Demobilization decreasing the man power in the military by allowing service men and women to return home GI Bill of Rights Federal law that granted benefits to veterans A year of unemployment benefits if they could not find a job ID: 678662
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Slide1
Chapter 13: Postwar Confidence and Anxiety
Demobilization
– decreasing the man power in the military by allowing service men and women to return home
GI Bill of Rights
– Federal law that granted benefits to veteran’s
A year of unemployment benefits if they could not find a job
Financial aid for college
Government loans for building and starting businesses
.Slide2
1A. Baby Boom
It seems to me that every other young housewife I see is pregnant.
-- British visitor to America, 1958
1957
1 baby born every 7 secondsSlide3
1B. Baby Boom
Dr. Benjamin Spock
and the Anderson QuintupletsSlide4
Converting War Time EconomyInflation most painful economic problem after warU.S. untouched by war’s devastationU.S. produce 50% of world’s outputTechnology improves productivityUse of computers began in businessIncreased military spending leads to new technologiesDevelopment of plastics and light metal alloys
Marshall Plan increased demand for American goodsSlide5
The Taft-Hartley ActRepublicans take control of both houses of Congress in 1946 and seek to return to a conservative government:Lower taxes
Reduced government regulation
Support for business
Anti-Union – reduce the power of unions to aid businessEnd price controls passed during the war
Taft, a conservative Republican Senator sponsored actAuthorized President- 80 day cooling off period for strikes in essential industriesBanned shops closed to non-union membersTruman Vetoes but is overriddenSlide6
Truman and Civil RightsSupports the trend in post war America against intolerance- Lesson of discrimination of the Nazis- rings loud and clear- Nuremberg Trials began, the truth of Nazi racism comes outWar was fought for freedom- freedom should be available at homeSome former soldiers don’t like racism in USAAmerican society is developing
conditions for change emergeSlide7
Incremental Civil Rights for African Americans1946 Morgan v. Virginia- segregation in public interstate travel was unconstitutional1950- Shelley v. Kraemer- restrictive covenants in housing- not selling property to members of certain groups violated the ConstitutionSlide8
Civil RightsTruman desegregated the Military and Federal Civil ServiceBig step in the early struggle for an end to discriminationSlide9
Election 1948Southern Democrats leave national party in response to Truman's support for Civil RightsDixicratsStrom Thurmond- South Carolina Senator, runs for presidentDewey runs for the RepublicansTruman appeared to lose- but appeals directly to the people citing the “Do nothing Republican Congress” and Wins the ElectionSlide10Slide11
Fair DealLiberal programs of Truman similar to New DealNational health insuranceLimited and refused by Republican Congress 1946Slide12
Eisenhower Charts Middle PathEisenhower popular choice for president in 1952 – both parties wanted him!!First elected post he ever held was presidentCharted middle courseAgreed government was too big, but did not repeal New Deal programsFederal spending increased during his presidencySlide13
AutomaniaCheap, plentiful gas, easy credit, advertising increase car salesNo public transit in suburbs; cars necessary
The
Car
Culture
NEXT
Car Culture Takes Over
Depended on cars to get to work
Cars necessary to grocery shop or go to new suburban shopping malls
Fast food restaurants and drive-in movies capitalize on car
Towns near highways prosper; those near older, smaller roads declineSlide14
Mobility Takes Its TollCars 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
continued The Car Culture
NEXTSlide15
Chapter 13: Postwar Confidence and Anxiety
Interstate Highway Act
$$$ to build 41,000 miles of highway consisting of multilane expressways that would connect the nation’s major cities
Biggest public works expenditure in history
Modeled after the German Autobahn that Hitler builtIke’s plan for rapid mobilization in times of international crisis.
In 1990, became known as the
Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense HighwaysSlide16Slide17Slide18
Chapter 13: Postwar Confidence and Anxiety
Sunbelt
–
Name given to southern and western states during the migration of the U.S population from eastern and northern citiesHouston, TX - Benefited from boom in petrochemical and aerospace business
Migration had a heavy impact on the shift of representative power in Congress
California and Texas are now players in the Electoral College game
Factors in move
Climate
Large number of jobs (especially defense industries)
Air conditioning
Influx of Latino populationsSlide19
Chapter 13: Postwar Confidence and AnxietySlide20
The Organization and the Organization Man
Employment in the U.S.
By 1956, 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 (service sector)NEXT
Conglomerates
•
Conglomerates
—corporation that owns smaller, unrelated companies
• Diversify to protect from downturns in individual industriesSlide21
The Organization and the Organization Man
Franchises
•
Franchise—company offers similar products, services in many places
- also the right to use company name and system • Fast-food restaurants among first, most successful franchisesNEXT
Social Conformity
Many employees with well-paid, secure jobs
lose individuality
Personality tests see if job candidates fit in company culture
Companies reward teamwork, loyalty, encourage conformitySlide22
Chapter 13: Postwar Confidence and Anxiety
Multinational Corporation
- Companies that produced and sold their goods and services all over the world and established branches abroad.
General Motors, General Electric, International Business Machines, Coca-ColaConsumerism – large-scale buying, most of it on creditUnion Gains1955 AFL and CIO combine to form AFL-CIO
Educational Opportunities
Number of young people attending college increase
Government funds education (science and math)
California Master PlanSlide23
New Products• 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
Consumerism Unbound
NEXT
Planned Obsolescence
•
Planned obsolescence
—making products that get outdated, wear out
- makes consumers buy or want to buy new onesSlide24
Buy Now, Pay LaterCredit purchases, credit cards, installments extend payment periodPrivate debt grows; consumers confident of future prosperity
continued
Consumerism Unbound
The Advertising AgeMost people have satisfied basic needs; ads encourage extra spending
Psychological appeals in ads lure consumers to particular products
Ads appear in all media; television emerges as powerful new toolSlide25
ConsumerismSlide26
Well-Defined Gender Roles
The
ideal modern woman
married, cooked and
cared for her family, and kept herself busy by joining the local PTA and leading a troop of Campfire Girls. She entertained guests in her family’s suburban house and worked out on the trampoline to keep her size 12 figure.
--
Life
magazine, 1956
Marilyn
Monroe
The
ideal 1950s man
was the provider, protector,
and the boss of the house. -
-
Life
magazine, 1955
1956
William H. Whyte, Jr.
The
Organization Man
a middle-class, white suburban
male is the ideal.Slide27
Religious Revival
Today in the U. S., the Christian faith is back in the center of things.
-- Time magazine, 1954
Church membership
:
1940
64,000,000
1960
114,000,000
Television Preachers
:
1. Catholic
Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
“Life is
Worth Living”
2. Methodist Minister
Norman Vincent Peale
The Power of Positive Thinking
3.
Reverend Billy Graham
ecumenical message;
warned against the evils of Communism.Slide28
Religious Revival
Hollywood
: apex of the biblical epics.
It’s un-American to be un-religious!
--
The Christian Century
, 1954
The Robe The Ten Commandments Ben
Hur
1953 1956 1959Slide29
The Suburban Lifestyle
NEXT
Advances in Medicine and Childcare
• New drugs fight, prevent childhood diseases
• Dr. Jonas Salk develops vaccine for poliomyelitis• Pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock writes popular guide for parents• Baby boom impacts economy, educational systemSlide30
NEXTNew Era of the Mass Media
The Rise of Television
•
Mass media
—means of communication that reach large audiences• TV first widely available 1948; in almost 90% of homes in 1960• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates communications• By 1956, FCC allows 500 stations to broadcast
• Programs: comedies, news, dramas, variety shows, children’s shows
• Lifestyle changes:
TV Guide
is popular magazine; TV dinners
Popular CultureSlide31
NEXT
New Era of the Mass Media
Stereotypes and Gunslingers
Women, minorities on TV are stereotypes; few blacks, Latinos
Westerns glorify historical frontier conflicts Raise concerns about effect of violence on children
Radio and Movies
Television cuts into radio, movie markets
Radio turns to local news, weather, music, community affairs
Movies capitalize on size, color, sound advantages; try gimmicksSlide32
Television
1946
7,000 TV sets in the U. S.
1950
50,000,000 TV sets in the U. S.
Mass Audience
TV celebrated traditional
American values.
Television is a vast wasteland.
Newton Minnow, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, 1961
Truth, Justice, and the American way!Slide33
Television – The Western
Davy Crockett
King of the Wild Frontier
The Lone Ranger
(and his faithful
sidekick, Tonto):
Who is that masked man??
Sheriff Matt Dillon,
GunsmokeSlide34
Television - Family Shows
I Love Lucy
The Honeymooners
Glossy view of mostly
middle-class suburban life.
But...
Social Winners?... AND…
Loosers
?Slide35
NEXTRock ‘n’ Roll
• Black musicians add electric instruments to blues—rhythm and blues
•
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, immoralityAfrican Americans and Rock ‘n’ RollSlide36
Teen Culture
In the 1950s
the word
“teenager” entered the American language.
By 1956
13 mil. teens with $7
bil
. to spend
a year.
1951
“race music”
“ROCK ‘N ROLL”
Elvis Presley
“The King”Slide37
Teen Culture
Behavioral Rules of the 1950s:
Obey Authority.
Control Your Emotions.
Don’t Make Waves
Fit in
with the Group
.Slide38
NEXTThe Beat Movement
•
Beat movement
—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, studentsA Subculture EmergesSlide39
The “Beat” Generation
:
Jack Kerouac
On The Road
Allen Ginsberg
poem, “Howl”
Neal
Cassady
William S. Burroughs
“Beatnik”
“Clean” TeenSlide40
NEXTThe Urban Poor
White Flight
1962, 25% of Americans below poverty level
Post WW II–1960, 5 million blacks go from rural South to urban North
White flight results in loss of businesses, tax payers to citiesCities can no longer afford to maintain or improve: - schools, public transportation, police and fire
departments
The Other America
by Michael Harrington – documents changes in cities
The Other America
Continued . . .Slide41
NEXT
The Inner Cities
Poverty grows rapidly in decaying inner cities
Poor economic conditions lead to illness and terrible conditions
continued The Urban Poor
Urban Renewal
•
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 peopleSlide42
Rural PoorPlight of rural poor just as bad
Included Mississippi delta sharecroppers, miners in Appalachia and farmers in remote areas
Corporations and large farmers dominated farm production, forcing small farmers out of business
Many left to the urban areas, some remained behind hoping for better economic timesSlide43
NEXT
Mexicans Seek Employment
Many Southwest Mexicans become U.S. citizens after Mexican War
1942–47, Mexican
braceros, hired hands, allowed into U.S. to workAfter war, many remain illegally; many others enter to look for workPoverty Leads to Activism
The Longoria Incident
Undertaker refuses funeral services to Felix Longoria, WW II veteran
Outraged Mexican-American veterans organize G.I. Forum
Unity League of CA registers voters, promotes responsive candidates
Continued . . .Slide44
NEXT
Native Americans Continue their Struggle
During Depression, U.S. policy of Native American autonomy
National Congress of American Indians: civil rights, maintain customs
U.S. stops family allotments, wages; outsiders take tribal landscontinued Poverty Leads to Activism
The Termination Policy
•
Termination policy
cuts economic support, gives land to individuals
• Bureau of Indian Affairs helps resettlement in cities
• Termination policy is a failure; abandoned in 1963