Economy of California During World War II Essay

Economy of California During World War II - Essay Example This paper illustrates that one of the major events for the nation of America during the period of 20th century was the entry to regions of the Pacific Coast as a major area for economic development. During the period of 1900 and 1980 the total percentage of population of the Western States of America increased almost five times from 3.2% of total population to 15.5% of total population. The growth rate of personal income earned by the population of the Far Western regions even tripled from 5.3% to 17.4%. By the period of 1980 the areas located in the urban centers of Pacific Coast gained recognition as being important for technological advancements. Historians believe that the major developments and economic growth achieved by these regions especially by California was due to their experience of the World War II. According to Gerald Nash, a famous historian, the economic development of the Western regions was increasing and the economic development of states located in the Pacific r egions started increasing during the period of war. He further stated that the regions of the Pacific areas that were experiencing stagnant and slow increase in economic development started enjoying increased pace of economic development. There are very few criticizers who claim that West did not experience economic growth and expansion during the era of the ending period of 1940s. Mostly historians support the idea that West developed by a great deal during that era. During this period a large number of people started moving towards west in order to gain employment in the field of aircraft and ship manufacturing. The military institutes located in this region were home to several soldiers and shipmen who were engaged in the war. During a period of only five years from 1940 to 1945 the total population of the area increased by 25%. The main reason due to which the area was gaining tremendous amount of growth was that they were spending very heavily on military purposes. Rhode believ es that the major reason due to which the airplane industry of the region of California flourished was that they were assigned various contracts from the defense sector before the war actually started (Chan and Spencer, 1997, p.308). Nash stated that due to the war major changes were experienced by the West, in the areas of population, relations and economy and this period altered the West from an underdeveloped region to a developed one (Chan and Spencer, 1997, p.308). During the same 5 years period the Far Western regions of America obtained billions of dollars in the shape of funding for war purposes. During 1943 when the expenditure ion military purposes reached its peak, policy makers started fearing that after the war huge number of job; losses will take place in the region of West. According to policy makers of California, a total of 1 million jobs were to be lost out of a total workforce of 4 million within a year after the end of war. Due to this policy makers started to ma ke plans in order to help those who were expected to lose their jobs after the war. Many changes did not take place and expectations made by the policy makers did not come out to be true as heavy amount of job losses did not occur nor did many migrant workers not leave the Western regions. Economic development started taking place as a huge number manufacturing organizations started to operate on national level and operations started to expand. Those who were employed in military related jobs started filling civilian jobs. During the period, fields such as schooling, housing the service sector were not given much importance, but after the war these developments started taking place and this led to increase in number of jobs in the areas of construction and other services. This paper will discuss that West and especially California experienced economic growth during and after the World War II. Body War and Economy Undoubtedly the engagement of US in World War II led to the nation exp eriencing a boom in economy,

Death and fate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Death and fate - Essay Example This story thus tries to show how death is inevitable and despite efforts put in place, it will always find ways of capturing its victims. The story revolves around death and its inevitability. It portrays many traditions of the Gothic fiction thus presenting an allegory of death and fate. It is therefore important to study and know how different societies deal with death and the meanings behind their actions. Death in Different Societies Over the years, the mystery of death have stunned many individuals and because no one knows what happens when after death, different societies have come up with tales on the origin of death, causes of death and implications of death. Different people have different believes on death, but the vast majority view death as a form of punishment from a supreme being usually referred to as ‘god’ or ‘the ancestors’. Very few people have embraced the reality about death and view it as natural, many still believe that death occurs as a result of fate or punishment (Lynn 327). To broadly understand death in different societies, we will attempt to look at what the societies believe are the causes of death, what are the remedies to the stated cause and whether death is avoidable by any chance. Death According to the Muslim Societies According to the Muslim community, death is normally regarded as the ultimate completion or end of the physical life of an individual. The dead person is normally referred to as resting because, this society believes that, in the end, the dead will be resurrected by God normally referred to as Allah. Since the dead are only resting, they believe that those who were righteous are capable of seeing visions of Allah even in immortal state. The wicked on the other hand, usually see hell in their visions. According to the Muslim society, there is heaven where the dead will go after judgment (Ivone 174). This place however is restricted to the pure Muslims; non Muslims can only get to heaven after they have been purified in fire, commonly known as the purgatory. In Muslim society, religious legends are worshiped and specific shrines are built for their remembrance. To date, Prophet Mohammed is worshiped and every Muslim knows that he was the most righteous person who ever lived. As a way of recognizing this, special shrine is built in Mecca where Muslims Faithful usually visit to pay their tribute to this hero. This process is done annually. When a Muslim dies, he is supposed to be washed, wrapped in a white clean cloth and buried the same day. This is done to honor the dead and give him last respect. People know very little in what happens after one is buried and they just believes that he or she will be resurrected when time comes. Muslims also believe in a holy war called Jihad. In this war, if someone dies in an attempt to do the will or Allah, he is guaranteed heaven. This is why, some fighters like Osama, having been convinced that they were doing service to God, would do anything without being human enough to reconsider his actions. When he died, the best thing was to bury him under water to avoid shrines and a repeat of the same cycle. Death in Traditional African Society Many traditional practices according to many traditional practices are coiled around death and resurrection. Many individuals believe in the existence of semi-divine powers and the intercession of spirits (Aloysius and Joanne 68). It is therefore important to appease the spirits if one is to avoid the painful consequences of death. There are also