Post War America

The effects of this era can still be seen today:The middle class represents the a large segment of the American population. Television is a popular form of entertainment for many Americans.

Characteristics of Postwar Economy

Increase consumer spending

Higher prices

Rising Inflation

Labor unrest

Republican Congress

PassesTaft-Hartley Act–

Outlawed closed shops

Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944/GI Bill of Rights

Provided veterans with a free college education at a cost of $14.5 billion

Veterans Administration guaranteed $16 billion in loans for veterans to buy homes, farms and small businesses

Election 1948

Harry S. Truman– Democrat

Civil Rights, return of economy

Strom Thurmond– Dixiecrat

Segregation

Thomas Dewey–Republican

Attacks “high tax”Truman & labor strikes

                                          

        

“Give ‘em hell Harry!”

•Henry Wallace-Progressive

•Against Cold War

Election 1948

                                          

         

http://www.caller2.com/2000/november/09/today/contribu/8712.html

Truman’s Fair Deal

Fair deal legislation Fair deal programs not enacted

Increase in minimum wage to 75¢/ hour

National health insurance

Expansion of Social Security system—10M

more served

Farm subsidies

National Housing Act—low income housing

Federal aid to schools

  Civil rights legislation

Truman’sFair Deal

Election of 1952—The Candidates

Democrats—Adlai E. Stevenson

– Witty, eloquent and courageous – Governor of Illinois

Republicans—Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dynamic Conservatism– Conservative with Economy;

liberal with human beings– “I like Ike”– War hero– Grandfatherly

Peace Prosperity and Progress

Election of 1952 Highlights

“Checkers speech”—Nixon accused of profiting from a secret slush fund set up by wealthy supporters

– TV in politics Eisenhower pledges to visit

Korea to end the war Republicans charge that

Democrats are “soft on communism,” the growing power of the federal government & alleged bribery & corruption in Truman administration

Truman approval rating at 23% in 1951

The Fifties Family

The Baby Boom (1946-1964)

– ~65M babies born

Women – Focused themselves on

family – Number of working

women actually increased

Baby BoomBaby BoomIt seems to me that every other It seems to me that every other young housewife I see is pregnant.young housewife I see is pregnant. -- British visitor to America, 1958-- British visitor to America, 1958

1957 1957 1 baby born every 7 1 baby born every 7 secondsseconds

Baby BoomBaby Boom

Dr. Benjamin Dr. Benjamin SpockSpock

and the Anderson and the Anderson QuintupletsQuintuplets

People purchased more items on credit Wanted to keep up with the Jones’s

Growth of Consumerism

ConsumerismConsumerism1950 1950 Introduction of the Diner’s Introduction of the Diner’s

CardCard

All babies were potential consumers All babies were potential consumers who spearheaded a brand-new market who spearheaded a brand-new market for food, clothing, and shelter.for food, clothing, and shelter. -- Life -- Life Magazine (May, 1958) Magazine (May, 1958)

ConsumerismConsumerism

The Culture of the CarThe Culture of the Car Car registrations: 1945 Car registrations: 1945

25,000,00025,000,000 1960 1960 60,000,000 60,000,000

2-family cars doubles from 1951-2-family cars doubles from 1951-19581958

1956 1956 Interstate Highway ActInterstate Highway Act largestlargest public works project in American public works project in American history! history!

ÅCost $32 billion.Cost $32 billion.

Å41,000 miles of new highways 41,000 miles of new highways built.built.

1959 Chevy 1959 Chevy CorvetteCorvette

1958 Pink 1958 Pink CadillacCadillac

The Culture of the Car The Culture of the Car

First McDonald’s First McDonald’s (1955)(1955)

America became a more similar America became a more similar nation because of the nation because of the automobile.automobile.

Drive-In Drive-In MoviesMovies

Howard Howard Johnson’sJohnson’s

Suburbia

Levittown, NY– planned residential communities– Track homes– Escape from the

“crime” of the cities– GI Bill helped finance

the homes

2A. Suburban Living2A. Suburban Living

$7,990 or $60/month with no down $7,990 or $60/month with no down payment.payment.

Levittown, L. I.: Levittown, L. I.: “The American “The American Dream”Dream”

1949 1949 William LevittWilliam Levitt produced produced 150 houses per week. 150 houses per week.

2A. Suburban Living:The New “American Dream”

2A. Suburban Living:The New “American Dream”

1 story high1 story high

k 12’x19’ living 12’x19’ living roomroom

k 2 bedrooms2 bedrooms

k tiled bathroomtiled bathroom

k garagegarage

k small backyardsmall backyard

k front lawnfront lawn

By 1960 By 1960 1/3 of the U. S. population 1/3 of the U. S. population in in the suburbs. the suburbs.

Suburban LivingSuburban Living

SHIFTS IN POPULATION SHIFTS IN POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, DISTRIBUTION,

1940-19701940-1970

19401940 19501950 19601960 19701970Central CitiesCentral Cities 31.6% 32.3% 31.6% 32.3% 32.6% 32.0% 32.6% 32.0%SuburbsSuburbs 19.5% 23.8% 19.5% 23.8% 30.7% 30.7% 41.6%41.6%Rural Areas/Rural Areas/ 48.9% 43.9% 48.9% 43.9% 36.7% 26.4% 36.7% 26.4%Small TownsSmall Towns

U. S. Bureau of the Census.U. S. Bureau of the Census.

Little Boxes written and sung by Melvina Reynolds (1962)

Little boxes on the hillside,Little boxes made of ticky-tacky,Little boxes on the hillside,Little boxes, all the same.There's a pink one and a green oneAnd a blue one and a yellow oneAnd they're all made out of ticky-tackyAnd they all look just the same.

And the people in the housesAll went to the university,where they were put in boxes,and came out all the same.And there's doctors and there's lawyersAnd business executives,And they're all made out of ticky-tackyAnd they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf-course,And drink their Martinis dry,And they all have pretty children,And the children go to school.And the children go to summer campAnd then to the university,Where they are put in boxesAnd they come out all the same.

And the boys go into business,And marry, and raise a family,in boxes made of ticky-tacky,and they all the look the same.There's a pink one and a green oneAnd a blue one and a yellow oneAnd they're all made out of ticky-tackyAnd they all look just the same.

http://support.neosys.com:999/family/users/simon/files/Music/Little%20Boxes%20-%20Pete%20Seeger.mp3

The Attack of the Sprawling City

Families wanted to live in neighborhoods

The Interstate System caused beltlines around cities

EFFECT= Suburbs, EFFECT= Suburbs, increase traffic, increase traffic, country reliant on the country reliant on the AUTOMOBILEAUTOMOBILE

Cityville

The American Suburb

Technological Breakthroughs

Computers began– Calculators

Polio epidemic– 1952 58,000 cases

occurred– Dr. Jonas Salk

developed a vaccine

                  

10A. Progress Through Science10A. Progress Through Science

1951 -- 1951 -- First IBM Mainframe First IBM Mainframe ComputerComputer

1952 -- 1952 -- Hydrogen BombHydrogen Bomb Test Test

1953 -- 1953 -- DNADNA Structure Discovered Structure Discovered

1954 -- 1954 -- Salk VaccineSalk Vaccine Tested for Tested for PolioPolio

1957 -- First Commercial 1957 -- First Commercial U. S. U. S. NuclearNuclear Power Plant Power Plant

1958 -- 1958 -- NASANASA Created Created

1959 -- Press Conference of the 1959 -- Press Conference of the First 7First 7 American Astronauts American Astronauts

10C. Progress Through Science10C. Progress Through Science

UFO SightingsUFO Sightings skyrocketed in the skyrocketed in the 1950s.1950s.

War of the War of the WorldsWorlds

Hollywood used aliens as a Hollywood used aliens as a metaphor metaphor

for whom for whom ????

10D. Progress Through Science10D. Progress Through Science

Atomic AnxietiesAtomic Anxieties::

““Duck-and-Cover Duck-and-Cover Generation”Generation”

Atomic TestingAtomic Testing::

1946-1962 1946-1962 U. S. exploded 217 U. S. exploded 217 nuclear weapons over nuclear weapons over thethe Pacific and in Nevada. Pacific and in Nevada.

Pop Culture in the 1950

Pop Culture– Television

By 1957 80% of American homes had TVs

Shows depicted the middle class

The Typical TV Suburban Families

The Typical TV Suburban Families

The The Donna Donna Reed Reed ShowShow1958-1958-19661966

Leave It Leave It to Beaverto Beaver1957-19631957-1963

FatherFather Knows Knows BestBest

1954-19581954-1958

The Ozzie & Harriet The Ozzie & Harriet ShowShow

1952-19661952-1966

Television – The WesternTelevision – The WesternDavy CrockettDavy Crockett

King of the Wild King of the Wild FrontierFrontier

The Lone RangerThe Lone Ranger(and his faithful(and his faithfulsidekick, Tonto): sidekick, Tonto): Who is that masked Who is that masked man??man??

Sheriff Matt Sheriff Matt Dillon, Dillon,

GunsmokeGunsmoke

Television - Family ShowsTelevision - Family Shows

I Love I Love LucyLucy

The The HoneymoonersHoneymooners

Glossy view of mostly Glossy view of mostly middle-class suburban life.middle-class suburban life.

But...But...

Social Winners?... AND… Social Winners?... AND… Losers?Losers?

And now the feature presentation…

Brought to you in TECHNICOLOR

Adhered to the conformity

African Americans were in stereotypical roles

Pop Culture– Rock’n’Roll

Rock’n’Roll was the music of teens

Spoke of sweethearts, high school, and break ups

“Music of the Devil”

Pop Culture– Rock’n’Roll

Rock’n’Roll brought integration issues to the foreground

1950s Counter Culture

The Beat Movement– literary and artistic movement that criticized conformity

Believed– Am culture was empty,

Am politics were meaningless, & Am life was sterile

Allen Ginsberg’s HOWL, and Jack Kerouac’s ON THE ROAD defined the mvmt

Society Changes

New Corporate CultureNew Corporate Culture:: “The Company Man” “The Company Man”

1956 1956 Sloan Wilson’sSloan Wilson’s The Man in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit the Gray Flannel Suit

The Organization Man showed the disapproval with individuality

The flipsideNot all Americans were the “Nelsons”

Michael Harrington wrote The Other America

– Showed what he saw in the hidden, poor communities.

– Hardest for AfAm, Hispanics, and Appalachia

“Tens of millions of Americans are, at this very moment, maimed in body and spirit, existing at levels beneath those necessary for human decency. If these people are not starving, they are hungry, for that is what cheap foods do. They are without adequate housing and education and medical care.” -- from The Other America

The flipsideNot all Americans were the Nelsons

Left out of the Economic Boom

Single Mothers

Rural America

Elderly

Minority Groups

Inner City Residents

The flipsideThe decline of the Inner Cities

“White Flight” to the suburbs left the inner cities in shambles

Urban renewal often tore down more than it erected

The flipsideJuvenile Delinquency

Btw 1948-1953 delinquent crimes rose 45%

1,000,000 Delinquents calculated that 1 M youths would commit crime in 1955

– That was Correct! Reasons:

– Poverty, lack of religion, TV, movies, comic books, busy parents, racism, rising divorce rate, anxiety over military draft, rebelling from conformity, alcohol and drugs

Review: Use the graphic organizer to list the causes and effects of the economic boom of the 1950s.

Boom

Causes Effects

Class Writing Assignment

Write an article for a magazine such as Better Homes and Gardens describing changes the American family underwent during the 1950’s.

Summary

Economy

GI Bill provides loansConsumer spending More Ams own homes

Truman’s Civil Rights Bill doesn’t passEisenhower cuts back New Deal

Population

Patterns

Population booms# of working women

“White Flight”Many poor remain in cities in cities, creating economic problems

Signs of Prosperity Signs of Inequality

Summary

Science, Technology, &

Medicine

Breakthroughs– polio vac, antibioticsImprovements in communication, transportation, electronics

Many poor in cities/ rural areas have limited access

Popular Culture

New music, radio, cinema, and literatureTV replaced radio

Minorities not depicted on TVPromoted stereotypes

Signs of Prosperity Signs of Inequality

Review QuestionsAnswer the Following questions on your paper…

1. What were two reasons for the economic boom of the 1950s?

2. What caused many Americans to move to the suburbs in the 1950s?

3. Which groups pf Americans found themselves left out of the boom?

4. What factors led to the rise in juvenile delinquency and why?

5. Harry S. Truman was a Democrat, and Dwight D. Eisenhower was a Republican. How were the domestic agendas of these two presidents different? How were they similar?