Postwar: Waging Peace in Chicago

284 Pages·2018·2.922 MB·English

by  Laura McEnaney

Postwar
Politics and Culture in Modern America
Series Editors: Margot Canaday, Glenda Gilmore,
Michael Kazin, Stephen Pitti, Thomas J. Sugrue
Volumes in the series narrate and analyze political and
social change in the broadest dimensions from 1865 to
the present, including ideas about the ways people have
sought and wielded power in the public sphere and the
language and institutions of politics at all levels—local,
national, and transnational. The series is motivated by
a desire to reverse the fragmentation of modern U.S.
history and to encourage synthetic perspectives on social
movements and the state, on gender, race, and labor,
and on intellectual history and popular culture.
P oS T wA r
waging Peace in Chicago
Laura McEnaney
UniVErSiTy of PEnnSyLVAniA PrESS
PhiLAdELPhiA
Copyright © 2018 University of Pennsylvania Press
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for
purposes of review or scholarly citation, none of this
book may be reproduced in any form by any means without
written permission from the publisher.
Published by
University of Pennsylvania Press
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104- 4112
www .upenn .edu /pennpress
Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: McEnaney, Laura, author.
Title: Postwar : waging peace in Chicago / Laura McEnaney.
Other titles: Politics and culture in modern America.
Description: 1st edition. | Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2018] | Series: Politics
and culture in modern America | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018004673 | ISBN 978-0-8122-5055-8 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Reconstruction (1939–1951)—Social aspects—Illinois—Chicago. | Postwar
reconstruction—Social aspects—Illinois—Chicago. | Chicago (Ill.)—Social conditions—
20th century. | Chicago (Ill.)—Economic conditions—20th century. | Chicago (Ill.)—Ethnic
relations—History—20th century.
Classification: LCC F548.5 .M37 2018 | DDC 977.3/11043—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018004673
ConTEnTS
List of Abbreviations vii
Introduction: The End 1
Chapter 1. Bathrooms, Bedrooms, and Basements:
War Liberalism in the Postwar Apartment 13
Chapter 2. Japanese Americans on Parole: The Perils
and Promises of a Postwar State 54
Chapter 3. Living the GI Bill: Postwar Prosperity
Through Government Dependency 97
Chapter 4. “I Would Not Call This the More Abundant Life”:
Working- Class Women Get Their Peace 135
Chapter 5. After the Double V: African Americans
Demobilize for a “Real Peace” 169
Conclusion: Writing the History of What Happened After 202
Notes 209
Archival Collections Consulted 263
Index 265
Acknowledgments 269
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AbbrEViATionS
ASHA American Social Hygiene Association
CHA Chicago Housing Authority
CRC Chicago Resettlers Committee
CUL Chicago Urban League
DOW Department of Welfare (Chicago)
FEPC Fair Employment Practice Committee
HWLC Harold Washington Library Center
JACL Japanese American Citizens League
JASC Japanese American Service Committee
JERS Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Study
MRC Municipal Reference Collection
NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People
NAM National Association of Manufacturers
NAREB National Association of Real Estate Boards
OHE Office of the Housing Expediter
OPA Office of Price Administration
OWMR Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion
RRA Race Relations Adviser
TAS Travelers Aid Society of Chicago
UIC University of Illinois at Chicago
USO United Service Organizations
USES U.S. Employment Service
VA Veterans Administration
VEHP Veterans Emergency Housing Program
VES Veterans Employment Service
VFW Veterans of Foreign Wars
VIC Veterans Information Center
VRA Veterans Relations Adviser
viii Abbreviations
WCMC Welfare Council of Metropolitan Chicago
WMC War Manpower Commission
WRA War Relocation Authority
YMCA Young Men’s Christian Association
YWCA Young Women’s Christian Association
Montrose
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Irving Park D:Christopher House
E:1508 North Sedgwick
Ravenswood Ashland ABdydroisnon A HGFJI:::::O4C17017hli00 ivEc-0eaa4 tsNg1 tIo0on E rsWRlttmehiets usLSettatt erEt Sellemearltsl Se Ct Sroetmreetmetittee
K:1016 North Cleveland Avenue
neighborhood Lincoln AveSouthport Racine SheffieldB Halsted BelmontWellington MONPL:::::1M3220511c3315C9- EEo3 aaNr5mss5ott r iWSEctLhkruei peYsL teaWS rC tSiCrhoaeArilec l SeaBtt g uSr eoitlre dAetievnteg nue
boundary Diversey
Ashland DWrightwoLodiPnacrokln ClarkC ake
Fullerton L
North Branch Cnhieciagghob RoSouthportirvheoCroo drtlaRacinend SheffieldArmitagHalstede LarrabeeNorthSedgwickLincoln Ave incoln Park Michi
boundary Halsted Larrabee FSedgwickE La Salle State ga
Ch Near NortDhiv isiSonGide HI J n
imap area L K L M Walton
a
c ke N Chicago
a O
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Figure 1. Map of Chicago showing locations of apartment disputes and local welfare
resource centers.