Throughout World War II, seeds were being planted for the Civil Rights Movement. "Jim Crow" laws dominated the United States, and they dominated the battlefields of the war as well. As the war raged on and the battle against Nazi Germany was won, discrimination against non-white people became more apparent. People of differing ethnic groups wanted the chance to participate in society as equal members, with all of the same opportunities as white Americans.
During World War II, African Americans were welcomed to serve as soldiers but segregation was apparent. They fought in segregated units of the military, were only allowed at the lowest ranks of the Navy, and were actually barred from the Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard. African American soldiers began to notice the hypocrisy of fighting for democracy in Europe when they weren't even allowed their constitutional rights at home. .
When the war ended and African American, Native American, and Hispanic soldiers came back to a home that did not grant them full rights, the Civil Rights Movement was born. African Americans became even more disappointed in the system when they were so discriminated against when it came to searching for equal opportunity when searching for jobs, equal pay, and housing. Minority soldiers returned to the states ready to participate in society. The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) gained half a million members. African Americans wanted to end the tyranny of Jim Crow laws; they were separate and they most definitely were not equal. It was argued that this major discrimination was a violation of the constitution's 14th amendment of equal protection. Minority groups did not want to accept their pre-war status anymore.
Asian Americans were also heavily discriminated against in the aftermath of World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor more than one hundred thousand Japanese Americans on the west coast were placed in internment camps.
