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Chapter 26Postwar confidence and Anxiety
1945-1960Page 880
Section 1An Economic Boom
• Returning soldiers and American public nervous of postwar economy will return to depression levels
• A. Nation Recovers from war– Demobilization- sending hope the army– 12 million returning home– Still kept army larger than ever- new policy?
Changes
• GI Bill of Rights- help returning veterans adjust to normal life- money till find jobs or money for school
• Baby boom- more children being born- 4.3 million in 1957– Had to wait to have children during GD and WWII
Economy
• People saved money during war, now want goods
• Too much money chasing too little goods- deflation
• Productivity booms- U.S. 6% of world pop. Now producing 50% of goods
• Marshall plan and world economy had need for that much production- most of Europe destroyed
Obstacles
• Wages did not rise with prices- workers go on strike
• Truman vetoes Taft Hartley Act twice- still passes- outlaws closed shops
• Truman also takes on Civil Rights- desegregates the army
• Suggests Civil Service Reforms• Splits Democrat Party
Election of 1948
• Truman should lose• Democrats split 3 ways– Truman– Thurmond– Wallace
• Republicans run Thomas Dewey- should have been a shoe in
• Truman won in a narrow upset victory
Truman years continued
• Focused on reform legislation called the Fair Deal- continued New Deal
• However, Congress shot down most of his ideas
• Korea was the final death nail in his career
Eisenhower
• Elected in 1952• Popular war hero• Ran against Adlai Stevenson • Most known for the Interstate Highway
System• And education reform• Very prosperous under his presidency
Section 2A Society on the Move
• After WWII, with the growth of Suburbs and the auto industry, people were moving to the Sunbelt and out of the cities
• A- Suburban growth• William Levitt devised way to create cheap,
affordable homes quickly• Levittowns
• Americans could afford these homes- low payments and cheap interest
• Automobiles allowed people to travel more• Car ownership skyrocketed- 26 to 60 million in
15 years
• Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway Act created 41,000 miles of Highway
• People traveled more- State Parks, Disney Land
Sunbelt
• People also moving to Sunbelt- South and West
• Air conditioning made life their more appealing
• Those areas gained more representatives in Congress
Economy
• Booming in 50’s and 60’s• More people going to white collar jobs- ex.
Information Industries• ENIAC??• More women are working• 1960, les than 10% live on farms• Franchise Businesses?• Multinational Corporations?
Education
• National Defense Education Act allows more people to go to college
• College attendance up from 15% to 40% by 1960
• California Master Plan?
Section 3Mass Culture and Family Life
• The cultures of the 1950’s centered on consumerism, conformity, and nuclear family standards
• A. Consumerism– Median family income rose during 50’s– American buying more goods• Labor saving appliances• TVs!!• Shopping is now a hobby
B. Family Life
• TV portrayed the ideal nuclear family- father-bread winner, mother-homemaker, at least 2 children
• Benjamin Spock’s “Common Sense of Baby and Child Care”- can’t spoil a kid
• Must provide lots of love and care
C. Religious revival
• Religion on the rise as Americans stress their difference to the communist
• Dollar Bill• Pledge of Allegiance
• D. Health care– Dr. Jonas Salk- Polio vaccine– Penicillin and antibiotics more common
E. Television
• Almost all Americans own a TV• Candidates use to advertise for campaigns • Theater attendance down• I Love Lucy• Mickey Mouse Club• Leave it to Beaver
F. Rock and Roll
• Rock and Roll a way of non-conformity• Music originated in rhythm and blues tradition
of AA’s• Chuck Berry• Elvis Presley• B.B. King
Section 4Dissent and Discontent
• Not everyone had the “50’s ideal life” Some would benefit while others missed out
• A. Critics• Many believed conformity of 50’s ruining
individuality of U.S.• The Lonely Crown• The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit• Beatniks?
B. Rural and Urban Poverty
• As many people leave cities, inner cities decline into poverty and crime
• Michael Harrington- 50 million Americans in poverty
• Urban renewal tried to fix inner cities, but often led to concentrated poor in one area or evicted poor into other crowded areas
• Many rural poor suffering as well as farming in more and more industrialized
C. “Other Americans”• 1. Puerto Ricans- many migrated during war,
no segregated in poorest inner city communities
• 2. Mexicans- Braceros program brought migrant workers to U.S. Often mistreated and under paid- couldn’t complain or deported
• 3. Native Americans- termination policy meant to assimilate, but further threw natives into poverty