Experimental Social Policymaking During World War II: The United Service Organizations (USO) and American War-Community Services (AWCS)

Winning the war on the home front and overseas meant that citizens of different races, religions, and ethnic appellations needed to work together peacefully in the "arsenal of democracy." Prior to America's entrance into the war, community leaders recognized that selected social problems must be addressed in order to promote domestic harmony and boost urgently needed defense production in war communities. Instead of viewing the war years as distracting community interest from social problems, social welfare organizations pressed localities to acknowledge and act to alleviate ongoing difficulties that presented themselves, sometimes in dramatic fashion, as serious obstacles to the war effort. Race riots in Harlem and Detroit, the "zoot-suit" struggles on the West Coast, "khaki-wacky" girls who chased after servicemen, the erosion of child labor laws, significant population shifts across the nation, and a record number of teenage dropouts highlighted the structural cracks in American society. Clear understanding of the expedient nature of wartime social work mobilized efforts to establish national and local strategies that would enable wartime programs to continue into the postwar era. As a result, temporary power-sharing coalitions comprised of representatives from various interest groups developed policies and programs to resolve or ameliorate social problems arising from the war. This led to the creation of two experimental social policymaking organizations, one familiar; the other, all but unknown: the USO, or United Service Organizations in 1941 and American War-Community Services, Inc. (AWCS) in 1943. [Author]