Postwar
Postwar Era
The postwar era was a time of change for the people of Oakland. The Key System was intended to to provide public works projects but were canceled after significant growths in the use of cars and buses. Many groups such as women and minorities faced dismissal from their labor jobs that they had held throughout WWII as most men had been serving overseas. During the postwar era, Oakland went through many changes so the city would not return to its prewar, economically depressed status but eventually the city went into decline.
After the importance of a wartime economy, Oakland, and other Bay Area cities and suburbs began to worry about the economy of the postwar era. How would people find jobs in a market that didn't revolve around the war? What would happen to minorities that had finally found jobs the the shipyards or other industries? There was much fear in Oakland during the postwar years but through significant shifts in the culture of Oakland and the country in general, the city found a place for the returning soldiers and later helped minorities and women find their place in the workforce.
Many groups had to face unemployment when men came back from the war and took their jobs. Women in particular were led back into dull and domestic positions as housewives. African Americans who found many jobs in the shipyards (and had moved to the Bay Area to take these jobs) were forced out when the shipyards closed at the end of the war and other jobs were quickly taken by returning soldiers. Many strikes were held, including the general strike in Oakland from December 1st to 5th, 1946, to protest these postwar changes in the job market. “It was estimated that 100,000 union members walked off jobs all over the East Bay”(Postwar Adjustment). This shows how widespread the impact of these postwar shifts really were. Eventually women fought for their rights to employment in their Second Wave of Feminism and African Americans developed the Black Panther party in Berkeley which fought for Black Rights. The post war years led to the discharging of different groups in the workforce when soldiers returned from WWII.
After the war, Oakland saw many plans for the redevelopment of public transportation system but it was shown soon after that citizens enjoyed the comfort of their own vehicles. The Key System, which had been neglected during the second world war because all focus was on defense labor, was planned to be fixed up and new, electric streetcars were purchased for this development. People believed that the electric streetcars took up too much room in the streets and that the space should be used for smaller vehicles such as cars and buses. Other problems described by the Postwar Adjustment article included, “the trend to the automobile as a return to the days of ‘one man, one horse’ that had preceded public transit” and the accustoming to the “privacy and convenience of automobiles in contrast to public transportation, especially those who had worked long hours on the night shift in war jobs”. After the Key System was bought by a bus line, the plans for the streetcars were cancelled and buses and personal cars took its place. Oakland’s Key System was eventually bought by AC transit which still operates today. Oakland’s plans for public transportation were cancelled after people expressed that they enjoyed using cars more.