World War ll Through the1970's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

World War ll Through the1970's - Essay Example These decades witnessed widespread economic and political changes, which shaped America’s gender dynamics and civil rights conditions. Though there are numerous major events during this time, this paper focuses on the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan and Rosa Park’s refusal to give up her bus seat for a white man. This paper reviews several important historical landmarks and their effects on modern American society, economy, politics, and culture. It also explores America’s reluctance to join World War II, the role that women played to win World War II, changes in civil rights after World War II, the effect of the Vietnam War on the political awareness of American youth, and the impact of President Johnson’s â€Å"Great Society† program on modern times. These events demonstrated that World War II and other influential individuals helped promote social inequity, as well as economic and political development, in America.... Wars cost millions to billions of dollars, not counting the lives lost in the process, so Americans thought it best not to engage in a new war, as it dabs on its economic and psychological post-World War I wounds. World War II depicted the military and technological skills of the U.S., specifically after it dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, because it not only ended this war, but sealed the fate of the U.S. as the new superpower of the world. On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and on August 9, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. On August 15, Japan surrendered to the Allies and signed the Instrument of Surrender on September 2, which officially ended World War II. The bombings resulted in post-war agreements that banned nuclear armament development. Scholars disagree on whether the atomic bombs truly forced Japan to hastily capitulate to the Allies, although the Office of the Historian (2012) and Freedman and Dockrill (2004) argued that these bombs shocked Japan into surrendering. The effects of the atomic bombing affected how Americans see nuclear weapons. For some Americans, the destruction of Japan through the atomic bombs sparked fear, not only against nuclear proliferation, but also against the media and the government, who have been increasingly charged of manipulating facts to support their political agenda (Jowett & O’Donnell, 2012, p.171). Despite the social pattern of distrust, it cannot be denied that World War II boosted the economy of the U.S. During the war, federal spending increased by $72 billion (Schug et al., 1993, p.192). Industries related to the war flourished, including steel, aluminum, copper, and rubber industries.