The Great Depression as well as World War II were extremely impactful historical events that changed the lives of many across the country, and their effects could be seen for decades to come. These impacts and effects can be seen in “A Time of Trial” by Fredrick Binder and David Reimers. Although it may seem obvious, it is also important to note that the effect these events had on different racial and ethnic groups varied greatly.
Up until the Great Depression hit, immigration had always been a key part to New York culture. However, this came to a slow halt as people didn’t think that America could offer the same golden opportunities that it had before. The Great Depression affected the entire population in various ways. It left millions of people without any sources of income and they were relying on multiple forms of relief to get by. People stood in lines for hours outside of soup kitchens for food and they went to charitable organizations, such as the Municipal Lodging House, for shelter. The dependency on these resources increased greatly since, “About one fourth of New Yorkers were unemployed by 1933”(Binder, Reimers 178). Other examples of welfare and aid organizations were the Charity Organization Society, the Children’s Aid Society, and the Urban League. People also used traditional forms of aid such as religious agencies and charities (mainly Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish).
In addition, the gravity of the problems that New Yorkers were facing cannot even be correctly analyzed as many people were not using the government aid resources that were available. Only 1.2% of the Chinese population was using aid and instead used tactics such as job sharing and aid from loan associations. This was due to a sense of pride and they felt that if they accepted help then they had failed. Although all of these organizations were doing there best to help out and expand their efforts, many of them could not keep up with the high demand. Similar sentiments were felt by New York’s government, and as pressures rose, it was uncovered that public officials were usurping thousands of dollars under Mayor Jimmy Walker. Shortly after these transactions were exposed, Jimmy Walker resigned and was replaced by Fiorella La Guardia. Some of the biggest changes that came from his election were an increased number of black voters, reduced corruption throughout the government, as well as the creation of an airport in New York, called LaGuardia airport.
Overall, white collared workers were able to do better than blue collared workers. After seeing this trend, people started investing in their children’s education and “the number of students attending high school increased by 45%” (180). The majority of these students were Jewish followed by Italians and others. However, the new trend for more education did not change the norm of men being more likely to attend college and further their education than women. Once women did further their education, they were less likely to become doctors or lawyers due to quotas so many became teachers. Getting married later, having less children, and moving in with your parents after marriage, had also become more accepted as people did not have the means to be able to provide for themselves independently. In addition, people were being more disconnected from their “roots” as there was a decline of foreign language movies and newspapers. Another effect of the Great Depression was that unions which were created earlier in the 20th century became significantly weaker.
Among the people who were affected by the Great Depression, unsurprisingly, blacks had received the shortest end of the stick. In the worst times of the depression, “more than 40 percent of blacks were out of work, nearly twice the proportion of whites.” (179). Numerous businesses in New York refused to hire black workers, and if some did it was usually only because the diversity would benefit them in some way. The African-Americans found a way to combat this issue by boycotting stores that would not hire black clerks. This was able to start some momentum towards the hiring of black people in all business.
As tensions of World War II increased around the world, consequences were seen in New York as many of the homelands of the ethnic groups that made up NY’s population were involved. The Italian and Jewish communities relationships were not greatly fazed by what was happening in their homelands, however there was extreme tension between the Italians and African Americans over the invasion of Ethiopia by Italy. These tensions escalated to fights on the streets. While the war harmed many people, all racial and ethnic groups in NY benefitted as the economy was growing from the war. The wartime also provided jobs for many people in the US, jobs that were desperately needed. In addition, since there was a need for more employees, blacks were now being given the opportunities at jobs. This did not mean that they were treated very well since they still had low income and really poor housing conditions. Eventually, changes were made that lead to the enactment of a fair housing law for all races. Although there was much discrimination that occurred due to the war, a majority of the ethnic groups stood by the United States and its goals for the war. These groups also made sure to have their positions were broadcasted through public actions as well as printing their thoughts in local newspapers.
While “A Time of Trial” focused on the effect of the war on immigrants in New York, the chapter, “Resistance or Loyalty: The Visual Politics of Mine Okubo,” by Nicholas Lampert focused on what it was like to be a Japanese American during this time, specifically in the West coast. Mine Okubo was forced to leave her entire life behind and live in an internment camp along with 110,000 other Japanese Americans, once President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. Okubo wrote about her experiences in her book Citizen 13660, which was accompanied by her sketches that depicted what she saw on a daily basis. Her book was published in 1946, and this broadened her audience greatly. In addition, this book was able to act as a primary source for the events that were occurring inside the internment camps, directly contradicting the narrative the government was trying to tell. Her piece very simply just said what was happening; there were no thoughts or opinions associated with her writing. I think that this is what made her book as popular as it became since people were able to feel what they wanted to for themselves and they didn’t have to think from somebody’s perspective.
Through both of these texts, it is evident that ethnic and racial groups across the nation were deeply affected by the Great Depression and World War II. Regardless of specific groups or what part of the country, both of these events changed the course of the people of this nation (and city) forever.
-RR
