Detroit was a town that many envied during the first half of the twentieth century. It had a vibrant industrial sector that offered employment to the people of Detroit that is both blacks and whites. Nonetheless, this glory did not last long and soon the town became the nations symbol of urban decay (Boyle, 2001, p. 109). This paper will focus on who and what was to blame for Detroits postwar decline Was this decline inevitable
Detroit began its decline in the 1940s and in between late 1960s and early 1970s it went downhill so quickly that many scholars have tried to explain the reason for its rapid decline. The deterioration of the town can be traced back to the years after the Second World War. During the prewar era, Detroit was a town that offered equal opportunities to all its citizens and the kind of life they all led was proof. Many people lived in the middle class level and the city had new buildings cropping up and many families owned homes (Boyle, 2001 Thompson, 2004).
In 1967, there was a riot. The riot was violent the whites fled the town out of fear of violence as well as the future. The fleeing of the whites saw the town transform and it become a poor town for the blacks, as they are the only ones who remained behind after the riots. The blacks became the majority and the entire towns administration was black. To make the matter worse in the 1970s the town was hit by an oil crisis and this led to the collapse of the automobile industry that had employed many blacks and thus many became jobless. This change of events led to a big gap between the blacks and the whites. However, some believe that the fortunes of Detroit did not change entirely due to the riots but due to another factor (Boyle, 2001).
White Detroiters are said to be the cause of Detroits collapse using the influence they had in the institutions they headed. The automobile institution was the basis of Detroits economy and the whites controlled the union of workers called the United Automobile Workers (UAW). Problems began when the leaders of UAW changed the companies policies, which had been progressive in nature in what was known as Treaty of Detroit(Boyle,2001, p. 111).
This meant that the automakers had a say in the decisions of their firms and the working conditions. The union also managed to fight for higher wages and salaries for its members. This change in running things meant that UAW had relinquished its say over how the automobile firms ran the affairs and they were free to do whatever they willed. For example, they dictated prices, location without considering the public as long as they made profits. The shop-floor discipline was increased and the factories neglected the concerns of their factory hands (Boyle, 2001, p. 111). In pushing for higher wages, the workers were split into two.
This lead to a discrepancy and the male white workers earned higher salaries while the nonunion members who comprised of females and blacks got low wages with hardly any benefits. For example, a black union member took home less than two dollars a day and this was lower than what a white mechanic roofer earned (Sugrue, 2004). Consequently, a conflict developed between the two groups of workers.
The AUW did not manage to bring about equality in the workplace and discrimination against the blacks persisted. The blacks who looked for employment in the auto industry often got the worst jobs. They worked in hazardous conditions and even though there was a new deal in the trade union, it did not favor the African Americans. In some factories, the employers specifically requested for white employees because they feared the black influx in their factories because they thought they would bring about problems later in the workplace. This discrimination only served to increase racial animosity in Detroit. Some of the factories were closed due to the influx of blacks such as Hudson Motors and Curtis Aircraft to protest the high number of black employees (Thompson, 2004). This discrimination eventually led to black protests against the unfair treatment, which led to riots in 1967. The blacks protested because they felt that the government was not doing enough to rectify the situation. The aim was to bring down the discriminatory practices that had pushed at the bottom of every aspect of life in Detroit from employment to housing and even education (Sugrue, 2004).The riots resulted in further decline of the town. This means that the town began to deindustrialize.
Through deindustrialization Detroit lost some of the industries that had given many people employment opportunities. Furthermore, the companies acquired machines and this meant that many people had to be laid off as they were no longer necessary. That was not all as more jobs were shipped out of the town. Such actions led to the decline of Detroit after the war. Jobs in the industrial sector had fell 134,000 between 1943 and 1963 (Boyle, 2001. p. 114).
The abandonment of Detroit by the whites led to its vast poverty because once a town lost its white residents it became largely irrelevant socially and political entities (Thompson, 2004, p. 5). The whites were uneasy with the blacks and this often led to violent attacks towards them by the blacks. In turn, the whites were conservative towards the blacks. They used their power to try to define Detroit during the postwar. However it was hard to do because the whites had political differences amongst themselves. Some supported civil rights whiles others opposed them. The whites who supported the civic right felt that the blacks deserved equal opportunities. The blacks demanded equal treatment as well as access to resources. The whites thus felt threatened by these demands and they did not become sympathetic with the plight of the blacks who were living in poverty. This led to an increase in the racial tension between the blacks and the whites after the post war era. Yet many had hoped that they migration of the blacks to the north would lead to unity between the two races (Thompson, 2004).
The unity was not found and the blacks had to settle in areas that were previously occupied by Jews. The areas were called the Black Bottom and Paradise Valley (Thompson, 2004, p. 16). Life in these areas was very difficult and the city administrators did nothing to rectify the situation. Therefore, we can say that the Detroiters had a hand in the destruction of their once successful city. The whites who were determined to maintain the race imbalance led to problems that scarred Detroit forever. The political leaders on the other hand failed tot address the issues that were at the core of Detroit such as unequal distribution of resources that led to riots in opposition of the unfairness in resource distribution.
The once beautiful Detroit with beautiful houses was declining because houses were being burnt down. The white destroyed houses belong to blacks who moved into the white areas. Sometimes their cars, garages were also destroyed. The blacks were thus forced to remain in the city in ghettos yet there were no longer adequate jobs due to deindustrialization. This kind of behavior led to the decline of the town because the burnt house became ruins and it is possible to see the ruins of Detroit today (Boyle, 2001).
The decline was inevitable because of the preceding events. The whites had failed to tolerate or accept the blacks into their society. Through their insistence of segregation in housing, school and workplace they help to escalate race tensions. The oppressed blacks could not believe they would go on suffering as they had hoped that migrating to the north and the end of world war two would bring about change in their situation. They were disillusioned when they realized that the north was not as promising as they had anticipated and something had to give way thus the decline in Detroit.
The other thing that made the decline inevitable was the exclusion of the blacks in politics. The exclusion meant that their cause did not have people to articulate. Ironically, when some blacks were elected they did not bring the change that had been anticipated. Being locked out in the political cold was tantamount to shooting the blacks in the leg because they could not have say over the policies that affected their lives directly such as the policy that reinforced housing segregation.
Finally, the only way a town or country can avoid decline is by including all the members in the running of the affairs of the country. This is through equal political representation to give all people a chance to be represented in decision-making. The government must work hard to ensure that there is fair equity of resources to avoid creating animosity between those the haves and the have-nots. This is the only way to ensure that a town or country continues to flourish year after year.
Detroit began its decline in the 1940s and in between late 1960s and early 1970s it went downhill so quickly that many scholars have tried to explain the reason for its rapid decline. The deterioration of the town can be traced back to the years after the Second World War. During the prewar era, Detroit was a town that offered equal opportunities to all its citizens and the kind of life they all led was proof. Many people lived in the middle class level and the city had new buildings cropping up and many families owned homes (Boyle, 2001 Thompson, 2004).
In 1967, there was a riot. The riot was violent the whites fled the town out of fear of violence as well as the future. The fleeing of the whites saw the town transform and it become a poor town for the blacks, as they are the only ones who remained behind after the riots. The blacks became the majority and the entire towns administration was black. To make the matter worse in the 1970s the town was hit by an oil crisis and this led to the collapse of the automobile industry that had employed many blacks and thus many became jobless. This change of events led to a big gap between the blacks and the whites. However, some believe that the fortunes of Detroit did not change entirely due to the riots but due to another factor (Boyle, 2001).
White Detroiters are said to be the cause of Detroits collapse using the influence they had in the institutions they headed. The automobile institution was the basis of Detroits economy and the whites controlled the union of workers called the United Automobile Workers (UAW). Problems began when the leaders of UAW changed the companies policies, which had been progressive in nature in what was known as Treaty of Detroit(Boyle,2001, p. 111).
This meant that the automakers had a say in the decisions of their firms and the working conditions. The union also managed to fight for higher wages and salaries for its members. This change in running things meant that UAW had relinquished its say over how the automobile firms ran the affairs and they were free to do whatever they willed. For example, they dictated prices, location without considering the public as long as they made profits. The shop-floor discipline was increased and the factories neglected the concerns of their factory hands (Boyle, 2001, p. 111). In pushing for higher wages, the workers were split into two.
This lead to a discrepancy and the male white workers earned higher salaries while the nonunion members who comprised of females and blacks got low wages with hardly any benefits. For example, a black union member took home less than two dollars a day and this was lower than what a white mechanic roofer earned (Sugrue, 2004). Consequently, a conflict developed between the two groups of workers.
The AUW did not manage to bring about equality in the workplace and discrimination against the blacks persisted. The blacks who looked for employment in the auto industry often got the worst jobs. They worked in hazardous conditions and even though there was a new deal in the trade union, it did not favor the African Americans. In some factories, the employers specifically requested for white employees because they feared the black influx in their factories because they thought they would bring about problems later in the workplace. This discrimination only served to increase racial animosity in Detroit. Some of the factories were closed due to the influx of blacks such as Hudson Motors and Curtis Aircraft to protest the high number of black employees (Thompson, 2004). This discrimination eventually led to black protests against the unfair treatment, which led to riots in 1967. The blacks protested because they felt that the government was not doing enough to rectify the situation. The aim was to bring down the discriminatory practices that had pushed at the bottom of every aspect of life in Detroit from employment to housing and even education (Sugrue, 2004).The riots resulted in further decline of the town. This means that the town began to deindustrialize.
Through deindustrialization Detroit lost some of the industries that had given many people employment opportunities. Furthermore, the companies acquired machines and this meant that many people had to be laid off as they were no longer necessary. That was not all as more jobs were shipped out of the town. Such actions led to the decline of Detroit after the war. Jobs in the industrial sector had fell 134,000 between 1943 and 1963 (Boyle, 2001. p. 114).
The abandonment of Detroit by the whites led to its vast poverty because once a town lost its white residents it became largely irrelevant socially and political entities (Thompson, 2004, p. 5). The whites were uneasy with the blacks and this often led to violent attacks towards them by the blacks. In turn, the whites were conservative towards the blacks. They used their power to try to define Detroit during the postwar. However it was hard to do because the whites had political differences amongst themselves. Some supported civil rights whiles others opposed them. The whites who supported the civic right felt that the blacks deserved equal opportunities. The blacks demanded equal treatment as well as access to resources. The whites thus felt threatened by these demands and they did not become sympathetic with the plight of the blacks who were living in poverty. This led to an increase in the racial tension between the blacks and the whites after the post war era. Yet many had hoped that they migration of the blacks to the north would lead to unity between the two races (Thompson, 2004).
The unity was not found and the blacks had to settle in areas that were previously occupied by Jews. The areas were called the Black Bottom and Paradise Valley (Thompson, 2004, p. 16). Life in these areas was very difficult and the city administrators did nothing to rectify the situation. Therefore, we can say that the Detroiters had a hand in the destruction of their once successful city. The whites who were determined to maintain the race imbalance led to problems that scarred Detroit forever. The political leaders on the other hand failed tot address the issues that were at the core of Detroit such as unequal distribution of resources that led to riots in opposition of the unfairness in resource distribution.
The once beautiful Detroit with beautiful houses was declining because houses were being burnt down. The white destroyed houses belong to blacks who moved into the white areas. Sometimes their cars, garages were also destroyed. The blacks were thus forced to remain in the city in ghettos yet there were no longer adequate jobs due to deindustrialization. This kind of behavior led to the decline of the town because the burnt house became ruins and it is possible to see the ruins of Detroit today (Boyle, 2001).
The decline was inevitable because of the preceding events. The whites had failed to tolerate or accept the blacks into their society. Through their insistence of segregation in housing, school and workplace they help to escalate race tensions. The oppressed blacks could not believe they would go on suffering as they had hoped that migrating to the north and the end of world war two would bring about change in their situation. They were disillusioned when they realized that the north was not as promising as they had anticipated and something had to give way thus the decline in Detroit.
The other thing that made the decline inevitable was the exclusion of the blacks in politics. The exclusion meant that their cause did not have people to articulate. Ironically, when some blacks were elected they did not bring the change that had been anticipated. Being locked out in the political cold was tantamount to shooting the blacks in the leg because they could not have say over the policies that affected their lives directly such as the policy that reinforced housing segregation.
Finally, the only way a town or country can avoid decline is by including all the members in the running of the affairs of the country. This is through equal political representation to give all people a chance to be represented in decision-making. The government must work hard to ensure that there is fair equity of resources to avoid creating animosity between those the haves and the have-nots. This is the only way to ensure that a town or country continues to flourish year after year.
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