WWII Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

WWII - Essay Example It was a pill which contains estrogen and progestin. It was introduced (approved for contraceptive use) to the United States market back in 1960 and immediately triggered a huge social change in the way people viewed sex. It had a profound impact on how men and women treat each other as well. Prior to the birth control pill, social roles for men and women were very well defined (Brandon, 2010, p. 69). The adult male was the alpha person in the household and the sole individual who can decide on crucial matters such as employment, schooling of the kids, purchase of a house or car and the other things usually reserved for the head of the house. The adult female was expected to be docile and obedient as the housewife and takes care of the home nest and the children while the man goes off to work and bring food to the table. The pill freed the people from their usual social constraints as women became more assertive of their reproductive rights and also demanded a right to abortion. It a lso led to sexual permissiveness and promiscuity. Civil Rights Movement – the demand by black Americans for equal rights had a big effect on how people today treat each other. Prior to the movement, racial discrimination was an accepted way of life and was the cause of the US civil war which almost split the American nation some centuries earlier. The Civil Rights Movement included their demands for a right to vote, an official end to racial discrimination in various aspects of daily life such as in jobs, housing, education and health care, among many other discriminatory acts and practices. The set of liberal reforms implemented were intended to eliminate poverty due to racial inequality and considered as a political watershed in American life (Milkis & Mileur, 2005, p. 365). Bretton Woods Agreement – this important economic agreement established the world