How far did the position of Black Americans improve in the years 1945-1955?

The position of Black Americans from 1945-1955 changed a lot throughout these years, and mainly for the better, particularly in social and economical areas. Although there were occasional setbacks in some areas, such as politically, overall their position was vastly improved. In this essay I’ll be discussing the different areas in which Black Americans improved their position in and some areas in which they continued to struggle in.

Firstly the economic improvements made by Black Americans were hugely significant, many African Americans had exceptionally low paying farming jobs that barely supported a decent standard of living. However when The Second World War involved America in 1945 things began to change in the employment area, masses of new jobs were created both in the North and South of America. In the South, $4.5 billion was spent on setting up factories to produce items for The Second World War. Unfortunately, at first African Americans were unable to get jobs in these factories, Philip Randolf was appalled at the racism of this and threatened to lead a march of African Americans to Washington unless the racism from the employers was resolved. In recognition of this, Franklin Roosevelt made an executive order that made sure that industries involved in the production of war goods could not discriminate against people by their race, creed, colour or national origin. After this executive order was issued, many black farm workers moved from the outskirts to the cities in the South so they could get a job in the up and coming war industry. The situation was also similar to this in the North, with many African Americans moving from the outskirts of the farming jobs to the main cities to look for work in the war industry. Another important situation that the wartime factories helped to improve was the unemployment rate. Although African Americans were still marginally more unemployed than White Americans, the numbers dropped from 937,000 in 1940 to 151,000 in 1945. The economic boom during The Second World War was definitely important for African Americans and helped their position in society improve a lot. The only setback they faced was having to get an executive order so African Americans could work in the factories but overall it was a positive outcome and improved their position. African Americans were finally starting to be better paid than before, they could finally start earning the money they needed to help put them on their feet properly and to start living a better quality of life.

In terms of political advancement there were improvements throughout the years. Before The Second World War, less that 2% of the black population in Southern states were allowed to vote. However, by 1945 that percentage increased marginally to 15% of Black Americans in Southern states. However the push that Black Americans were promoting for their right to vote caused white racists to lash out and there was a substantial increase in lynchings following the war. Harry S. Truman was a very significant figure in the political area when it came to ensuring that Black Americans progressed forward towards equality. When Truman was younger he was a severe racist, he used abusive language and even payed to join the Ku Klux Klan. Fortunately, as he aged he outgrew his old beliefs and prejudice mindset and became the very first American President to publicly challenge segregation. With Truman’s presidency came The President’s Committee on Civil Rights which was established in 1996, he asked them to make a report examining the experience of racial minorities in America. The report was called ‘To Secure These Rights’ and it revealed many problems that African Americans were facing and Truman strived to solve these problems. The report only really revealed what everyone already knew, that Black Americans were still not being treated as first class citizens but it was almost an unspoken thing that people didn’t bother to do anything about. Even though ‘To Secure These Rights’ set out suggestions for people to start putting into everyday life such as the police forces should start protecting black citizens, it just wasn’t going to work because they were all exceptionally racist and so set in their ways it was difficult to bring about proper change. Overall, Truman had the right mindset for wanting to challenge the segregation and racism that was going on at the time but he lacked funding and support from companies and fellow people, but he did help Black Americans progress forward to a less segregated and racist country.
Another important event in the political side of things was the Brown Vs. Topeka case in 1954. The case was taken to the Supreme Court in 1952 and it was supported by the NAACP. It was about a girl called Linda Brown and the fact that she had to take a much longer journey to the ‘black school’ when there was a ‘white school’ that was closer. The outcome of this case was that psychological tests were done and it demonstrated that the segregation of schools was harmful to the minds of African American children. This was exceptionally important information because it meant that the system could be changed for the better and black African Americans were on their way to being treated like first class citizens.

Thirdly the position of Black Americans improved socially for two main reasons. The economic spike from The Second World War meant that an increased percentage of Black Americans were earning slightly more money because of factory jobs in the city, some were able to get out of the cycle of living in a ghettoised way. Black Americans were starting to not just live in the socially designated areas that they used to which was significant for them because it meant they could start to be viewed as first class citizens by White Americans and to better their standard of living.
The Second World war hugely helped African Americans socially too, it made the young men fighting for their country start to question why they were fighting for freedom and equal rights for another country when they weren’t experiencing the same fairness in their homeland. The Second World War helped men socially because they gained the confidence they needed to start questioning and demanding change. It also helped White Americans see Black Americans in a different light. Many white soldiers began to realise that the black soldiers who were fighting alongside with them weren’t so different to themselves. They started to look past their skin colour and realise that they were fighting the same battle and that it took the same amount of courage, if not more to do so. I think that The Second World War was a catalyst for the African American soldiers, it helped them to stand up for themselves and ask questions and demand change. Without the confidence from this it would have been much more difficult for them.

To conclude, I think the most important area that Black Americans improved in was economically, the immense rise in employment from The Second World War massively helped them get on their feet with the money that they needed to improve their lives for the better and so they could progress and change American society for the better.