Double Victory: A Multicultural History of America in World War II

Although most Americans think of World War II as a two-front war--the Pacific theater and the European front--historian Ronald Takaki reminds us that there was a third, more insidious campaign--the struggle at home against "ugly prejudices" and violent oppression of ethnic minorities. While the Roosevelt administration touted the "Four Freedoms" for which Americans were fighting, those freedoms (freedom of speech and religion and freedom from want and fear) were still not fully extended to citizens, residents, and refugees.In successive chapters, Takaki focuses on the abuses and injustices resulting from the exclusion of minority workers from defense industries, the Jim Crow statutes that segregated African Americans at home and in the army, the unemployment and poverty that greeted returning Native Americans veterans, the hostility towards Mexican Americans for the "zoot suits" worn by their youth, the laws prohibiting longtime Asian laborers from becoming citizens because they were not "white," the forced internment of Japanese Americans, the callousness that turned away Jewish refugees from our ports. He then examines the controversy surrounding the motivations for using the atomic bomb against civilian population centers.Yet the author also reveals the many advances that the war delivered to ethnic groups. Minority communities contributed tens of thousands of soldiers who fought valiantly on the battlefront and earned the respect and friendship of their white compatriots. The shortage of domestic workers forced reluctant industries to hire non-white workers. A. Philip Randolph and his colleagues launched the civil rights movement by organizing a march on Washington, which was cancelled after Roosevelt signed executive order 8802, abolishing discrimination in government and defense jobs. (The order was largely symbolic, since it was hardly enforced, but in retrospect it was clearly a major first step.) And the sanguine final chapter demonstrates that, although the struggle for civil rights suffered setbacks during the next two decades, there really was no turning back.Focusing one's attention on the domestic issues of the time, of course, does not minimize the contribution of our armed forces abroad; if anything, such a discussion emphasizes that the fight against prejudice was equally important: both because non-white citizens were serving our country and because our enemies used examples of American intolerance as propaganda against the U.S.--and because it was morally necessary. Although written by an academic, this concise book is both fascinating and approachable; it should be read by all Americans who care about freedom. It's a reminder of why we fought what Studs Terkel called "the Good War": the "double victory" of increasing liberty not only for Europeans and Asians but for every American as well.

This is a great resource portraying the contribution of multiple ethnicities/minorities to the U.S. war effort in World War II. World War II was the most significant event in the 20th century both on a foreign and domestic level for the United States. With the contribution of African Americans, Asians, Jewish and Europeans in the American military service directly correlates with the coming civil rights movements of the latter portion of the 20th century. During this war, Americans from every corner of the world spilled their blood for this nation and our ideals of human rights. The U.S. military was a diverse conglomerate of men and beliefs; I enjoyed how Takiki portrays the importance of many in the war effort. It was a complicated era and the sacrifices of many would come to the surface in the changing face of domestic policies and civil rights. This book is a good resource to see the contributions of many to the American war effort. It notes the importance of wartime industry, family support and community support for the whole of America. I really enjoyed it for both school and personal reasons.

Takaki has an interesting take on minorities during World War II. There is a lot discussed about the Japanese, but also about African-Americans, who seem to less talked about during this time period, even though we are in the process of correcting this.

This book tells the story of how Blacks, Japanese, Chinese, Native Americans, Jews and others living in America were discriminated against going into World War II in the United States. It is a well told and documented set of stories of unfair treatment, maintained through generally held public attitudes of distrust of foreigners. It certainly opens the readers eyes about how far we have to go as a country of equality.

This should be sold under political topic rather than military because it supposes a political question rather than speak of military information about the war

Needed it for school. It was okay.

Arrived whw

No complaints

Takaki est un maître dans l'art de construire son récit à partir des voix multiples de ceux qui ont fait les évènements historiques. Cela rend son livre formidablement vivant et nous ressentons les émotions et les rêves des millions d'américains qui malgré leur marginalisation se mobilisèrent dans la guerre en espérant aboutir à cette double victoire sur le nazisme et le racisme en Europe et en Asie et sur les préjugés qui traversent la société américaine. Mexicains, amérindiens, chinois, japonais, juifs... autant d'histoires parallèles qui annoncent aussi le futur mouvement des droits civiques et le démantèlement des formes les plus brutales de la ségrégation. Un peu court peut-être pour les spécialistes mais passionnant pour les autres.