The Way We Really Were

by Lotchin, Roger W.

• ISBN13: 9780252068195
• ISBN10: 025206819X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-12-01
• Publisher: Univ of Illinois Pr

Summary

"The customary picture of the World War II era in California has been dominated by accounts of the Japanese American concentration camps, African Americans, and women on the home front. The Way We Really Were substantially enlivens this view, addressing topics that have been neglected or incompletely treated in the past to create a more rounded picture of the wartime situation at home. Exploring the developments brought to fruition by the war and linking them to their roots in earlier decades, contributors address the diversity of the musical scene, which arose from a cross-pollination of styles brought by Okies, blacks, and Mexican migrants. They examine increased political involvement by women, Hollywood's response to the war, and the merging of business and labor interests in the Bay Area Council. They also reveal how wartime dynamics led to substantial environmental damage and lasting economic gains by industry. The Way We Really Were examines significant wartime changes in the circumstances of immigrant groups that have been largely overlooked by historians. Among these are Italian Americans, heavily insular and pro-Fascist before the war and very pro-American and assimilationist after, and Chinese American men, who achieved new legitimacy and entitlement through military service. Also included is a look at cultural negotiation among multiple ethnic groups in the Golden State. A valuable addition to the literature on California history, The War We Really Were provides an entree into new areas of scholarship and a fresh look at familiar ones."

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
Robert C. Ritchie
Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction: World War II in the Golden State	1	(12)
Roger W. Lotchin
Daily Life in Wartime California	13	(17)
Arthur Verge
The Way We Thought We Were: Images in World War II Films	30	(17)
Linda Harris Mehr
Music Goes to War: California, 1940--45	47	(21)
Ronald D. Cohen
New Deal and Wartime Origins of San Francisco's Postwar Political Culture: The Case of Growth Politics and Policy	68	(25)
William Issel
California in the Second World War: An Analysis of Defense Spending	93	(27)
Paul Rhode
Public Oil, Private Oil: The Tidelands Oil Controversy, World War II, and Control of the Environment	120	(23)
Sarah S. Elkind
Ethnics at War: Italian Americans in California during World War II	143	(21)
Gary R. Mormino
George E. Pozzetta
War Comes to Chinatown: Social Transformation and the Chinese of California	164	(23)
K. Scott Wong
``Brothers under the Skin''?: African Americans, Mexican Americans, and World War II in California	187	(28)
Kevin Allen Leonard
Partisans in Overalls: New Perspectives on Women and Politics in Wartime California	215	(22)
Jacqueline R. Braitman
Contributors	237	(2)
Index	239