A Southern city enters the twentieth century: Charleston, its Navy Yard, and World War II, 1940-1948

World War II had a major impact on Southern society and culture, perhaps more than any other region of the country. Communities throughout the South saw new war industries come to their areas with job opportunities never imagined before. Charleston, South Carolina was one of those which benefited as its Navy Yard was expanded into a major shipbuilding and repair facility. As it tried to adjust its reverence for the past with the modern economic expansion, the war also brought serious disruptions to a city unprepared for unprecedented expansion. Rapid population growth led to severe housing shortages, child care problems, and food rationing. But more significant issues threatened the community's long standing social structure as a war economy sought desperately to resolve its labor shortage. For the first time women and African Americans were recruited on a large scale to work in the Navy Yard and related industries in skilled positions. As in the rest of the nation, Charleston white males had problems adjusting to the war time needs of the economy but most did. But also like the nation, they viewed this as a temporary measure. With the war's end it was expected that the status quo would return.;By comparison, Mobile, Alabama, another ship building city with a long history, faced similar problems. While Mobile struggled with the same problems as Charleston with its population growing at an alarming rate, its citizens (unlike low country South Carolina) turned to violence during and after the war to maintain the status quo.;In the short term both cities succeeded in overturning most of the social changes brought by war. Nonetheless, the seeds of change planted by the world conflict would eventually overcome social tradition, leading to equal rights for both women and African Americans.