History Discussion

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Post-World War II

After World War II, the US military personnel were demobilized; he involved recalling most American soldiers outside the US. The demobilization of soldiers occurred due to public demand, and the soldiers also protested the government's rate was carrying the entire process. By 1947, the number of active US soldiers who were serving outside the country had greatly reduced (Millet and Maslowski ch. 20). The demobilization process was marred by delays because most of the nations where the USA had withdrawn its soldiers experienced a severe shortage of security manpower.

The number of servicemen in the US armed forces reduced drastically. Before the beginning of World war II, there were over 8 million servicemen, but this figure to about 600,000 by 1950. World war II was different from any other war that American soldiers were engaged in because it involved heavy weapons and large bombs, meaning soldiers were at greater risk of losing their lives (Millet and Maslowski ch. 20). There was reduced interaction on the battlefield, and most of the soldiers felt isolated; this was the primary social factor that led to most soldiers quitting the profession after the war.

The demobilization of soldiers significantly reduced the amount that the American government paid to the soldiers to inform wages and salaries. The amount saved would be used to improve the working conditions of the soldiers. Improving the workplace cooled the discontent that was starting to grow in the soldiers and led to their strikes. The number of soldiers that America had lost during the was large, and some soldiers were also severely wounded, meaning there was the need to reduce the number of soldiers to plan on bringing new fresh servicemen. The veterans who participated in the World war needed to get some time off the service because they had seen their friends die; simultaneously, the effects of World war II were traumatizing.

Work Cited

Millett, Allan R., and Peter Maslowski. For the Common Defense. E-book, Simon & Schuster, 2012.

Compare and contrast the discussion above to the discussion below.  What similarities and what differences did you notice?  What conclusions about military history can be drawn from this compare/contrast analysis?

Post War US Armed Forces Changes

An act of invasion against Poland by then German president Adolph Hitler marked the beginning of what has become popularly known as World War II. The United States president, busy building allies with a focus on making life better for his citizens, was reluctant to join the war. However, things would soon change in 1941 when Japan committed a war crime against America by carrying out a surprise attack on its pearl harbor naval base, prompting President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to rise on the defensive. That decision proved to be more impactful on America, and since World War II, so many things changed, with the armed forces being no exception to the changes.

During the war, America had an all-time high enlistment of over twelve million armed forces. However, after the war ended, all the armed forces witnessed a drastic drop to slightly over one million personnel (Lee 557). This reduction in itself may have been inconsequential, but the accompanying legislation passed by Congress just before the war ended is what makes it significant. Popularly known as the GI Bill, the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act granted the discharged veterans a one-year unemployment compensation plus an opportunity to pursue education by paying their college fees (Lumen Learning, par.8). This move had a long-lasting boost to the American economy as it prepared a pool of well-educated skilled labor that enabled many Americans to enter the middle class. Interestingly, despite having the highest ever number of serving African-American soldiers during the war, the US army was highly segregated. The critical role played by the Black soldiers in the Battle of Bulge inspired the president to issue an executive order after the war abolishing racial discrimination in the armed forces (Lumen Learning, par.17). This declaration was a heroic act that brought to an end the problem of racial segregation in the American military.

Despite the United States launching itself into the war involuntarily, it is indeed undeniable that World War II had significant impacts on every aspect of Americans’ lives, including the armed forces. From changes on how it is run to presidential declarations on segregation issues, the war-related impacts on the American military were far-reaching. Even the economic stability the country enjoys today has its roots in the Post War US Armed Forces changes, which played a key role in providing a skilled and educated labor force.

 

 

Works Cited

Lee, R. Alton “The Army’ Mutiny’ of 1946” The Journal of American History, Vol. 53, No. 3 (1966), p. 557. https://sci-hub.bnik.site/10.2307/1887571

Lumen Learning. “Social Effects of the War | Boundless US History.” Lumen Learning – Simple Book Production, https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ushistory/chapter/social-effects-of-the-war/

Lumen Learning. “The Challenges of Peacetime | US History II (OS Collection).” Lumen Learning – Simple Book Production, courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-ushistory2os2xmaster/chapter/the-challenges-of-peacetime/.