The 1940’s was basically ruled by World War II, which started on September 1, 1939. The War affected everything about this decade. Men were off fighting, so women had to work in the factories or wherever they could find work in order to support their families. Art and Architecture changed drastically and the radio became a vital piece to American living. Fashion became almost recyclable as new trends became more practical and theatre and film took a wild ride during this outstanding decade. Everything from sports to books were altered due to this war and the events that took place then have shaped the way that we live now. Unemployment rates in 1940 were an overwhelming 8,120,000 but that soon changed by 55% once men went off to war and women got a chance to fill those empty positions. At this time minimum wage was $.43 per hour. First, single women were chosen to work and then in 1943 with mostly all single women employed, married women were allowed to work as well. With women working, it became hard for them to balance both home life and the work world, too. Automobile production began to decline in 1942 and decreased food supplies began in 1943. To try to rehabilitate this food drought, victory gardens were reinstituted and supplied 40% of the vegetables consumed on the home front. With WWII ending in 1945 the US emerged from the war as a world superpower. With all of the men returning home, the baby boom was formed, which is still having repercussions on American society today. After the war ended, Americans learned the extent of the Holocaust. Realization of the power of prejudice helped lead to Civil Rights reforms over the next 3 decades. The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, also known as the GI Bill of Rights, entitled returning soldiers to a college education. In 1949, three times as many college degrees were conferred as in 1940. College became available to the capable, rather than the privileged few. With education becoming more accessible in our country, in Germany Hilter was eliminating artists whose ideals didn’t agree with his. Many of the artists immigrated to the US, where they had a huge effect on American artists. To show raw emotions, art became more abstract. Abstract expressionism was chaotic and shocking in an attempt to maintain humanity in the face of insanity. Influential artists of this movement were Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Lee Krasner, Hans Hoffman, and many more. In architect, non-essentials were eliminated, and simplicity became the key element. Many modern glass and steel office buildings began to rise after the war had surpassed. The average home was a one level ranch house, a collection of previously unaffordable appliances surrounded by minimal living space. The family lawn became the crowning glory and symbol of pride ownership. Like art, music reflected American enthusiasm tempered with European disillusionment. American born composers remained more traditional and at the beginning of the decade bands dominated popular music. Radio became the lifeline for Americans in the 1940’s. Providing news, music and entertainment, mush like television today. Much like today, shows included soap operas, kids shows, game shows, drama, mystery stories and sports. The government relied heavily on radio for propaganda. As radio faded and TV became more prominent and accessible, and most popular radio shows continued on television. TV also had an effect on the food people ate, frozen dinners were invented and they became known as TV dinners. Many fads were developed in the 40’s starting with the now famous “Jitterbug” dance. It was the first dance that allowed individual expressionism. Rosie the Riverter was the symbol of the working woman as the men went off to war and women were needed to work in factories. Tupperware and aluminum foil eased the postwar housewives burden and to keep the kids occupied the Slinky was invented by a ship inspector in 1945. Teenagers became very needy in the forties and Seventeen magazine was established in 1944. Advertisement began to be aimed at teens. With fathers away and mothers at work another new fad arose which would be known as the juvenile delinquent. Fashion was the fad with the most impact and changed the way women would look at clothes forever. The convertible suit, which is still very popular today, was designed for the working woman and carried on until the war ended. The suit was basically recycled from a mans suit and made for the working woman. Once the war was over, Christian Dior introduced the New Look. Feminine dresses with long, full skirts, tight waists and comfortable low heeled shoes soon swept the country as the new trend. Make up was socially acceptable and hair was curled very tightly and was shoulder length. With men home from the war and back to work, women had more time to focus on themselves, which is exactly what the new look allowed them to do. Theatre and film turned to abstractionism along with art and architecture. With the forties becoming the decade for movies, the Office of War declared movies an essential industry for morale propaganda. Most plots had fairly narrow and predictable sets of morals, and if Germans or Japanese were included, they were typically one dimensional villains. Popular movies such as Casablanca, Lifeboat, Notorious, and Wake Island were the masterpieces of the time. But evil was not the only root of all movies. Walt Disney’s career began to take off, with animated cartoons such as Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi. But during the war years the studio produced cartoons for the government such as, Donald gets Drafted, Out of the frying Pan into the Firing Line, and Der Fueher’s face. But movies wouldn’t last long, the booming years of movies faded and television took over in 1948. With so many activities to do inside, sports weren’t really played that much during the forties. With the war drafting men between the ages of 18-26, there weren’t many people to play them either. Also many of the materials needed to develop equipment for sports were in short supply and being used in the war somehow. Wood for baseball bats and bowling pins and rubber used for playing balls. Professional sports were encouraged to continue to improve the morale of the troops. President Roosevelt signed the Green Light letter which supported baseball and baseball games were considered so important to troop morale that the Japanese tried to jam radio broadcasts. By 1943 half of professional baseball players had enlisted in the war and teams had to use older veterans and even a one-armed outfilder, Pete Gray. Other sports were less affected by the war. Basketball players heights often made them ineligible for military service and boxing was becoming more and more popular along with golf and NASCAR and tennis.
The forties were a very hard, long and prestigious decade. Shaping the way that we live today, the hardships that our country overcame are ones that should and will never be forgotten.