Social: With men in the military, women took over the jobs left behind, this gave women new power and independence.
Historical: Light industries were put in by the government to boost the economy.
Cultural: The atrocities of the Holocaust caused the world to rethink their prejudices and how long they could get away with murder. These disturbances will always be remembered.
FACTS about this decade: 1940-1945 AMERICA
*Population 132,122,000
*Unemployed in 1940 - 8,120,000
*National Debt $43 Billion
*Average Salary $1,299. Teacher's salary $1,441
*Minimum Wage $.43 per hour
*55% of U.S. homes have indoor plumbing
*Antarctica is discovered to be a continent
*Life expectancy 68.2 female, 60.8 male
*Auto deaths 34,500
*Supreme Court decides blacks do have a right to vote
*World War II changed the order of world power, the United States and the USSR became super powers
*Cold War begins.
(http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade40.html)
great disallusionment of war warped the minds of artists and writers. Dylan Thomas's poem deals with death and conflict (a setting of his own world).
