American History. Postwar Economy Booms. Postwar Economy Booms From War to Peace. Postwar Economy Booms 2/11/2015. Chapter 18 The Postwar Era

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American History Chapter 18 The Postwar Era From War to Peace Demobilization Building Down The Military 12 Million Troops In Active Duty in 1945 1.

1 American History Chapter 18 The Postwar Era From War to Peace Demobilization Building Down The Military 12 Million Troops In Active Duty in Million Troops In Active Duty by 1947 Former Servicemen and Women Added Punch to the American Workforce Depression to War Americans Had Done Without Long Enough Very High Demand for Consumer Goods In the U.S. Growth of Consumer Goods: Automobiles 2 Million Produced in 1946 By Million Autos Produced 1950 Americans Bought 7.5 Million TVs % American Families Owned a Car % of American Families Owned a TV Other Popular Consumer Goods: Refrigerators, Washing Machines, Vacuum Cleaners, Cameras, Electric Can Openers, Garage Door Openers American GNP Rose Quickly GNP Total Value of the Nation s Goods and Services GNP-- $100 Billion in 1940 $300 Billion by 1950 $500 Billion by 1960 United States 6% of the World s Population Produced and Consumed Almost Half of the World s Goods 1

Wage and Price Issues During the War: Workers Had Plenty of Overtime Two Income Families Government Kept a Limit on Prices Postwar Wages Failed to Keep Up with Rising Prices Workers Were Still Better

Advertising The Fastest Growing Postwar Industry Popularity of the Television in American Homes Advertising was Carefully Planned to Manipulate the Consumer Freezer Was the Promise of Plenty A Second

2 Wage and Price Issues During the War: Workers Had Plenty of Overtime Two Income Families Government Kept a Limit on Prices Postwar Wages Failed to Keep Up with Rising Prices Workers Were Still Better off Than Before Real Income Rose 20% (After Inflation) Factory Worker s Income Went Up About $2,000 in the 1950s Discretionary Income Buy What You Want, Not Just What You Need Persuading the Consumer Advertising The Fastest Growing Postwar Industry Popularity of the Television in American Homes Advertising was Carefully Planned to Manipulate the Consumer Freezer Was the Promise of Plenty A Second Car Was a Symbol of Status The Gospel of Consumerism Rise of American Materialism Planned Obsolescence Persuading the Consumer Television and Advertising Was a Match Made in Heaven Networks Needed Advertising to Pay for Programs Advertisers Found TV the Perfect Way to Reach the American Public Early Stages of TV, The Commercials Were Almost as Important as the Programs All Commercials Were Viewed the Way We View Super-Bowl Commercials Today The Commercials Told Us How We Should Live If We Wanted to Live the Good Life Impact of the GI Bill GI Bill of Rights Passed in 1944 Shaped the Postwar Years in the United States Former Service Men Could Go to College Paid for by the Government Huge Boom to the Educational System Helped the Family Income Ajax 2

Impact of the GI Bill GI Bill Also Made Low-Interest Mortgages Available to Veterans Tremendous Spark to the Housing Industry Growth of American Suburbs Cookie Cutter Houses 13 Million New Homes Were

Unrelated Industries Big Companies Got Even Bigger IBM Sales Went from $119.4 Million in 1946 to $1.7 Billion in 1961 GM Net Assets Went from $1.5 Billion in 1951, to $2.

3 Impact of the GI Bill GI Bill Also Made Low-Interest Mortgages Available to Veterans Tremendous Spark to the Housing Industry Growth of American Suburbs Cookie Cutter Houses 13 Million New Homes Were Built in the 1950s The New World of Business 1950s Businesses Felt the Urge to Merge Bigger is Better in the World of Business Growth of Conglomerates Companies that had Holdings in a Number of Unrelated Industries Big Companies Got Even Bigger IBM Sales Went from $119.4 Million in 1946 to $1.7 Billion in 1961 GM Net Assets Went from $1.5 Billion in 1951, to $2.8 Billion in 1960 Up the Corporate Ladder Growth of Business Gave Rise to Expanded Employment Opportunities to New White Collar Workers Companies Invested Time and Money to Get Employees to be True Company People New Workers Had Higher Wages and Benefits Pension Plans, Medical Insurance, Performance Bonuses, Expense Account, Paid Vacation, Company Car, and Memberships to Social Clubs These Kinds of Positions Were Generally Reserved for White Males 3

The Service Sector 1 st Time In American History Service Workers Outnumbered Manufacturing Workers New Service Industries Social Workers, Teachers, Civil Servants Secretarial and Clerical Workers,

Mechanics were Needed to Fix Appliances, Televisions, Cars and Radios Farms Become Big Business Family Farms to Corporate Enterprises Size of Farms Increased Large-Scale Farming Lowered Production

4 The Service Sector 1 st Time In American History Service Workers Outnumbered Manufacturing Workers New Service Industries Social Workers, Teachers, Civil Servants Secretarial and Clerical Workers, Bank Tellers, Telephone Operators, and Retail Sales New Service Industries Hospitality and Recreation Workers Were Needed Bowling Alleys, Skating Rinks, Movie Theaters, Motels, and Restaurants Mechanics were Needed to Fix Appliances, Televisions, Cars and Radios Farms Become Big Business Family Farms to Corporate Enterprises Size of Farms Increased Large-Scale Farming Lowered Production Costs The Size of the Average Farm Doubled Many Small-Farm Families Migrated to the Cities Total Number of Farms Dropped from 6 Million in 1940 to Fewer than 4 Million in 1960 Farm Population Fell from 30 Million in 1940 to 13.5 Million in % of the Population Lived on Farms An Automobile Culture 1950s Americans Were On the Move The Car Became Essential 58 Million Cars were Sold in the 1950s Significant Changes were Made Yearly to Keep the Public Buying New Cars American Car Culture Fast Food Drive Ins Eat in Your Car Interstate Highway System June 29, 1956 Drive-In Movie Theaters 4

Largest State Migration to the Suburbs Most Significant Migration Was from City to Suburb More Cars, Better Highways, Lower Priced Suburban Housing The Suburbanization of America By the End of the

5 The Ladder of Success 1957 All you had to do was look in their driveway! Cadillac Buick Pontiac Oldsmobile Chevrolet 1950s 20% of the Population Moved South and Southwest Warmer Climates Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, California Passed New York as the Largest State Migration to the Suburbs Most Significant Migration Was from City to Suburb More Cars, Better Highways, Lower Priced Suburban Housing The Suburbanization of America By the End of the 1950s 20% of our Population Lived in the Suburbs Growth of Suburbia 85% of New Home Construction in the 1950s Took Place in Suburbia Suburban Dwellers Doubled in the 1950s City Populations Rose by only 10% Why Did Suburbia Grow? Whites Wanted to Escape Crowds and Crime White Flight Transportation Made Migration Practical Economic Conditions Made Buying a Home Possible GI Bill Made Low Interest Loans Possible Income Tax Deductions on Home Loan Interest 5

Growth of Suburbia Why Did the Suburban Lifestyle Appeal to People?

Suburbia Was Reserved For Whites Developers Refused to Sell Homes to Minorities Even Middle Class Minorities Were Forced

Community Active Social Life Front Porch Society Civic Organizations Church Membership Grew 15% in the 1950s Television

Televisions Baby Boom 1946-64 Child-Centered Culture National Population Grew by 30% in the 1950s Baby was Born in the U.

6 Growth of Suburbia Why Did the Suburban Lifestyle Appeal to People? Living Space Less Crowed Conditions Better Schools for their Children Feeling of Being in the Country Large Yards Suburbia Was Reserved For Whites Developers Refused to Sell Homes to Minorities Even Middle Class Minorities Were Forced to Live in the Cities The American Dream Home Ownership Good Schools Safe Communities Economically Secure Feeling of Community Active Social Life Front Porch Society Civic Organizations Church Membership Grew 15% in the 1950s Television and Radio Large Scale Evangelical Ministries Billy Graham Norman Vincent Peale GE Radios and Televisions 1950s Style Televisions Baby Boom Child-Centered Culture National Population Grew by 30% in the 1950s Baby was Born in the U.S. Every 7 Seconds During the Baby Boom People Married Younger Families Had More Children Larger Families Fueled a Growing Economy Social Institutions Expanded With The Baby Boomers 6

Captain Kangaroo Catering to the Kids Lifestyle of

Scouting 1 st Generation Raised on Television All

Baby-Boomers the TV Generation Howdy Doody and Lassie

well as Children Companies Were Quick to Capitalize on

Children Medical Science and Childhood Disease 1952

Survivors Were Confined to Iron Lungs 1954 Dr.

Tested on 2 Million School Children 1955 Vaccine Was

7 Captain Kangaroo Catering to the Kids Lifestyle of Privilege After-School Programs Athletics Music Scouting 1 st Generation Raised on Television All Kinds of Children s Programs CBS--Captain Kangaroo Baby-Boomers the TV Generation Howdy Doody and Lassie Both Premiered in 1954 Shows Appealed to Adults as well as Children Companies Were Quick to Capitalize on the Popularity of these shows Healthier, Happier Children Medical Science and Childhood Disease ,000 Cases of Polio in the United States Many Survivors Were Confined to Iron Lungs 1954 Dr. Jonas Salk Developed a Polio Vaccine Vaccine Was Tested on 2 Million School Children 1955 Vaccine Was Declared Safe Polio Was Virtually Eliminated Dr. Jonas Salk Polio Victims in Iron Lungs Iron Lung 7

Dr. Benjamin Spock Baby and Child Care Wrote How To Books on Raising

Their Kids Felt that Early Childhood Development Set the Stage for Well

Rewarding Jobs 1940 Median Age of Marriage For Women was 21.

1 Years of Age 1950 Almost 60% of Women Between 18-24 Were Married Dr.

were Discouraged from Attending College Mothers Assumed the Responsibility

and Community Activities Women Mother and Homemaker TV Supported the Role as

8 Dr. Benjamin Spock Baby and Child Care Wrote How To Books on Raising Children Wanted Mothers to be Paid by the Government for Staying Home With Their Kids Felt that Early Childhood Development Set the Stage for Well Adjusted Adults A Woman s Place 1950 Housewife and Mother are the Most Rewarding Jobs 1940 Median Age of Marriage For Women was 21.5 Years of Age 1956 Median Age of Marriage for Women Fell to 20.1 Years of Age 1950 Almost 60% of Women Between Were Married Dr. Spock Turns 90 The Cast of Father Knows Best A Woman s Place 1950s Women were Discouraged from Attending College Mothers Assumed the Responsibility for Caring for the Children Cooking, Cleaning, Shopping, Laundry, & School and Community Activities Women Mother and Homemaker TV Supported the Role as Wife and Mother Mom Tended to Domestic Matters While Dad Dispensed Advice The Goal in a Single Woman s Life Should be to Find a Husband 8

TV In the 1950s Showed Women in Supportive Roles Often Seen Wearing an Apron Men Usually had a Coat and Tie Gender Roles were Well Defined Men Were the Head

Women Social Pressures Had Delegated Women to a Life as a Domestic Her Book Became a Guidebook for the Liberated Woman Friedan was Inducted into the

in 1940 32% in 1960) Women Worked for the Family to Get Ahead (American Dream) Wage Gap Women Earned Less Than Men Doing the Same Job Glass Ceiling Women

Mean the Realization of the American Dream The Invisible Poor 1950s New York City Symbolized All That Was Good About the United States Lady Liberty Freedom,

9 TV In the 1950s Showed Women in Supportive Roles Often Seen Wearing an Apron Men Usually had a Coat and Tie Gender Roles were Well Defined Men Were the Head of the Family Betty Friedan, Women Question Their Roles in Society Betty Friedan The Feminine Mystique 1963 Spoke of the Unspoken Discontent of Women Social Pressures Had Delegated Women to a Life as a Domestic Her Book Became a Guidebook for the Liberated Woman Friedan was Inducted into the National Woman s Hall of Fame Women in the Workforce 1950s Female Employment Increased 4 Times Faster Than Males Number of Working Wives Nearly Doubled (17% in % in 1960) Women Worked for the Family to Get Ahead (American Dream) Wage Gap Women Earned Less Than Men Doing the Same Job Glass Ceiling Women Had Little Opportunity to Advance The American Dream, & The Culture of Poverty American Values: Thrift, Hard Work, Education Support of the Values Did Not Mean the Realization of the American Dream The Invisible Poor 1950s New York City Symbolized All That Was Good About the United States Lady Liberty Freedom, Equality, Opportunity Out of Sight were Homeless, Unemployed, and Hungry People Predictions Were Made that by 1970, Poverty Would be Completely Eliminated in the U.S. 9

Reasons for Invisibility Poor Were Left out of the Move to Suburbia Inner Cities Became Pockets of Poverty The Decline in the Power of Political Bosses Left the Poor Without a Political Voice Urban

the Public Poverty is both, the lack of money and the absence of hope People living in poverty are subjected to poor health and lack of opportunity The Culture of Poverty No Social Relief Program for

10 a Day Poverty Extended Across Age, Racial, Gender, and Ethnic Groups Appalachian Whites Little Education, No Opportunity African and Native Americans Traditional Prejudices Elderly No Pensions, or

10 Reasons for Invisibility Poor Were Left out of the Move to Suburbia Inner Cities Became Pockets of Poverty The Decline in the Power of Political Bosses Left the Poor Without a Political Voice Urban Poor of the 1950s Included: Migrant People from Appalachia African Americans Native Americans Hispanics 1962 Michael Harrington The Other America Said 50 Million Americans Lived in Poverty Shocked the Public Poverty is both, the lack of money and the absence of hope People living in poverty are subjected to poor health and lack of opportunity The Culture of Poverty No Social Relief Program for the Postwar Poor As Many as 40% of Americans Were Not Properly Fed, Clothed, or Housed 34.5 Million Americans Lived on Less than $2.10 a Day Poverty Extended Across Age, Racial, Gender, and Ethnic Groups Appalachian Whites Little Education, No Opportunity African and Native Americans Traditional Prejudices Elderly No Pensions, or Social Security The Young and The Old About Half the Nation s Poor Were Children Generational Poverty Became a Way of Life Cycle of Dependence on Government Aid 8 Million Americans Over 65 had an Income Less Than $1,000 per Year Modern Medicine Helped People Live Longer Technology often Left them Unemployed From the Farms to the Factories There was Less for Older Americans to Do 10

Rural and Urban Poverty One-Third of America s Poor Lived in Rural Areas Small Farms Could Not Compete With Corporate Farms

Demand for Coal, Introduction of Machinery 70% of Appalachian Coal Miners Were Unemployed Rural Poverty Drove Thousands to the

Americans 1950s Almost Half of the African American Population Lived in Cities Lower Incomes for those Who Had Jobs Higher

Hispanic Hardships Faced Poverty Plus a Language Barrier 1950s Puerto Rican Population in New York City Grew from 300,000 to Almost

11 Rural and Urban Poverty One-Third of America s Poor Lived in Rural Areas Small Farms Could Not Compete With Corporate Farms Particularly Hard Hit Was the South and Appalachia Million People in Appalachia Had an Income Less than $2,000 per Year Lower Demand for Coal, Introduction of Machinery 70% of Appalachian Coal Miners Were Unemployed Rural Poverty Drove Thousands to the Cities Greater Strain on an Inadequate System The African American Experience Long Standing Racial Prejudices Further Harmed African Americans 1950s Almost Half of the African American Population Lived in Cities Lower Incomes for those Who Had Jobs Higher Unemployment for African Americans Segregated School Systems Denied Educational Opportunities De Facto Segregation in Neighborhoods Hispanic Hardships Faced Poverty Plus a Language Barrier 1950s Puerto Rican Population in New York City Grew from 300,000 to Almost 1 Million Mexican Workers faced Greater Obstacles Because They were From a Foreign Nation Bracero Program allowed seasonal immigration to harvest crops 11

Mexican Agricultural Workers Migrant Workers Who Followed the Crops from State to State 7-8 Months a Year Spring Vegetables in Texas, Fall Apples in Washington 10-12 Hour Days Children Worked Along

12 Mexican Agricultural Workers Migrant Workers Who Followed the Crops from State to State 7-8 Months a Year Spring Vegetables in Texas, Fall Apples in Washington Hour Days Children Worked Along Side The Parents No Workers Compensation 1953 Operation Wetback 3 Million Were Deported Displaced Native Americans One of the Poorest and Most Ignored Groups 1960 Two-Thirds of the Native American Population Lived on Reservations Unemployment Approached 90% on Some Reservations 1953 Termination Policy Designed to End the Reservation System Land Went to Mining, Lumber, and Agriculture Government Encouraged Native Americans to Move to the Cities Native Americans Were Victimized by the Policy 12

Readjustment and Recovery

Life in the 1950s Readjustment and Recovery The Impact of the GI Bill 1944 GI Bill of Rights eases veterans return to civilian life Pays partial tuition, unemployment benefits; provides loans Housing Crisis