices in the 1980s led to a significant drop in growth in the 1990s (at 1.7%) (Jansen, 2000).
Factors that have been suggested to be challenging to Japan’s economic growth are varied. While the life expectancy of the overall population of Japanese is given to be an average of 82.07 years, their population growth rate is -0.139% which makes things appear worse if the status quo remains. Something has therefore to be done to improve the population growth, failure to which we will witness the people’s extinction and no one living to enjoy the good investments in the land (Hood, Shinkansen, pp. 312-355).
The Japanese literacy level stands at 99% is a clear plus to the growth (George Sansom, 42). On the other hand are serious growth milestones to the Japanese intended economic growth. This is the huge government debt (182% of GDP) and rise in taxes as well as the aging population. These two factors bundled together put a lot of strain on the economy because more is demanded from it than can realize with the declining workforce. But better still, it still enjoys the status of being one of the countries with the least unemployment rates, at 4%. By 2006, her worker’s GDP per hour worked fall at number 18 in the world, only 30% behind USA or France.
Work Cited
Flath “The Japanese Economy”: Oxford University Press, 2000: 243-312.Henshall A. “History of Japan”: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001: 339-423.
Hidenori Sakanaka: “Japan Immigration Policy Institute: Director’s message”. Japan Immigration Policy Institute. (2005)
Hood, Shinkansen: “From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern Japan, Routledge, 2006: 312-355.
Samuels “Securing Japan: Tokyo’s Grand Strategy and the Future of East Asia”: Cornell University Press, 2008
Jansen. “The Making of Modern Japan”: Belknap, 2000.
Jesse Arnold. “Japan: The Making of a World Superpower (Imperial Japan)”. (2007): 65-66.
Lucien Ellington “Japan Digest: Japanese Education”. Indiana University. (2005). Pg. 13-27. George Sansom “A History of Japan: 1334–1615”: (1961). Stanford. Pg. 42.
Ogawa, Naohiro. “Demographic Trends and Their Implications for Japan’s Future”: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Transcript of speech delivered on (1997): 231-241
Reischauer, “Japan: The Story of a Nation”, McGraw-Hill, 1989: Pg. 124-305
Sugimoto et al., “An Introduction to Japanese Society”: Cambridge University Press, 2003, 44 101.
“World Factbook; Japan Economy”. CIA (2006-12-19).
“Foreign investments in Japan soar. BBC.
“Japan Is Back: Why Tokyo’s New Assertiveness Is Good for Washington”: 2007, 239-245.
“UK backs Japan for UNSC bid”: Central Chronicle.
“World Economic Outlook Database: country comparisons”. IMF: 2006.
The Department of Defense was created in 1947 but came to life in the year 1949. The creation of the body as a result of the need to have a more unified system of command that took into consideration the whole army’s operations. The problems of the unity of command experienced during the previous world war necessitated this move. The legislation that created it aimed to unify and streamline the governance between the whole army while in turn maintaining the individuality of the various army units. This caused a lot of inter-service competition due to the issue of the budgeting concepts. The budget ceilings presented by Truman were rigid and therefore accelerated the competition for funds.
The reorganization of the department came in the Eisenhower administration. The loosely stated powers that were assigned to the Department’s various positions led to a weak structure with no real authority in some cases. The Korean War helped ease the budget qualms that existed in the era of Joint Chief chairman Andrew Johnson but did not kill the competitive spirit that existed. However, this led to the claims of mismanagement of funds within the military and necessitated the empowerment of the Joints Chief chairman to manage this spending. These were done in 1953.
In 1958 through the Defense Reorganization Act, the more severe reorganization was effected. This was caused by one chief reason, the Russian technology threat. The US humiliation after the launch of Sputnik and the threat that they were developing better missile capabilities worried the administration. In the background, the services were clamoring for the chance to develop and lead the missile research. Eisenhower argued that the time for segmentation of war into land air and sea was over and with this went of issue legislation that would in effect join the operations of the units without their overlapping in purpose (Hook and Spanier, 2004, 24-11) (Neuchterlein, 2000, pp. 32-59).
Strategy
The American policy after the Second World War changed to a preventive one. The aim was to prevent any harm to the American borders while using her influence and newfound financial strength to do so. With the financial ruin that the world had seen, the US took advantage to use this to prevent the rival philosophy of communism while combining it with creating allies and defense posts to check the Soviet gospel’s spread.
The Truman administration started by granting independence to the Philippines and signed the Rio Pact of 1947 to strategically prepare itself to defend its borders. These two acts allowed America to place defensive posts further away from its borders. America also, through the Marshall plan extended aid to Europe to aid both its military and financial plans. The IMF and World Bank bodies were set up to inject economic life into the world economy. The US was determined to establish itself both economically and militarily as the world leader. The cold war era saw the signing of many treaties, especially in Asia. The Asian bloc was under the threat of communism and America, having signed the Geneva peace accord, was not ready to give in again. The dismay at the loss of North Vietnam and the presence of China-made America establish a network of treaty states to check the spread of communism.
The prudence of the combined financial and military technique was seen in Cuban-American relations. The Bay of Pigs incident of 1961 followed closely by the Cuban Crisis a year later revealed the prudence of having allies, especially closer home (Hook and Spanier, 2004, 24-11) (Neuchterlein, 2000, pp. 32-59).
Missile crisis
The Cuban missile crisis happened in the Kennedy administration in 1962. The Russians were cunningly able to come up with a plan to build inter-range missile capability in Cuba to match America’s missile potential to hit out at Russia at will. This was coupled with the fact that Castro believed that the US would attack Cuba a second time, thus he welcomed the Russian’s plan. The response from the US was rapid and very deliberate.
The actions taken during the period bordered the two: defense and deterrence. The decision to impose quarantine on the high seas to prevent the completion of the missile launchers was a deterrent. The US Navy patrolled the seas inspecting every vessel headed into the communist country to cut off the necessary supplies for the missile launchers. This would lead to the eventual non-completion of the launchers preventing an attack due to lack of weaponry. The negotiations that also went on with the Russian President were also deterrent. The president issued a warning that any launch of the missile would be seen as an attack by the Russians and would result in retaliation. This caused the negotiations to take place. There was an agreement to remove the weaponry if the Americans promised not to attack Cuba.
On the other hand, the raising of the national security level was defensive. It was believed that the Russians might strike and thus the armed forces were put on high alert. In general, the response to the whole situation was in line with the policy to keep the enemy far away from being able to attack the borders, which was a defensive strategy (Hook and Spanier, 2004, 104-111) (Neuchterlein, 2000, pp. 32-59).
References
Hook, Steven W., and Spanier, John. American Foreign Policy Since World War II. CQ Press, Chap 2,3,4, pages 24-111, 2006.
Neuchterlein, Donald E. America Recommitted. University Press of Kentucky. Chap 2, pages 32-59. 2000.
The 20th century right from the beginning has witnessed major change in economic pattern of the world. In the beginning, it’s been the United States displacing Great Britain as the world’s largest economy and in the end it’s the globalization that made the biggest noise. For the United States, one can say that this century brought the tag of both economic super power and at the same time the locomotive of the globalized world. In the first half of the century, the nation witnessed two major economic events; World War II and the Great Depression. It was the depression, which raised its head but was later made to an end through the activities of the War. It’s been the war that revitalized the ailing American industry. The war had been instrumental in bringing unprecedented advancements in technology and its uses for both defense and civilian purposes. The continuation of innovation processes and permanent research created major job opportunities for scientists, engineers, government officials and citizens. The substantial increase in personal income brought significant in lifestyle and material expenses (US Department of State, 2006).
The final result if viewed in terms of gain in current scenario is that of United States as the economic powerhouse that drives the world. The post war economic events in United States has been instrumental in overall economic condition and almost in each decade since 1945, United States has seen some fundamental changes in economic pattern of the nation and hence the world. Providing importance to five decades of US economy in the later half since Second World War, this paper has been developed to emphasize five significant economic events, each from the periods 1945 – 1950, 1950 – 1960, 1960 – 1970, 1970 – 1980 and lastly the rest of 20th century respectively. The paper begins with rise in middle class in late 1940s and ends with globalized form of US economy of 1990s.
Economic Buildup: 1945 – 1950
With the end of World War II and drop in federal government’s military spending, US economy was now looking for some other option to maintain its growth. And this time, it was not the government or any major entity that pumped up the economy but the common people termed as consumer fueled strong economic growth in this postwar period. The increased buying capacity ensured successful conversion of automobile industry back into the production of cars and also newer industries and sectors of aviation and electronics started growing. But the most significant been the housing boom supported by post war baby boom, which actually resulted increase in number of consumers and middle class. The housing boom was also the fallout of United States participation of Second World War. The military personnel returning for war zones or their returning members were awarded with easily affordable mortgages and hence fueled the housing sector. The rising demand of the consumers caused significant increase in nation’s gross domestic product and by 1950; it rose to $300,000 million (US Department of State, 2006).
The Postwar Economy: 1950-1960
This decade saw another rise of military expenditure with United States getting into a cold war with Soviet Union. The government was now investing a lot as defense expenditure so as to maintain substantial fighting capacity with newer and newer bombs being developed and researched. Another form of war related expenditure was the introduction of Marshall Plan for the redevelopment of European countries thereby making new markets for numerous U.S. exports. The government was now paying the most important role in defining the aim of nation’s economy and was emphasizing on the concept of promoting maximum employment, production and people’s purchasing power. The Employment Act of 1946 brought further consolidation of above-mentioned concept and the service sector was on rise (Socioecon, 2005). Major Service sector companies like International Telephone and Telegraph were diversifying their services and corporations were becoming large service providers thereby causing significant change in American work force. The number of workers holding white-collar jobs by 1956 was more than blue-collar jobs of production and manufacturing sectors. The rise in jobs and people’s purchasing power was bringing prosperity from cities to suburbs causing another round of housing boom with rise in the ownership of single-family homes and car ownership. Technology innovation in air conditioning, communication technology couples with better highway infrastructure spurred the development of cities of southern and southwestern states. The nation as whole was now rising (Socioecon, 2005; US Department of State, 2006).
Changes in economic approach and the Vietnam War: The 1960s
This decade brought two things into fore; politics and economics. New nations establishing themselves as another economic powerhouse of regional or world scale emerged around the world rivaling the might of United States and forcing older economies to bolster economic relationships to replace military might as the most effective means of growth and expansion. Understanding the importance of the new economic order based on mind and intelligence, federal government was now investing in education to develop better work force thereby providing a boost to non-military research and innovations. Increased federal spending and tax reduction accelerated the economic activity. The government also launched various welfare programs like the Medicare providing better health care for the elderly and Food Stamps for the poor. Various education initiatives included promotion of research at university and institute level was implemented and students and educational institutes including schools and colleges were given assistance in form of high grants (Tripod, 1990; US State Department, 2006).
American’s presence in Vietnam went on to become another factor that provided a sudden rise in military spending. Though the presence of US military was initially supposed to be for smaller period in the beginning but later it became turned out to be a major involvement and also the biggest embarrassment for United States on political front. Economic activities were on a rise due to increased military spending but were later turned out to be an economic disaster as the government was unable to raise taxes to finance its rising military expenditure at foreign shores and welfare policies at home (Sitikoff, 1999). This resulted into higher inflation and in the end eroded all gains in form of economic prosperity that were made in the first half of the decade of 1960s (Tripod, 1990; US State Department, 2006).
Oil and Inflation: the 1970s
The higher inflation era of late 1960s got extended in 1970s due to the oil embargo imposed by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in early seventies. Higher energy prices and corresponding shortage brought inflation into higher zone and eventually disturbing US economy on every front (Hakes, 2000). The unemployment was on rise and the Federal budget deficits also on rise. The local companies were losing market due to intensified foreign competition resulting losses in revenue and lower stock values (Frum, 2000). The nation as a whole was unable to control events. Beginning with the Vietnam War, the war was not just an embarrassment on political front but also disturbed the American might over world and internal economy. The trade deficit swelled to an all time high as low-priced and high-quality imports of almost all sectors from the automobiles to steel and semiconductors making a massive entry into the United States market. People’s continuous demand for the goods so as to hoard brought further thrust to the price of goods (Sitikoff, 1999).
In desperation, government increased its spending to create more jobs while trying to cover up its failure in controlling inflation. As these measures failed to bring any impressive success but at the same time brought some dramatic changes in the deregulation of a number of industries, which included airlines, trucking, and railroads. Later the government relaxed its control over bank sector in form of reducing its pseudo role in maintaining the interest rates (US State Department, 2006).
The Economy in the 1980s
United States in this decade endured deep recession and then improvement over the prevailed condition. Agriculture sector was one of the most affected exports declining, price of the produce felling to new level, and interest rates on rise. But by 1983, inflation started getting eased and the economy witnessed a rebound and again the nation as a whole began to expect a sustained period of economic prosperity. But this recovery was not without its problems. The Farmers operating through small family farms was still under the influence of depression of previous decade and their challenge continued when the mid section of the nation witnessed serious droughts in 1986 and 1988. Banking sector was also under pressure as some of the prominent banks faltered due to unwise lending practices. The federal government was this time concentrating in the reduction of overall government’s expenditure. Japan was becoming a major competitor as the Asia was on rise with extremely cheaper exports. To avoid further slid in their market cap, Companies were spending enormous amount from their coffer in buying up their own stock. Some of the poorly managed companies were brought up by raiders, which later changed the company’s structure while bringing new management practices and production technology. The corporate sector was initially dismayed with the raiders buying companies after companies but the same proved to be the best solution in providing growth to corporate sector and better trade rules (US Department of State, 2006).
America Globalize: The 1990s and Beyond
Thomas Friedman in his book “The Lexus and the Olive Tree” has talked about the increase in world’s prosperity coming into focus through the path technically called as globalization. Technologically this entity has got its derivation from United States supported free-market capitalism, which in the long run has been the ultimate tool of world integration and creation of a cohesive environment. The changes have been irrevocable with living standards getting raised. Moving on to the concept of comparative advantage given by David Ricardo; the concept is not at all intuitive at first go and will require explicit numerical examples for better explanation. The globalization as a whole might have a single definition but in reality it has multiple faces. In the beginning it was as simple as a trade agreement and associations. Later it got itself transformed into collaborations between firms of different nations not only for trade but for technological development also. The United States’ economy saw some of the most unprecedented growth during this period as it fed the very consumerism of its people through much cheaper imports from various developing nations from Latin America and Asia thereby bringing prosperity to those exporting nations. The era of a new United States as a benevolent economic powerhouse began (Panelver, 2002).
The year 1994 saw the beginning of a new era in trade relations among three major countries of North America. With the launch of North America Free Trade Agreement i.e., NAFTA, comprising of world’s two most powerful economies USA and Canada and Mexico, the whole economic situation of the region has become a matter of close observation. The much-analyzed theory of Waltz on International Relations valid in almost every case can be successfully used in understanding the case of NAFTA and United States and Mexico (1979). The agreement was instrumental in bringing another major North American nation in the fold of United States economic fold and can be termed as another overseas economic success (Moreno-Brid, Validiva, & Santamaria, 2005). Now the economic policy of US was no longer considered as imperialistic and Mexico had become a part of NAFTA for increasing its exports especially to US, hence the US could now have Mexican establishment under the influence of its economic policies and decisions and in the end bringing greater economic benefits to Mexico with the trade with such a large neighbor (Bromley, Mackintosh, Brown, & Wuyts, 2004, p 264).
Conclusion
American economy in the next half of 20th century has seen some of the most extraordinary phases while coming out as a winner after every setback. The isolated nation of 19th century is now the most global economy. The nation has become the major propagator of barrier free trade. Though this globalization has provided its own share problem to its internal economy inform of extremely competitive trading partners like China and Japan causing major losses in manufacturing sector but at the same time the use of technology and Internet based innovation, it managed to offset the competition through outsourcing its service sector to cheaper destination. The country now stands sound basics and could easily withhold the effect of Asian recession of late 1990s when almost all its major trading partners from East Asia were weighing down. American economy ended the 1990s with extremely positive note. The country witnessed longest peacetime economic expansion in history since March 1991 to the end of 1999 but many challenges are still to follow with greater responsibly of controlling both national as well as world economy for better growth and extended prosperity.
References
Bromley, S., Mackintosh, M., Brown, W. & Wuyts, M. (2004). Making the International: Economic Interdependence and political Order. Pluto Press.
Frum, D (2000). How We Got Here: The 70’s. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Hakes, J E. (2000). “The 25th Anniversary of the 1973 Oil Embargo.” The Energy Information Administration.
Moreno-Brid, J. Validiva, J. C. R. & Santamaria, J. (2005). Mexico: Economic growth exports and industrial performance after NAFTA, Economic Development Unit. Web.
Penalver, M. (2002). Globalization, FDI and Growth: A Regional and Country Perspective, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Sitikoff, H (1999) The Postwar Impact of Vietnam. The Oxford Companion to American Military History. Ed. John Whiteclay Chambers II. New York: Oxford UP.
Socioecon, K. The financialization of the American economy Rev.2005; 3: 173-208.
US Department of State (2005) The U.S. Economy: A Brief History. Web.
Tripod (1990) US History 1950 -1975. Web.
Waltz, K. N. (1979).Realist Thought and Neorealist Thesis 1979. Journal of International Affairs. Web.
President Eisenhower is one of the most remembered historical figures among all the U.S. presidents, because majority of his promises were action oriented, although like any other leader, he had his own flaws. The president was a great advocator of peace, justice, and desegregation; practices the former American presidents failed to provide workable solutions to.
In addition to his leading role as a peace and desegregation crusader, prior to his election as the 34th American president and even after his rise to the top seat, Eisenhower was a well known and respected military general; hence, the tendency of many individuals to associate him with military service.
In addition, because throughout his early life in the military and in presidency, President Eisenhower helped America and other nations that sought his government’s help in ending many wars they faced for example, the Korean War. To many individuals, he was a leader with a difference hence, the many accomplishments he helped America achieve all throughout his time as a general and in presidency (National Achieves and Administration Libraries 1).
Historically, he was the first Military personnel to receive the highest five star rank, because of his active participation in military service and delivery of quality results.
In addition to receiving this rank, because of his active participation in the military, more so during World War II, Eisenhower was the first military commander to receive the honor of becoming the most powerful NATO commander. It is important to note that, although he was a great military man, his ruling principles were democratic and not military based, although he faced many external pressures to engage in war.
This and his practice of bringing people together, as a methodology of formulating workable or practical solutions to any problems that arose in America, made many to question whether he was truly a republican. Although such questions arose, most individuals and countries liked his ruling orientation, because he respected the American people and other nations’ political, social, and economic rights (National Achieves and Administration Libraries 1)
President Eisenhower’s term in the oval office that commenced in 1953 ended in 1961, as the American constitutions only guaranteed every president two terms in office (Rousch 1). As research studies show when comparing the best and worst of America’s presidents, President Eisenhower is among best presidents, who brought to America many changes, some of which are evident today.
To President Eisenhower, listening and respect of the public’s opinion was the greatest policy that determined the success of the ruling class. Therefore, respect of such opinions and cries from the American citizenry was the primary factors that contributed to his success, for his government never took any public outcry for granted.
President Eisenhower’s early days Before Presidency
Born in Denison Texas on 14 October 1890, Dwight Eisenhower grew among a family of parents with a Swiss origin. His stay never lasted for long, as his parents later on moved to Abilene Kansas, because of change of occupation. He grew in a low-earning family, a fact that many attribute to his life struggles and levels of hard work to better his family.
For example, to assist his parents provide a livelihood for his family, he engaged himself in some form of vegetable trade. In addition, sometimes he spent his free time offering help at the local milk plant, where his dad worked (Darby 11-16). Although Dwight engaged himself in all this activities, he never missed his classes in Abilene High School, because of his determination to succeed in life.
His completion of high school in 1909 marked the point of change in his life, as it marked the onset of his military life and later rise to power. After engaging himself for two years in different kinds of odd chores, which were of great support to his family, Eisenhower received an appointment to join the Annapolis Naval School, which he never joined, because his years exceeded the age limit that the government set for one to be eligible to join the college (Dwight D. Eisenhower Foundation 1)
Although this was a great disappointment to him, later on in 1910, he received an admission to West Point. This marked the onset of his achievements in life, as the military life gave him a good and respectable rapport among the American citizenry. It is important to note that, at entry time, Eisenhower had no objective of becoming a military person, but rather he wanted to advance his education.
One primary factor that made him secure the chance of joining West Point was his success in West Point’s entry exams. Through hard work and dedication, Eisenhower passed well in his final exams whereby, according to the schools ranking he was position sixty one out of one hundred and sixty four students who sat for final exams, guaranteeing him a chance of graduating in 1915. In addition to hardworking in class, Eisenhower was a very good sports man.
Because of his love for sports, Eisenhower was optimistic of becoming a professional baseball player, a dream that he never achieved, because the college denied him a chance of joining its main baseball team. Although this was the case, his ambition to excel in sports never died, because later on he got a chance of joining the school’s football team, where he helped the team achieve many victories.
In addition to this, Eisenhower also was an active athlete, whose role was an active linebacker in the college’s athletic team. Such achievement granted him the chance of serving as the school’s football coach and later as a Yell director (Summers 1 and Ater 1)
Early Military Service
Immediately after his graduation, the government posted him to Texas, as a second lieutenant; hence, officially marking the commencement of his military life. Later on in 1916, the government posted him to Fort Sam Houston, where he actively he actively took an infantry role. In addition to his infantry roles, Eisenhower also served as a tank cop.
His good performance in most of the centers where the federal government had posted him for example, Pennsylvania, Camp Wilson, Georgia, Maryland, Camp Dix, and many other military camps, prompted the government to promote him to a higher military rank; hence, his becoming a First Lieutenant in 1916.
In addition, in early 1917, the government promoted him further to be a captain, because of his dedication and success oriented performance. Later on that year the government further although transitory, promoted him to the Major rank position.
His continued military prowess made the government to promote him further in 1918 to a transitory Lieutenant Colonel position, which led to his eventual promotion into a captain position in mid 1920, and finally as a Major in later the same year (Dwight D. Eisenhower Foundation 1).
As the years continued passing and his performance improved, Eisenhower received more promotions. For example, his willingness to act as a Tank Corp observer in 1919 and his good performance in his daily chores, prompted the government to promote him to be an director of the General Fox Corner and Panama Canal zone for a period of almost three years from 1922.
Such rise in ranks continued up to 1925, when Eisenhower joined the Command and General Staff School, for further studies. His further studies took one full year up to 1926. After completion, Eisenhower joined the 24th Infantry, where he took an active role of a battalion commander up to the year 1927, when the federal government assigned promoted him to serve in the American Battle Monuments Commission.
Later on that year, the government promoted him to serve in the Washington D.C. military office, where he was actively involved actively in drafting a manual about World War I. Because of the technological advances that the world was going through at that time, which primarily changed war tactics, to improve his military experiences, Eisenhower joined the Army War College of Washington D.C. for one year from august 1927.
After completion of studies, later on for a period of three years from 1929, the government appointed him as an executive military administrator to assist General George Moseley in Washington D.C. Later on that same year, he took another administrative role as a chief military assistant to General MacArthur, whom was then the Army Chief of Staff.
He assumed that position until late 1935, when the federal government gave him a new position in the military, which involved the provision of advisory services to General MacArthur on issues that concerned America’s military relationship with the Philippines. His good performance prompted the government to promote him further to the Lieutenant Colonel position in the following year (Dwight D. Eisenhower Foundation 1).
Further, to appreciate his good and make use of his military proficiency, which he had demonstrated in his previous assigned duties, the government promoted him to serve under General DeWitt Clinton, who was the leader of the 15th Infantry.
Later on in 1940, after working in Ft. Ord and California on transitory basis, the government permanently deployed him to Ft. Lewis, where he acted in full capacity as a regimental officer, where he worked under the command of General Thompson, who was the leader of the third Division.
Later on in 1941, due to his increased prowess in military activities, the government promoted him to be the Chief of the General Staff, serving under General Walter Krueger, who was then the leader in charge of the third Army of Ft. Sam, Texas (Kerry 34-73).
Major Military Duties
Although many previous military ranks were of great importance to his later rise into presidency, his fame grew more immediately after the December 1941 bombing of the Pearl Harbor. Such was the case, because of the U.S. needed to protect its territories, which lead to the calling of the most talented military personnel, as the country tried to formulate revenge measures.
One primary reason why the government assigned Eisenhower a leadership role in the military is because, he one of the most important and talented military men and the fact that, he had successful completed all of his state assigned roles in both the United States and other countries. To the government, this was a clear sign of his sacrifice and dedication to serve his country.
With the deteriorating or worsening American military condition in the Pacific region, under the command of general Marshall, Eisenhower had to help the government draft a plan of action to save the Pacific situation, which was deteriorating with more security threats. To work closely with the troops, the government posted him to the War Plan Division, to help in drafting the required military action to control the pacific situation.
Because of his military prowess, organizational, management, and innovative abilities, satisfied with his competence, through influence of the then the Army Chief of Staff General Marshall, the government promoted Eisenhower to the rank to a Major General (Kelly Para.1-5).
Contrary to his early his parents’ and siblings’ anticipation of him coming home soon, this marked the long days that their son could be out of their sight, for it marked the onset of the many journeys he was to make between the U.S. and its affiliate countries, as the country sought a solution to the Pacific problem. In May 1942, Eisenhower attended to his first assignment of traveling to the Britain, as the U.S. sought to tighten its ties with its allies, as a mechanism of dealing with its Pacific enemies.
In November the same year, because of his military prowess the federal government appointed him the Commander in Chief of the Allied forces of North America. Immediately after his appointment, the government assigned him his first mission to the pacific called Operation Torch. This marked the onset of subsequent military duties, for example, the American military attacks on Italy and Sicily.
As the war intensified and the need for more ground military action arose, Eisenhower had the duty of organizing the American Military to avoid defeat in ground war. To have full control of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, countries allied to America appointed him the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, with one primary goal in mind; execution and proper implementation of the Operation Overload plan (Eisenhower 75-87).
His success in steering the allied forces, which marked the commencement of the surrendering of most nations involved in the war by 1944, prompted the federal government to promote him to the General of the Army Rank. This was the only rank with the highest number of stars; five, and it was the most honorary rank that no military personnel had received early.
End of World War II in 1945; marked by the surrendering of Germany, the United States government honored Eisenhower by assigning him the seat of the Military Governor. Although the end of World War II to some extent marked the end of his military work, to some extent it gave him the fame and expertise required to face other more challenging tasks, which were unseen by that time.
After celebration of his safe home return, as if his honorary appointments were not enough, in November 1945, the federal government named him the Chief of Staff. Later on, because of his leadership expertise and the nature of respect the Americans accorded him, in 1948, the federal government appointed him the Colombian University President Seat, which lasted for 2 years.
With his increased fame and military prowess, the following years saw the rise of Eisenhower to a very powerful international military seat namely the Supreme Allied Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty organization (NATO) (National Park Service 1).
The appointment into this seat caused a stir in the American continent, as his fame grew beyond uncontrolled levels, a fact that many research findings attribute to his winning of the presidential elections in 1952. Because of his increased fame, Eisenhower’s life ambition changed, because later on that year, for he resigned from all the international and national duties bestowed on him hence, his returning to his home and subsequent announcement of his interests in presidency in 1951.
One primary thing that the world will always remember in Eisenhower’s military life is his disagreement with President Truman’s decision to drop an atomic bomb in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. To Eisenhower, there was no need of using an atomic bomb on a country that had already surrendered, a suggestion that Truman opposed hence, commanding the dropping, whose impacts are evident even today, although numerous years have passed (Baliles Para. 5-8).
As research studies show, Eisenhower is one of the most firm military leader decision makers, a fact that was evident during the World War II, as many condemned his act of allowing the Red Army to fight in the Berlin Liberation War, a decision that he defended and respected.
In addition to allowing the Red Ribbon Army to fight in the war, sometimes Eisenhower had other military leadership wrangles, a good example being the taking over of duty from the then Military leader of Bavaria George Patton, because he had gone against military rules, which prohibited the use of Nazi armies in the war (Baliles 1).
Eisenhower’s Campaign Policies
Due to the good rapport that Eisenhower built in his role as a military leader, the American citizenry granted him a lot of respect and honor, a fact that made his campaigns a success, for many Americans believed that, if he had succeeded in the hardest international wars, them leading the country was to be of no problem to him.
During his first nomination quest, his primary opponent was Robert Taft, whom he defeated hence, taking his presidential bid on a republican seat. One main promise that Eisenhower promised he could achieve is finding a lasting solution to the Korean War, which had lasted for a very long time and wasted many resources.
To Eisenhower ending the war was the only way of fulfilling his second promise of reducing the amount of resources that government had dedicated to all military operations. It is important to note that, because of the many wars that the U.S. government was involved in; war needs had forced the government to increase its overall expenditure to the defense department, a fact that jeopardized other economic development sectors.
To many Americans, this was a promise they were sure he was to achieve, because of his military expertise learnt from his early days in the military.
On the other hand, to Eisenhower ending the war could achieve another of his primary goals of ensuring there was peace and stability all over the world, as it was the only way of mending America’s bad name. Such was the case, because most global societies affected by war considered America a bully nation, which wanted to achieve control of global societies using any means possible (Eleanor Roosevelt Papers 1).
To ensure his development policies favored all departments and as mechanism of offsetting budgetary deficits, Eisenhower promised in his campaigns that, if the Americans elected him as president he could adopt policies that could ensure his government developed a balanced budget.
According to Eisenhower if mothers could approximate and do correct budgetary allocations for their household spending, then how could leaders fail to do that. It is important to note that Eisenhower’s campaigns primary used women to pass messages across the political divide, for he considered them the most vulnerable members of the community who had suffered most, because of the previous governments’ inadequacies (Frum 7-11).
Because of the looming corruption that was prevalent in Truman’s administration, to make sure make sure America was a free corruption country, Eisenhower promised to adopt and implement policies and measures necessary to end all the corruption practices within the government.
In addition to ending corruption, adopting a balanced budget, and ending the Korean war, Eisenhower promised to commit all that was at his disposal to control the spread of communism, a fact that he intended to achieve through collaborations and working with NATO (Eleanor Roosevelt Papers 1).
Although Eisenhower was a respected and one of the most adored American leaders, he also had many campaigning difficulties. One of such difficulties was when the public demanded Eisenhower to convince them the he was to eliminate corruption from public offices in reference to Nixon’s act of diverting some campaign slush funds for his private upkeep.
To counteract this allegations Nixon went public and denied the allegations hence, to some extent winning the public confidence. The second campaign difficulty he faced concerned his associations with the Wisconsin’ Senator McCarthy, a senator who has accused the government of allowing communist to interfere with governmental departments, a practice that Eisenhower had promised to eliminate.
Eisenhower never agreed with McCarthy’s allegations, because he took sides with general Marshall, who according to McCarthy was behind the communism infiltrations. Convincing the public about his stand was never an easy undertaking, although finally the public criticisms subsided (Baliles Para. 8-9).
Success and Failures of President Eisenhower
To many Americans, Eisenhower was a historic champion, whom they trusted could achieve the American dream of being the most economically, socially, democratically, and politically developed nation. All throughout his reign one primary thing that Eisenhower believed in is the principle of dynamic conservatism.
The Eisenhower’s government never underscored previous government’s achievement, although his government brought in more innovations, which greatly boosted all sectors that constituted the American economy (Baliles 1).
One primary thing that his government achieved is bringing into the social security program more innovations. One example of such innovations was extension of the program to a level that it became a cabinet-level agency. Such innovations enabled the program to offer its services to numerous American workers who lacked social security cover. In addition to social security cover, President Eisenhower’s government adopted new wage policies, which led to the increment of all employees’ minimum wages.
To ensure that all governmental and non-governmental institutions implemented all the new policies, he formed three new departments namely Welfare, Health, and Education, which were under government supervision and control. It is necessary to note that, this was one primary reason why most of his endeavors succeeded hence, the nature of reputation individuals up to today accord his leadership style(Dwight D. Eisenhower Foundation 1).
Another primary achievement of his government was acceptance of the bill that authorized the construction of the Interstate Highway system, whose main role was to aid military activities in case security threats arose.
It is important to note that, Eisenhower came into power during the Cold War, a period whose main characteristic was enmity between many nations, which were either pro or anti-America. In addition to aiding military activities, the highway was important in the movement of logistics around the U.S., for such logistics movements were necessary for the economic well-being of United States (American History Central 1).
In addition, to such constructions, Eisenhower’s governments improved not only the U.S. States security but also other countries security, as it was the only mechanism of ensuring it protected its local and international development. Most security endeavors were in the bid to keep his campaign promises of ensuring that peace and stability reigned in the United States.
Eisenhower’s endeavors to ensure peace prevailed globally started with his early visit to Asia in an endeavor to sign a peace pact, which later led to the signing of the “New Look” agreement, marking the end of the war. Another security endeavor was evident in 1957, when his government declared that any Middle East country that showing some communism aggression towards the United states its allied countries could face extreme military action.
This was the primary method of dealing with communism, although at some level some Arab countries opposed this notion. An example of his government’s attempt to stop the spread of communism was 1957, when his government offered some economic help to Syria’s neighbors, as mechanism of enticing them to stage attacks against Syria, it being one of the countries that opposed its Middle East dominance.
Another example is during the time his government deployed over fifteen thousand soldiers in Lebanon to aid in the military action named Operation Blue Bat. The primary goal of this operation was to help the Lebanese government deal with a far-reaching revolution that was almost taking over the country, in addition to ensuring western powers maintained their rule over this region.
In addition to Lebanon Eisenhower’s government also participated actively during the Vietnam War, for it supported the French’s rule in Vietnam, although to some extent President Eisenhower never liked the idea. Further, as concerned the Vietnam War, his government provided some economic support to the then South Vietnam government, although there were many oppositions from his general and other military personnel (Hahn 38-47).
Eliminating of racial segregations was another primary goal that his government endeavored to achieve. Racial segregation was a prevalent practice in almost all previous governments; however, a revolution came into America immediately after Eisenhower’s win. Eisenhower’s government abolished the practice by abolishing the racially segregated schooling orientation, that ensured whites and blacks never shared the same school settings.
To fully abolish such segregations, President Eisenhower ensured the congress enacted and passed into law a legislation that was necessary for elimination of such segregations, for example civil rights laws of 1957 and 1960. Although some states complied with these new provisions, some refused hence, prompting even military action to implement the orders, a good example being the deployment of army officers in 1957 to safeguard t nine black students who schooled in Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas (Dudziak 23-45).
Economically, President Eisenhower’s government helped America rebuild its economy, an economy that had suffered many blows because of cold war and other domestic problems. His government was able to reduce the inflation rate to less than two percent, hence the expanding of America’s economy throughout his reign.
In addition to reducing the inflation rate, his government adopted job creation policies, which drastically reduced the unemployment rate in America, an achievement that research attributes to his ability to provide Americans with a balanced budget.
Such economic developments were evident in the U.S., because the stable and booming economy gave Americans an opportunity of purchasing new properties hence, a clear sign of the success of his government’s economic policies. Although this was the case, it is important to note that, still some American natives lived below the poverty line, primarily individuals who lived in the southern sections of North America (National Endowment for Humanities Para. 2-3 and Saulnier 1-8).
Failures
One primary failure of President Eisenhower is his inability to prevent power misuses in his government, a case that was evident with McCarthy’s actions. It is important to note that, Eisenhower never failed completely to deal with Senator McCarthy’s case, but rather his inability to deal with the case directly was the primary reason behind abuse of office power by this senator. Hence, considering this President Eisenhower failed to protect other senators’ civil rights, for his actions clearly indicated some form of biasness.
This is because; Eisenhower lacked the will of using his office power to reprimand a bad action from one of his fellow republican. Another failure to protect all American’s civil rights was during the periods of the schools’ desegregation wars.
Although to some extent, he supported the notion of eliminating the school segregation concept by providing some military security to black students who attended Central high School in Little Rock, Arkansas, his support never lasted all throughout his reign. This was a major shortfall of his government, because after 1958, some schools readopted the segregation concept (Baliles 1).
On the other hand, although he is one of historical figures accredited with numerous successes in war, his policies of giving peace dialogues a first priority, created many “loopholes” in the U.S.’s security endeavors. This was evident immediately after his retirement, because of the escalation of the cold war between the Middle East countries and Western powers (Baliles p.1).
Conclusion
In conclusion, President Eisenhower is one of the greatest historical personalities in the American History, because of his numerous achievements that are evident in the present U.S., as the United States is one of the most advanced and developed nations in terms of military prowess and activities.
Works Cited
American History Central. Dwight D., Eisenhower. History Central. 2010. Web.
Ater, Gary. President Dwight D. Eisenhower: a democrat in GOP clothing. American Chronicle, 5 Jan. 2010. Web.
Baliles, Robert. American president, an online reference resource for U.S. Presidents: Dwight Eisenhower. Miller Centre of Public Affairs. 2010. Web.
Kerry, Irish. “Apt Pupil: Dwight Eisenhower and the 1930 industrial mobilization Plan. The Journal of Military History 70.1 (2006): 31-61. Print.
National Achieves and Administration Libraries. Post presidential years. 2010. Web.
National Endowment for Humanities. Legacy: Dwight D. Eisenhower. National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation For Public Broadcasting. 2009. Web.
National Park Service. Eisenhower Military Chronology. National Park Service. 2010. Web.
Saulnier, Raymond. Eisen economic strategy: promoting growth and personal Freedom by creating conditions favorable to the operation of a market Based economy. Forum for Social Economics 34.1(2004): 1-8. Print.
Summers, Robert. Dwight David Eisenhower. Potus President of the United States, 16 May. 2009. Web.
It all started on 1st September 1939 when Germany attacked Poland without warning and that was when the world entered into war with itself. For a period which lasted for 6 years, manhood was under the threat of extinction since men slaughtered fellow men like goats and destruction of property took centre stage. World War 2 began in 1939 and ended in the year 1945.
The United States of America dropped two atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing more 120000 in the two islands leaving thousands of the populace suffering from the radiation effects. World War II ended (1945) and the world swore never to go to war with itself ever again. The impact of this war was felt everywhere in the world but this study will concentrate on the impacts the war had on Asia (Anon “World War 2 in the pacific”1).
Decolonization of most of the East Asian Countries
With the main colonial powers coming from Europe, the 2nd world war had been left weak and unable to manage their colonies due to the scarcity of resources. They were preoccupied with own problems and the rise of anti- imperialist sentiments back at home lessened the process of decolonization (Neher 1).
Colonies were not ready to be colonized again after what they saw during the 2nd world war. Colonies which had helped their colonial masters during the war were granted independence after the war ended examples of the countries that regained their independence were the Philippines from the United States of America in 1946, India from Britain followed in 1947, Ceylon and Burma in 1948 among others (Linter 1).
Expansion of the Asian Economy
The period after the Second World War saw the emergence and expansion of the world economies. As a result of business liberalization, technology advancements, and industrial growth nations (such as China and India) have undertaken dynamic growth of manufactured goods thus narrowing the massive per capita income gap that separated the European nations and their Asian counterparts (Findlay & O’Rourke 13).
Countries such as Japan and China started rebuilding their economies so as to compete with the rest of the world. Evidence shows that after the 1945 bombing Japan has improved and at present they are the strongest economy after US and china (Barboza 1).
The use of Women as comfort during the War
Situated throughout Asia were the comfort women; this is recorded as the ugliest mass rape of women where the Japanese soldiers abducted women as young as eleven years old and imprisoned them in rape camps. It was estimated that these comfort women could serve as many as 50 soldiers a day.
Not only were they beaten and starved but as well as forced to procure abortions in case any of them got pregnant. The little fraction that survived endured physical injuries and emotional breakdowns throughout their lives (Anon “Japanese sex slavery before, during and after World War II.” 1).
Changing Sex Ratio on Marriages and Fertility
Following the devastating losses during the 2nd world war, the disproportionate death of young men resulted to drastic changes in sex ratios among the populations surviving the war. This resulted in lower rates of marriage and fertility and high rates of children born out of the wedlock. As a result of the war most women were now involved in work which their husbands used to be involved with in order to feed themselves.
Nuclear Weapons
With the Second World War countries in the Asia improved their war technologies and started arming themselves in readiness of any war in case it ever explodes (Neher 4). Countries began devising strategies on how to protect themselves. Of late we have had the missiles testing of North Korea and the suspicion of Iran developing atomic bombs all as a result of countries trying to guard their interest.
Use of Technology
The Second World War also brought about technology advancements. As the world swore never to fight again there was formation of the League of Nations whose main aim was to steer cooperation and peace among member states.
This was followed by the establishment of GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs) whose main aim was to ease trade among world countries by reducing trade barriers and tariffs. The exchange of goods and services was easier thus the faster transfer of technologies among different economies in Asia. These among others were the impacts of this war on Asia
Conclusion
The World War II had both its positive and negative repercussions though loss of human lives cannot be equated with any economic or technology empowerment. it is advisable to note that Asia also gained some benefits from the war example the economies expansion and technology advancements.
One thing should remain clear is that as the countries develop and compete with others never again should the world ever fight against itself. We should always find alternative ways of solving our problems other than fighting with fellow humans. Preach Peace.
Works Cited
Anon. Japanese sex slavery before, during and after World War II, 2009. Web.
No doubt, war is an awful tragedy in the life of society; however, such atrocities occur and leave a painful wound on the body of society and in the soul of every individual involved in it. The analysis of the role of Canadian women in the most devastating war of the century presents special interest for us due to nontrivial results concerning the place of women in history that can be drawn from the analysis of sources. In the articles by Epp and Sugerman, the authors suggest their interpretation of the role of Canadian women in WW II. The articles’ novelty consists in the emphasis that is made on the “invisible” layer of the population, “non-English-speaking refugees” and Japanese Canadians. Both articles make the audience reconsider their point of view concerning female emigrants in Canada during the war. The life stories of heroines may be seen in two dimensions: as individual tragedies and the parts of large-scale tragedies of mankind.
Epp’s article suggests an account of the life tragedies of five refugees who represent the fate of all Mennonite women during the war. The authors describe the atrocities that the women had to suffer during the war period in the territory of Ukraine. Epp stresses frequent cases of sexual abuse of women exercised by Soviet soldiers. The results of these cases of violence were deaths and unsuccessful abortions.
The possibility of emigration was the way out for people, Canada “was the preferred destination” but the immigration criteria were very strict. In Canada, Mennonites faced poor living conditions, hard work, and bad nutrition. Many of them were helped by distant relatives, but this factor sometimes added difficulties, like sexual misconduct on the part of the employer; humiliation, and exploitation. Thus, the refugees had to earn their living, recover from past humiliation, and adjust themselves to Canadian society. The most frequently faced problem was the language that prevented women from appropriate jobs, forcing them to take up hard jobs. Women often tried to find refuge in marriage, but the outcomes were frequently unsuccessful, including abuse and violence in the family, reunited families faced the problem of incompatibility.
Epp illustrates the life of the refugees in Canada as hard and complicated by numerous challenges, but rather stable in comparison with the period of war. The life of these five women is described as a heroic experience, especially if we take into account that all hardships were experienced by the representatives of “the fair sex” who have proved to be strong and heroic personalities.
The article by Sugiman is also built based on the individual experience of women, but it analyses the personal experience of the author, the letters of Japanese Canadian women, and interviews. In short, the article focuses on “the loss of property, the indignities of Hastings Park, expulsion to ghost towns, and violation of human rights and principles of democracy”. The article suggests the description of political violence exercised by the Canadian government towards Japanese Canadians, it mentions “repatriating to Japan” “that meant forced exile”, though the native country for the majority of people was Canada. Besides, people were deprived of the right to vote and to return to “protected zone” until 1949.
It should be stated that Sugiman’s main merit is the involvement of various sources, which gather together like shreds of the image that create the full picture is complex. The authoress has shown emotions of Nisei women, their resistance and powerlessness. She managed to show the injustice of the situation in its full. In this matter the analyzed works have common features: both describe not only material and physical damage caused by the war period, not only lost property and dwelling, “the stench of Hastings Park”, but also ruined relationships, wounded souls, intimidation, lost dreams, and undeserved death.
The analyzed articles prove the idea that Japanese Canadian women and Mennonite refugees were active participants in the war. The analysis of real-life experience suggests that “the fair sex” had to survive not the horror of war, but the prejudices and discrimination as well. On the whole, the articles are useful for the study of the Canadian history of the period.
Bibliography
Epp, Marlene. “Victims of the Times, Heroes of Their Lives: Five Mennonite Refugee Women.” In Rethinking Canada: The Promise of Women’s History. 5th edition. Edited by Mona Gleason and Adele Perry. 287-301. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Sugiman, Pamela. “Passing Time, Moving Memories: Interpreting Wartime Narratives of Japanese Canadian Women.” Histoire Sociale/Social History 36(73): 51-79, 2004.
Clark, Nancy L. “Gendering production in wartime South Africa.” The American Historical Review 106, no. 4 (2001): 1181-1213.
Clark’s topic is the impact of World War II on the independence of South Africa. The thesis is that historians are limited in their understanding of the relationship between the Second World War and African independence. The methodology is the analysis of historic documents describing the period of World War II. This is a paper on history with a substantial addition of women’s studies. The author relies on statements, memorandums, and other papers to show factual information. The main point of the author is that South Africa’s history during and immediately after World War II is underresearched. The author’s goal is to show the uniqueness of South Africa’s economic and political development among African countries. There is a definite bias against political forces that instituted apartheid.
The article is noteworthy for its attention to details found in old documents. Clark herself acknowledges the limitation that little research exists that supports her viewpoint. Nevertheless, the article is helpful in that it showcases the ambiguity of South Africa’s social trends as opposed to The Impact of World War II and Mwanikii’s article, which are notably one-sided. The article will help answer the research question by accentuating the uniqueness of South Africa’s post war years in comparison to other African nations.
Grundlingh, Albert. “The King’s Afrikaners? Enlistment and ethnic identity in the Union of South Africa’s Defence Force during the Second World War, 1939–45.” The Journal of African History 40, no. 3 (1999): 351-365.
Grundlingh’s topic is the role of South Africa in World War II. His thesis is that South Africa’s historiography does not properly describe the country’s efforts during the war. Grundlingh’s work is a paper on history, with a definite military focus. The author analyzes previous historic books, articles, and military reports. The main idea of the text is that Afrikaners who joined the Allied effort during World War II had a significant impact on Afrikaner ethnicity. Grundlingh’s goal is to dispel the public misconception that South Africa did not participate in the Second World War due to nationalistic opposition. Some prejudice against Western historians can be observed in Grundlingh’s description of current assumptions about South Africa in the early forties.
The paper’s strength is the abundance of evidence of Afrikaners’ participation in military effort. The article’s weakness is that the author does not propose any other way of confirming his hypothesis other than accepting his interpretation. The article is helpful because it showcases military efforts of Afrikaners, which are not covered by any other sources. The article’s detailed description of South Africa’s military participation in World War II will provide invaluable insight for answering the research question.
Smith, Jean P. “Race and hospitality: Allied troops of colour on the South African home front during the Second World War.” War & Society 39, no. 3 (2020): 155-170.
Smith’s topic is the importance of South Africa during World War II as a transport hub for Allies. The thesis is that South Africa served as an important node for training and transportation, which contributed significantly to the military effort. The article is a work on history, with some insight from social science. Smith uses evidence from memoirs, governments’ reports, and books depicting South Africa during World War II. The main idea of the article is that South Africa’s hospitality of the Allies’ forces indicated substantial complexity regarding racial segregation in the country. The goal of the paper is to identify social nuances, which became particularly noteworthy while South Africa hosted the Allies’ military forces. It can be argued that the author is biased by the modern understanding of racial issues.
The paper’s strength is the relatively new perspective on the relationship between Afrikaners and Allied military. The paper’s weak point is that the author assumes the positive nature of the relationship by labeling it as hospitality, which was likely more nuanced. The article further continues Clark’s and Grundlingh’s trend of highlighting South Africa’s role in World War II, which directly relates to the research question.
Teer-Tomaselli, Ruth. “In service of empire: The South African broadcasting corporation during World War II.” Critical Arts 28, no. 6 (2014): 879-904.
Teer-Tomaselli’s topic is the changes in the mass media rhetoric during World War II in South Africa. The author’s thesis is that World War II changed the messages conveyed my mass media, which would eventually lead to social, economic, and political transformation if South Africa. The methodology used by the author is comprised of the analysis of news companies’ reports and Debates of the House of the Assembly. The paper is primarily a study of mass media in the context of World War II. The main idea that Teer-Tomaselli promotes is that news coverage of World War II brought about changes in public perception, which would eventually lead to the demise of British rule in South Africa.
The author’s intent is to showcase the power of mass media in tipping the narrative. No clear biases are evident as Teer-Tomaselli outlays facts with little personal opinion. The text’s strength is its reliance on state documents to prove the author’s point. The paper’s disadvantage is that no real interpretation of qualitative is given. This piece is valuable because it is the only source that addresses the role of mass media. Understanding the role of the mass media is helpful in answering the overall research question.
Mwanikii. “The Unspoken Contributions of South Africa in WWII,” Medium.
The topic is the necessity of recognition of South Africa’s contribution the Allies during World War II. The author’s thesis is that the acknowledgement of the role of Western powers in World War II should also include South Africa’s contribution. The author analyzes excerpts from a history book and scholarly journal article, both of which are dedicated to South Africa’s involvement in the World War II. Although the article’s focus is history, it is in reality an opinion piece. The main idea is that South Africa’s contribution allowed Western nations to secure victory, which is not properly acknowledged by modern historiography.
The author’s goal is to acquaint the audience with the basic facts known about Afrikaners’ involvement in the World War II. The author openly expresses his bias against Western historiography’s coverage of the World War II. This opinion piece is valuable because it succinctly highlights basic facts about South Africa during the World War II. The main weakness is that the author is biased and does not acknowledge the numerous nuances evident in the works of other researchers. This article is helpful in answering the research question because it serves as an overview of all important knowledge gaps about South Africa’s role in the World War II.
“The Impact of World War II,” Country Studies.
The Impact of World War II is an entry from a South Africa: A Country Study by Rita M. Byrnes. The title is self-explanatory – it details the aftermath of the World War II in South Africa. No clear thesis is presented as the entry is an account of events. Byrnes relies on the sources approved by the US Library of Congress to convey her ideas. The work itself is a mix of history with social sciences with an emphasis on racial controversies. Byrnes’ main point is that the World War II has accentuated social and economic issues in South Africa, which would lead to the emergence of black workers’ protests.
The goal is to identify the origins of the racism-related protests in the aftermath of the World War II. This source is important because it showcases the US view of South Africa during the World War II, which is limited compared to other sources. The main limitation of the study is the absence of any references to the actual South African documents. This source also ignores the complexity of South Africa’s contributions to the war effort accentuated by Mwanikii, Clark, Grundlingh, Smith, and Teer-Tomaselli. This entry is invaluable to answering the research question as it showcases the gaps in Western historiography regarding South Africa during and after the World War II.
Bibliography
Clark, Nancy L. “Gendering production in wartime South Africa.” The American historical review 106, no. 4 (2001): 1181-1213.
Grundlingh, Albert. “The King’s Afrikaners? Enlistment and ethnic identity in the Union of South Africa’s Defence Force during the Second World War, 1939–45.” The Journal of African History 40, no. 3 (1999): 351-365.
Smith, Jean P. “Race and hospitality: Allied troops of colour on the South African home front during the Second World War.” War & Society 39, no. 3 (2020): 155-170.
Teer-Tomaselli, Ruth. “In service of empire: The South African broadcasting corporation during World War II.” Critical Arts 28, no. 6 (2014): 879-904.