Download - 1950s
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People have savings, service pay, war bonds; buy goods long missed
Cold War keeps defense spending up; foreign aid creates markets
GI Bill of Rights eases veterans’ return to civilian lifePays partial tuition, unemployment
benefits; provides loans
Booming Economy
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Economic GainsDefense industries boom,
unemployment falls to 1.2%Average pay risesFarmers prosper from rising crop
prices, increase in productionPercentage of women in work force
rises to 35%Population ShiftsWar triggers mass migrations to
towns with defense industries
Post WWII Economic Results
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Families adjust to fathers in military; mothers rear children alone
Families must get to know each other again after fathers return
Many couples rush to marry before husband goes overseas
1944 GI Bill of Rights or Servicemen’s Readjustment Act:pays education; loan guarantees for
homes, new businesses
Social Adjustments
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1945 - 1965 baby boom - soaring birth rate after soldiers return
Baby boom impacts economy, educational system
Baby Boom
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Higher prices, lower wages lead to strikes
Congress passes Taft-Hartley Act, overturns many union rights
The American Federation of Labor merges with the Congress of Industrial Organizations to become the AFL-CIO
Truman Faces Strikes
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Truman Supports Civil RightsAfrican Americans, especially
veterans, demand rights as citizensCongress rejects civil rights laws;
Truman issues executive orders:Integrates armed forces; ends
discrimination in government hiring
Social Unrest Persists
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Page 1 of Executive order 9981 commanding Integration of the US Military July 26, 1948
1. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin…
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Southern Democrats – Dixiecrats - protest civil rights, form own party
Truman defeats Thomas E. Dewey in close political upset
Democrats regain control of Congress, lose some Southern states
The 1948 Election
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Truman’s Fair Deal is ambitious economic program, includes:higher minimum wage, flood
control projects, low-income housing
Congress passes parts of Fair Deal
The Fair Deal
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Truman’s approval rating drops over Korean War, McCarthyismdecides not to run for reelection
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower runs against Adlai Stevenson
Newspapers accuse VP candidate Richard M. Nixon of corruptiondefends self in televised “Checkers
speech”Eisenhower wins; Republicans
narrowly take Congress
Republicans Take the Middle Road
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Favors big businessCut gov’t spendingReduce taxesAttempt to balance
the budget
EisenhowerModern Republicanism
Dwight D Eisenhower34th President of the
US
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During the 1950s, the economy booms, and many Americans enjoy material comfort.
Majority of Americans not in blue-collar (industrial) jobs
More in higher-paying, white-collar (office, professional) positions
Many in services, like sales, advertising, insurance, communications
The American Dream in the Fifties
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Conglomerates—corporation that owns smaller, unrelated companies
Diversify to protect from downturns in individual industries
Franchise—company offers similar products, services in many placesAlso the right to use company name and
system Fast-food restaurants among first, most
successful franchises
Businesses Reorganize
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Many employees with well-paid, secure jobs lose individuality
Offers comfort and security
Youth are labeled the “silent generation”
Media promotes clean-cut teen image
Interest in religion renewed – Rev. Billy Graham
Social Conformity
Reverend Billy Graham
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Men go to school; support familiesWomen work at home; look after
childrenMagazines, TV, movies glorify role of
homemaker, motherSome suburban teenagers work part
time; many have more leisure time.
Roles in Society
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Women who keep their jobs after WWII
Married women working outside the home (limited opportunities, less pay than men)
Rock-and-roll musicBeatniks
Challenges to Conformity
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Rock ‘n’ roll—mix of rhythm and blues, country, pop
Has heavy rhythm, simple melodies, lyrics about teenage concerns
Music appeals to newly affluent teens who can buy records
Many adults concerned music will lead to delinquency, immorality
Elvis Presley – king of rock ‘n’ roll
Rock ‘n’ Roll
Elvis Presley
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Writers, artists express social, literary nonconformity
Poets, writers use free, open form; read works aloud in coffeehouses
Beatnik attitudes, way of life attract media attention
The Beat Movement
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Mass media—means of communication that reach large audiences
TV in almost 90% of homes in 1960Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) regulates communications (censorship)
Programs: comedies, news, dramas, variety shows, children’s shows
Three networks dominateCommercial advertisements pay for
programming
Popular Culture
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Television cuts into radio, movie markets
Radio turns to local news, weather, music, community affairs
Movies capitalize on size, color, sound advantages; try gimmicks
Popular Culture (cont.)
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The Computer Industry:Wartime research advances industrySoftware advances are madeTransistor invented
Nuclear Power – Clean, limitless, affordable
Advances in Medicine and Childcare:Dr. Jonas Salk develops vaccine for polioPediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock writes popular
guide for parentsAdvances in antibiotics and surgery
Technology
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Dr. Jonas Salk Developer of Polio Vaccine
Dr. Benjamin Spock
1950s Transistor Radios
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Shorter work week, paid vacation, labor-saving devices free up time
People have time for recreational activities, spectator sports
Book, magazine, comic book sales climb rapidly
Leisure in the Fifties
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Cheap, plentiful gas, easy credit, advertising increase car sales
No public transit in suburbs; cars necessary
The Automobile Culture
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Interstate Highway Act—nationwide highway network unites country
Highways enable long-haul trucking, new towns, family vacations
Towns near highways prosper; those near older, smaller roads decline
The Interstate Highway System
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Returning veterans face housing shortage
William J. Levitt (Levittowns) -- Developers use assembly-line methods to mass-produce houses
Build suburbs - small residential communities around cities
GI Bill of Rights -- pays partial tuition, unemployment benefits; provides low-interest loans for houses and businesses
The Move to Suburbs
William J Levitt
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Auto boom stimulates new businessese.g. drive-in movies
Cars create social, environmental problems e.g. accidents, pollution
Upper-, middle-class whites leave cities; jobs, businesses follow
Economic gulf widens between suburban and urban
Also widens gap between middle class and the poor
Mobility Takes Its Toll
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Amidst the prosperity of the 1950s, millions of Americans live in poverty (25%).
Post WW II–1960, 5 million blacks go from rural South to urban North
White flight results in loss of businesses, tax payers in cities
Cities can no longer afford to maintain or improve:schools, public transportation, police and
fire departments
The Other America
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Poverty grows rapidly in decaying inner cities
Poor economic conditions lead to illness and terrible conditions
Urban renewal—replace rundown buildings with new low-income housing
Housing and Urban Development Dept. created to improve conditions
Not enough housing built for displaced people
The Urban Poor
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Minority groups were still fighting for equal rights
During WWII, Mexican braceros, hired hands, allowed into U.S. to work
After war, many remain illegally; many others enter to look for work
Struggling for Equality
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Mexican Braceros being processed
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60% of Americans in middle class; twice as many as before WW II
Consumerism (buying material goods) equated with success
Numerous new products appear on market in response to demand
Planned obsolescence—making products that get outdated, wear outmakes consumers buy or want to buy
new ones
Consumerism
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Buy Now, Pay LaterCredit purchases, credit cards,
installments extend payment periodPrivate debt grows; consumers
confident of future prosperityMost people have satisfied basic
needs; ads encourage extra spendingAds appear in all media; television
emerges as powerful new tool
Consumerism (cont.)
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