How Family Life Was Affected in the Forties - Essay Example

Topic: How Family life was effected in the 1940s Introduction Each succeeding generation defines the familyone more time, which is not to be considered as an easy task though as each generation group sets new family norms and structure to the function that is shaped by the needs of the society. Function generally changes first, followed by the structure that generally lags behind and the contingencies associated with financial system are vital in the determination of function. For instance, homosexuality has always been condemned since it defies functions through structures since it does not reproduce yet reproduction was a large part of the family function (Munhall and Fitzsimons 2001:3). The traditional family is not all that traditional and the its basic features that emerged out of some transformations in social life occurring in Western Europe and North America during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. By late nineteenth century, the transformations had developed a model family life that conformed roughly to the version that is familiar today. It was immediately after the WW2 that the specific forms of these modes were adopted by the masses particularly in North America. The economic prosperity that was witnessed in the United States after the war had ended and a huge housing boom as well as an increased view of the family not being extended enabled a lot of people to build families that conformed with the new and specific ideal of life (Lindemann, 1997:27). The first half of the 1940s was spent in the World War 2, which was a period that was filled with a lot of heartache for all the people around the globe but life had to continue despite the tragic conflict that consumed many members of different families from different places in the world. It destroyed many homes and scattered families all over the world making family living in the beginning of the century when the war was progressing a very difficult affair. Social issues During the Second World War, nearly half of the Canadians that were serving in Britain faced hardships as they tried to adjust to the British society as well as its expectations. The relationships were rocky but they eventually improved with time as both the British and the Canadians eventually understood each other better and as organized recreation and hospitality reduced the loneliness and the isolation that the troops suffered(Campbell 2013:9). The Second World War had made thousands of American men to leave their wives and girlfriends and the end of the war meant that they could return to their homes and reunite with their families. The rate of marriage after the war was over considerably increased. Since the war was over and the American had hopes for prosperity, many of the couples took this opportunity to start families and as a result, many children that were born. This came to be known as the baby boom, it lasted from 1946 to 1964 and the people that were born around this time are usually referred to as the baby boomers (Shaner, 2010:128). With the significant increase in new families, suburbs were preferred as the best places to live, which were prefabricated home that were situated on the periphery of the city. The early post war era can be said to be a socially conservative time since the gender roles for both men and women were generally the traditional ones, which were clearly defined. After the war had ended, many of the women who had been employed in the industries returned to their homes and adopted a domestic mode of life. The feminism that could be observed previously was no longer a characteristic in the women of this era even though there were very few exceptions to this. With the men out fighting the war, the women had taken up most of the new duties since the factories needed workers that would produce the materials that were needed for the war. Even though it was the norm at this time that women were supposed to stick to domestic issues, the factories still employed them. More than four million women were employed to take up clerical jobs, while more than half of this number was employed in the factories, shipyards and various other places. Most of these women went back to their homes after the war ended but this left a lasting memory in the mind of the people about how productive the women could be. Even in their employment in the factories and the shipyards, the women were still able to play the role of homemakers to a particular degree. Not all the women sought employment in the factories, and those who did not go to work stayed home to take care of the families that they had established before the war began. The women played chief roles as far as rationing was concerned since they were responsible for shopping and the commodities that they purchased had a great impact on what the soldiers could be supplied with during the war. Political issues In the 1940s, war measures were shaped by the extant attitudes directed towards women as well as the ethnic and racial minorities. The war increased the displeasure of the minorities but did not take over and transform their thinking. The war had unifying aspects as well as sacrifices that were aimed at coming up with changes but this has raised many points of conflict (Erenberg and Hirsch, 1996:3). There was great shortage of food and other services that were essential for the civilians as the Second World War progressed. There was rationing that was imposed by the government that was aimed at preserving the sufficient food and other commodities that were essential for the military. The government issued coupons that had to be presented to the shops when one needed to buy things such as tea, sugar and butter (Milward, 1979:248). This was a means of proving that the person presenting the coupon was not getting more than the fair share that had been allocated to them. The coupons were issued based on type of products that were being sought and the number of coupons that were to be allocated to a particular family was determined by the size of that family. It was a requirement to have these coupons if one wanted to make purchases of the essential goods. Sugar, coffee and meat were the items that were most rationed and this made people to start eating horsemeat. Fabrics were also highly rationed and the women had to stop wearing stockings so that silk could be saved which would then be used to make parachutes. This made them to start painting seams on their legs. The rationing of rubber was also very important and the speed limit was reduced to 35MPH so that rubber tires could be conserved and driving was discouraged when it was not necessary since gasoline was an important commodity in the war and majority of the citizens were allowed a maximum of five gallons in a week. Rationing was maintained for a period of time after the war had ended and because of this, planning a wedding in the 1940s needed planning that was special, which included friends saving their coupons to present to the bride as gifts in her wedding to assist her start her new life. When president Truman assumed office, that labor unions that existed in America had achieved the pinnacle of their power since nearly 30 percent of all the American workers were members of a union by 1945 and this gave organized labor significant power politically. Immediate years after war saw the powers that labor had decrease and conservatives in both democratic and republican parties sought ways to curd the reformist impulse of New Deal and the Second World War liberalism. This meant making efforts towards reducing the political powers that labor held and getting rid of the government policies that gave unions the rights in the political scene of the nation. The reconversion of the American economy after the war brought to an end the Second World War commissions that labor had taken part in and the conservatives, pushed by business interests, managed to pass an act that empowered the industry and its political allies in their attack on labor. In the late 1940s, life looked promising compared to the hardships that were being experienced during the great depression and the Second World War, the GI Bill was able to give young parents a college education, and a mortgage that was subsidized that allowed them to get new houses (Rockoff, 2012:257). This meant that for the first time, many men were capable of supporting a family and buying a home without having to turn to family members for help with this. Many of the families that came up during this time were typically built on this foundation. Economic issues After the great depression and the five years that had been characterized by the war, people were able to go on with their lives. The people that had left their home as boys were returning as men and most of them even married the sweethearts that they had initially left behind. Even though the life was being considered normal, it was different from what was considered normal in the in 1929. The similarity was that both post war periods drove up the demands for consumer products and this produced an economic boom that also included the farmers. At the culmination of WW1 in 1919, everybody had anticipated that the financial system would prosper and surely, it did. The farmers had the expectation that the demand for their products that had been there during the war would continue so they planted as much as the y possibly could. This was a bad idea since when Europe started producing agricultural products again, the American farmers had a surplus of food in the market and this made the prices to deep drastically. After the Second World War, the farmers and their lobbyists kept in mind the experiences that they had gone through and were therefore determined to circumvent a post war slump in the economy while the rest of the country enjoyed prosperity. The government developed price controls immediately after the war had ended and there were programs that sent relief supplies overseas. When the decade was beginning, the rate of unemployment was at 14.6 percent of the total workforce, which was a high number. The number was higher during the great depression when it was recorded that 25 percent did not have a place to work. At the closing of the decade, the rates had dropped to just five percent of the total workforce which was a considerable improvement in a very short time. Disposable income, which is the amount of money that a person remains with after he has been able to pay all the taxes, was recorded to be an average of USD 173 a year for both the people that work on the farms and off the farms. By 1945, the figure had risen to USD 240 and by the closing of the decade; it was over USD 260, which meant that the people had more money that enabled them to spend on food. The average American family was now in a position to buy consumer products that were new, take the children to college as well as start a business if they so wished. The implications to the farmers was that the rural lifestyle that they lived now had the chance to catch up with the urban lifestyle America (Jensen and Guthrie, 2006:72). Conclusion At the start of the 1940’s when America was in the midst of the war, the men were being deployed overseas and the women were supposed to work in the factories. The women in the workplace became an integral part of the first wave of feminism and for some women, this was a great opportunity to follow their dreams through employment and new financial freedom. This allowed the women to make money and contribute to the daily allowances regardless of whether they had a husband or not. When the war ended, the women continued taking more jobs until they married or became pregnant. In the war, support for the troops became the topic that was common for most of the people, and the companies used this for exploitation as much as possible and this consumerism began to take over since even the people that were poor were in a position to support the troops. The people that were in the homes were working hard as well as becoming a more consumer society by buying things like bread that was supposed to support the troops so that they could finish the war and come back home. At the end of the war when the men and women that were involved in the war came back home, the women still wanted to continue working and the companies changed their slogans so that they could support the households. The household they supported were houses which were in the suburbs, a steady and dependable job, marriage, and family with a manageable number of children. References Campbell, I. (2013). Unlikely diplomats. Vancouver: UBC Press. Erenberg, L. A. and Hirsch, S. E. (1996). The war in American culture. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press. Jensen, C. R. and Guthrie, S. (2006). Outdoor recreation in America. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Lindemann, H. (1997). Feminism and families. New York: Routledge. Milward, A. S. (1979). War, economy, and society, 1939-1945. Berkeley, Calif.: University Of California Press. Munhall, P. L. and Fitzsimons, V. M. (2001). The emergence of family into the 21st century. Boston: Jones And Bartlett Publishers. Rockoff, H. (2012). Americas economic way of war. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Shaner, L. A. (2010). Divorce in the golden years. Chicago: American Bar Association. Read More