WW2 CIO Labor Organizer

World War Two created major labor shortages. The civilian work force increased by nearly 20 percent during the war; however, more workers were needed to produce industrial goods and ammunition. During this period, union membership also grew greatly. Almost 3 million people joined unions between 1941 and 1945. Consequently,these large unions began making demands on the government, including the guarantee that unions would thrive. Still, a labor organizer would have needed to rally more workers. Many women joined the work force during the war, since their husbands were fighting and they needed to secure an income. Labor organizers encouraged women to work in factories by making domestic analogies which would portray the jobs as simple. Posters representing the importance of female workers were also distributed. These propaganda techniques were effective, as women constituted one-third of paid workers in 1945.

Life During the Depression

During the Great Depression, many workers became unemployed. As a result, families turned to public relief systems and charities for assistance. However, these programs were relatively small scale and did not have a large enough budget to handle the demands placed on them. Consequently, long bread lines and soup kitchens sponsored by the Red Cross and the Salvation Army developed. Still, malnutrition became commonplace, and some people died from starvation.

However, people who lived in rural areas such as the Dust Bowl suffered the most during this period. Farmers collected little profit for their crops, since the prices were very low. This area experienced a drought which transformed farmland into desert. Dust storms that killed livestock and people accompanied the lack of rain. Hordes of grasshoppers destroyed all in their path, including crops. People in the Dust Bowl could not receive food provided by charity organizations, due to their isolated location. Farmers were eventually forced to leave their homes in search of work.

The Great Depression

One of the most important causes of the Great Depression was the maldistribution of wealth. During the late 1920s, industrial and agricultural production increased greatly. However, farmers and workers only received meager profits; thus they could not buy the produced goods. Consequently, the economy could not sustain a balance between demand and supply. Industries that experienced this drop in demand were forced to fire workers, so the purchasing power of Americans further diminished. Essentially, the maldistribution of wealth created a significant gap between the rich and the poor; the middle class, which majorly contributed to the economy, nearly disappeared. This economic disequilibrium resulted in the most severe recession in history.

Women's Suffrage

Prior to 1920, women did not have the legal right to vote, even though they were U.S. citizens. The Progressive movement attempted to solve this problem by creating the National American Woman Suffrage Association. This organization, supported by Jane Addams, argued that the special virtues women possessed could benefit society and politics. Suffragists also asserted that granting women the right to vote would strengthen the temperance movement and eliminate war. Furthermore, some middle-class people believed that educated women should be allowed to vote, since ignorant blacks and immigrants had suffrage. The Progressive movement succeeded, and by 1919, the majority of states had given women access to the franchise. In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified, which Constitutionally guaranteed women political rights.