I need some assistance with these assignment. the second world war: shaping the cultural, economic, and political lives of women and african-americans Thank you in advance for the help! The emergence of a “consumer republic” led to the alteration of political and social statuses in both the public and private sphere. In order for America to finance the war, there was need to exercise a lot of caution in domestic spending patterns. Consequently, various controls had to be instituted to help regulate prices. As a result of these controls, all Americans were required to adhere to certain price regulatory measures that were neither gender nor racially discriminative. These measures, coupled with other cultural and political factors ended up favoring women and African Americans, causing them to attain equality with other Americans.

Starting from the progressive era to the end of the Second World War, women and African-Americans were unable to take part in political policies concerning equality. However, with a majority of the men joining the army and leaving the country, opportunities that had, hitherto, been denied to women came up and the women embraced them. Women joined the working force, thus shifting from their traditional roles as homemakers to chief providers for their families. In Cohen’s opinion, joining the workforce and becoming family providers was a reinforcement of the gender roles traditionally played by women (83). Most of these women either joined in the war or got employed as clerks or shop floor attendants. These jobs were traditionally held by men, thus the Second World War brought about a cultural shift in the lives of all Americans. Consequently, women were able to find some sort of financial independence from men, the latter who had customarily been the sole providers for their families.