Before World War II (1939–1945) began, many African-Americans lived in the South. They eked out a living as tenant farmers or sharecroppers. As the nation prepared for war, better paying factory and manufacturing jobs became available in the North and on the coasts. Those opportunities encouraged many African-American men and women to relocate. Black Americans also moved to southern cities, such as Birmingham and Mobile, which grew into important military manufacturing centers. Those shifts from one part of the country to other parts led to other changes. People from different backgrounds came in contact with and worked with one another. Those experiences made black Americans determined to resist racial discrimination.
Although the U.S. government denounced Nazi racism overseas, white Americans maintained their own racist system of inequality and violence against black citizens. In many parts of the country, African-Americans were denied the right to vote. They attended segregated and inferior
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schools. They faced discrimination or exclusion from branches of the military and certain jobs. And for some black workers, high unemployment and low wages remained.
The contradiction angered African-Americans. They demanded that the nation live up to its highest ideals. The Pittsburgh Courier, a black weekly newspaper, launched a "Double V" campaign in 1942. It called for "victory over our enemies from without" — the Germans and the Japanese — and "victory over our enemies from within" — American racism. Black Americans took those words seriously. They strongly supported the war effort and they also engaged in protests against racial injustice at home.
A. Philip Randolph led the way. He was the president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a black labor organization. For decades, Randolph had challenged racial inequality. In September 1940, Randolph was part of a delegation that met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and demanded that the president end segregation in the armed forces. Roosevelt did not act.
In January 1941, Randolph decided to take a more forceful approach. He proposed a m
Answer:
Mindful of the precedent his conduct set for future presidents, Washington feared that if he were to die while in office, Americans would view the presidency as a lifetime appointment. Instead, he decided to step down from power, providing the standard of a two-term limit.
Answer:
The Puritan work ethic of the 13 colonies and their founders valued hard work over idleness, and this ethos applied to children as well. Through the first half of the 1800s, child labor was an essential part of the agricultural and handicraft economy of the United States. Children worked on family farms and as indentured servants for others. To learn a trade, boys began their apprenticeships between the ages of ten and fourteen.
Explanation:
Child labor, or the use of children as servants and apprentices, has been practiced throughout most of human history, but reached a zenith during the Industrial Revolution. Miserable working conditions including crowded and unclean factories, a lack of safety codes or legislation and long hours were the norm. Crucially, children could be paid less, were less likely to organize into unions and their small stature enabled them to complete tasks in factories or mines that would be challenging for adults. Working children were unable to attend school—creating a cycle of poverty that was difficult to break. Nineteenth century reformers and labor organizers sought to restrict child labor and improve working conditions to uplift the masses, but it took the Great Depression—a time when Americans were desperate for employment—to shake long-held practices of child labor in the United States.
<span>McCarthyism began after a U.S. senator from Wisconsin, named Joseph McCarthy said that communists had infiltrated the Department of State. These suspicions were later investigated. At this time, anybody and everybody became subjects of 'witch hunts' in order to find the communists. An investigation by CBS later showed that McCarthy was dishonest and abusive in investigations.</span>
Christian communities developed a formal church structure within its clergy. At first the clergy included priests and bishops, the highest ranking church officials. As the church expanded, archbishops were appointed to oversee the bishops.
