A War for Democracy: Fighting as One People

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at how the economic and military requirements of WWII, by necessity, helped raise the political, economic, and social status of many ethnic minority groups in the U.S. To illustrate this point, examples are cited where different minority groups took on new roles, which had previously been denied to them. This, in turn, advanced their position in society. The paper concludes by suggesting that, while the U.S. continues to suffer from racial and ethnic discrimination, the move towards greater equality continues and is an evolving process.

From the Paper:

"Of course, Americans had been inventing new forms for their American-ness to take, it might be argued, since the first motley crew (including freemen, indentured servants and whatnot, mainly from northern Europe and the British Isles) tossed out the British. And again, a new form was invented when it tossed the British again in the War of 1812, along with it annexing Louisiana, a Frenchified territory. And then parts of what might well have been Mexico. The nation acquired Inuit in "Seward's Ice Box" when Alaska was added to U.S. territories. The nation acquired a unique blend of Anglo-Polynesian-Japanese culture when the Hawaiian Islands were annexed."

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