1. 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 life
Pays partial tuition, unemployment benefits;
provides loans
2. Economic Gains
Defense industries boom, unemployment
falls to 1.2%
Average pay rises
Farmers prosper from rising crop prices,
increase in production
Percentage of women in work force rises to
35%
Population Shifts
War triggers mass migrations to towns with
defense industries
3. 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
7. 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
8.
9. Truman Supports Civil Rights
African Americans, especially veterans,
demand rights as citizens
Congress rejects civil rights laws; Truman
issues executive orders:
Integrates armed forces; ends
discrimination in government hiring
10. 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…
11. 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
12.
13.
14. Truman’s Fair Deal is ambitious economic
program, includes:
higher minimum wage, flood control
projects, low-income housing
Congress passes parts of Fair Deal
15.
16. Truman’s approval rating drops over Korean
War, McCarthyism
decides not to run for reelection
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower runs against
Adlai Stevenson
Newspapers accuse VP candidate Richard
M. Nixon of corruption
defends self in televised “Checkers speech”
Eisenhower wins; Republicans narrowly take
Congress
17.
18. Favors big business
Cut gov’t spending
Reduce taxes
Attempt to balance the
budget
Dwight D Eisenhower
34th President of the US
19. 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
20.
21. Conglomerates—corporation that owns
smaller, unrelated companies
Diversify to protect from downturns in
individual industries
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 franchises
22.
23. 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
Reverend Billy Graham
24.
25. Men go to school; support families
Women work at home; look after children
Magazines, TV, movies glorify role of
homemaker, mother
Some suburban teenagers work part time;
many have more leisure time.
26.
27. Women who keep their jobs after WWII
Married women working outside the home
(limited opportunities, less pay than men)
Rock-and-roll music
Beatniks
28. 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
Elvis Presley
29. 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
30. Mass media—means of communication that
reach large audiences
TV in almost 90% of homes in 1960
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
regulates communications (censorship)
Programs: comedies, news, dramas, variety
shows, children’s shows
Three networks dominate
Commercial advertisements pay for
programming
31.
32.
33. Television cuts into radio, movie markets
Radio turns to local news, weather, music,
community affairs
Movies capitalize on size, color, sound
advantages; try gimmicks
34.
35. The Computer Industry:
Wartime research advances industry
Software advances are made
Transistor invented
Nuclear Power – Clean, limitless, affordable
Advances in Medicine and Childcare:
Dr. Jonas Salk develops vaccine for polio
Pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock writes popular
guide for parents
Advances in antibiotics and surgery
36. Dr. Jonas Salk Developer of
Polio Vaccine
Dr.
Benjamin
Spock
1950s Transistor
Radios
37. 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
38. Cheap, plentiful gas,
easy credit, advertising
increase car sales
No public transit in
suburbs; cars necessary
39. 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
40.
41. 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
William J Levitt
42.
43. Auto boom stimulates new businesses
e.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
44.
45. 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
46.
47. 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
48. 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
50. 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 out
makes consumers buy or want to buy new ones
51.
52. Buy Now, Pay Later
Credit purchases, credit cards, installments
extend payment period
Private debt grows; consumers confident of
future prosperity
Most people have satisfied basic needs; ads
encourage extra spending
Ads appear in all media; television emerges
as powerful new tool