Segregation and Discrimination in the United States...

Segregation and Discrimination in the United States Military during World War Two | | | | 5/3/2010 | | Segregation and Discrimination in the United States Military during World War Two Thesis: Although the U.S. military has been a leader in desegregation and in other social matters, during World War Two fear and prejudice keep many highly qualified people from serving. This weakened every branch of the military by limiting it to a less diverse and therefore less flexible fighting force. 1. History of the U.S. Military a. Leader in social matters i. Inclusion of minorities ii. Upward mobility iii. Equal protection b. Exclusion of certain groups iv. Lack of upward†¦show more content†¦This simple act should not be overlooked. It was possibly the first time that any high ranking political figure had gone out their way to ensure that blacks were not mistreated and was seen by many as a bold and risky move on Lincoln’s part. Not everyone was welcome in the U.S. military. Women in particular were heavily restricted. Women could only serve as nurses and then nowhere near an active combat zone. Black women, who could not formally join the Army, nonetheless served as nurses, spies, and scouts, the most famous being Harriet Tubman. When the Civil War began, Tubman worked for the Union Army, first as a cook and nurse, and then as an armed scout and spy for the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers. She was the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the war for America. She led a Union raid on the Combahee River in the interior of South Carolina on June 2, 1863. This single raid was credited with freeing over 750 slaves was a humiliating blow to the Southern cause and a major morale booster for the North. Tubman will always be remembered for her role in the Underground Railroad but her service to the military in a time of war should never be forgotten. The history of black soldiers did not change much until December 7th 1941. On that terrible day forces of the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. This single attack plunged the U.S. into the Second World War and changedShow MoreRelatedStages of Life in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford1620 Words   |  6 PagesHotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet follows the life of Henry Lee at two diverse stages of his life. The book focuses on Henry’s life in 1942 when he was twelve-years-old and in 1986 when he is an old widowed father. The book begins with old Henry walking passed the Panama Hotel, which was in the 1940s a gateway between Seattle’s Chinatown and Japantown. The hotel has long been deserted, and boarded up since War World 2 and is under a new owner, who in the basement of the hotel discovers longRead MoreAffirmative Action : The United States956 Words   |  4 Pagesknown as segregation or discrimina tion in the workplace or there lack of. 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