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African Americans In The 1940s

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Prior to segregated societies in the 1940s, our economy after World War II was prospering. Marriage rates increased, as did the availability of jobs for white men, leading to the cult of domesticity—meaning that men are the breadwinners of the family while women stay home and do laundry. Due to discrimination, like “red lining,” against minorities within the workplace and the creation of suburbia, African Americans were continuously left poor and at the bottom of society. Over time, black positions at the bottom of society and women’s household roles remained, mainly due to the creation of suburbia and the discriminatory acts that maintained racial and gender inequality. As wealthy whites moved to the booming suburbs, many African Americans …show more content…

Even since the 1600s, blacks have been thought of as less than white people. When chattel slavery emerged, blacks were born into a low societal class that couldn’t be changed, similar to generational wealth in 1970s suburbia. Generational wealth that kept blacks from moving up in society was secured by southerners through the exclusion of blacks from the booming suburbs. It was especially difficult to potentially move up in society when blacks were excluded from college-level education. The Selective Service Readjustment Act of 1944 entailed that blacks weren’t eligible to get mortgage loans from banks, or in other words, red lining (Document 1). Blacks being excluded from housing opportunities greatly impacted how they remained left behind and below whites in society. This led to the wage gap increasing due to the fact that blacks were no longer hired in high level job positions because of their lack of education and skill sets. Due to the fact that blacks were not allowed to buy homes because of unsupported loans from the government, they were prohibited from owning property in the suburbs (Document 2). As the …show more content…

For a long time, activists like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton have attempted to organize movements to stand up for the rights of women. Especially during the Great Depression, women who worked were vilified for taking jobs away from unemployed men. As the economy grew, men were still hired over women for industrial jobs, and women remained in charge of the household and their children. The bad living conditions and lack of space within cities drove people to suburbia, where there was more room and opportunity, particularly for women (Document 3). Opportunities of education were offered to many women and laborers to help productivity increase. As the number of industrial workers increased, the amount being produced increased, helping the economy grow. Women are strictly ordered to be managers of the household, so they were never offered higher education or job opportunities. Men are going to be making money within their families, which then leads them to buy a car (Document 4). Automobile culture boomed after World War II and supported economic expansion. Moving to the suburbs relies on buying a car for transportation so that you are able to use the new highway system. The highway system depended on people buying cars and allowing them to travel long

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