Essential Understandings Essential Knowledge SOL 8D Changing patterns in American society since the end of World War II changed the way most Americans lived and worked. Vocab: Productivity Baby Boom Evolving Aspirations GI Bill of Rights Desegregate Factors leading to changing patterns in United States society Strong economy (healthy job market, increased productivity, increased demand for American products) Greater investment in education The Baby Boom, which led to changing demographics Interstate highway system Evolving role of women (expected to play a supporting role in the family while increasingly working outside the home) Role of Eleanor Roosevelt in expanding human rights African Americans aspirations for equal opportunities Policies and programs expanding educational and employment opportunities G.I. Bill of Rights gave educational, housing, and employment benefits to veterans. Truman desegregated the armed forces. Civil Rights legislation led to increased educational, economic, and political opportunities for women and minorities.
Changing Patterns in American Society after WWII At the end of World War II, changing patterns in American life began to affect the way Americans lived and worked. There were many factors, policies, and programs that transformed, or changed, American life. What began to affect the way Americans lived and worked at the end of World War II? One factor that led to this change was a strong economy. Boosted by a billion dollar tax cut and war bond savings, Americans had plenty of money to spend after World War II. As a result of this spending, the production and demand for consumer goods increased dramatically. With increased production, factories needed workers. The result: plenty of jobs for returning servicemen. What was one factor that led to changing patterns in American society? How did the strong economy affect consumer goods? What was the result of increased production and demand for consumer goods? There was also a greater investment in education after World War II. In 1944, Congress passed the G.I. Bill of Rights. The G.I. Bill gave educational, housing, and employment benefits to veterans. In particular it provided $13 billion to be used for college tuition, vocational training programs, and the opening of new businesses. What did the United States invest in after World War II? What did the G.I. Bill give to veterans? Fourteen years later the National Defense Education Act, or NDEA, was passed. The National Defense Education Act provided aid to education in the United States at all levels, public and private. Much of the focus on education during the Cold War era was done in an effort to make sure the United States could compete with the communist countries in the areas of science, math, and technology. Funds were also directed to educate children living in poverty and those with physical and learning disabilities. What passed fourteen years later? What did the National Defense Education Act provide? Another factor that changed American society was the Baby Boom generation. This factor led to changing demographics. Demographics have to do with the average age, income, and educational levels of a population. As young soldiers returned from the war, many of them felt they needed to make up for lost time. People married, hurried off to college, and started families. During the 1950s the population of the United States grew by 30 million people. Those persons born between 1946 and 1960 became known as the baby boomers. What was another factor that changed American society? What did this factor lead to? What are demographics? Who were the Baby Boomers?
The interstate highway system was another factor that transformed, or changed the lives of Americans. Authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 and supported by President Eisenhower, this system of highways served all major U.S. cities and sparked the growth of suburban living after the war. People began to move out of cities and into the suburbs. After World War II, the demand for suburban housing was so high that planned suburban housing developments were built in quickly and efficiently. What was another factor that transformed the lives of Americans? What did this system of highways serve? What grew as a result of the interstate highway system? What did Americans begin to do as a result of the interstate highway system? The evolving role of women was also a factor that changed American society. Although many women left their wartime jobs and returned to their homes, many others remained on the job after the war. Eleanor Roosevelt played an important part in expanding the rights of American women. As first lady, she worked with women s groups around the nation, encouraged their participation in American politics, and championed the rights of working women, defended a fair wage for women workers, and supported their inclusion in labor unions. In addition, she also promoted the employment of women in the defense industries, the military, and supported legislation to establish on-site day care for defense workers. What was another factor that changed American society? Instead of returning to their homes after World War II, what did many women choose to do? Who played an important role in expanding the rights of American women? Not only was Eleanor Roosevelt an advocate, or supporter of women s right, she was deeply concerned about human rights and freedoms for everyone around the world. She worked hard to improve the lives of children, unemployed workers, poor people, and minority groups, especially African Americans who were struggling for equal rights. During the world wars, African Americans had served in the armed forces. Most were assigned to service and supply units but some served in segregated fighting units. Eleanor Roosevelt recognized that African Americans had growing aspirations for equal opportunities, also. What was another concern of Eleanor Roosevelt s? What other group of Americans was struggling for equal rights? On July 26, 1948, in an effort to desegregate the armed forces, President Harry S. Truman issued an order establishing equality of treatment and opportunity in the Armed Services for people of all races. This was known as Executive Order 9981. For the next 20 years, Civil Rights legislation led to increased educational, economic, and political opportunities for minorities and women. Who desegregated the armed forces?
Changes in the American Society USII 8d Name Date Place an X by the statements that describe a change that took pace in American society after World War II. 1. economy was strong 2. Civil Rights legislation led to increased opportunities for women and minorities 3. after 1965 immigrants were mostly Hispanic or Asian not European 4. American population declined 5. women s role changes 6. the army continued to be segregated 7. the G.I. Bill of Rights gave many educational, housing, and employment benefits to World War II veterans 8. immigrants were almost entirely from Europe 9. greater investment in education 10. President Truman desegregated the armed forces 11. reduced interest in education 12. civil rights legislation was defeated 13. former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt worked to expand women s rights 14. jobs were very hard to find 15. women gave up all their family responsibilities 16. the Baby Boom led to great population growth 17. returning veterans had no help getting education or jobs 18. African Americans have aspirations for equal opportunities 19. former first lady Edith Roosevelt pushed women to remain at home 20. development of the Interstate Highway System
Terms Changes in the American Society USII 8d Match the following terms to their correct description. 1. productivity 2. the Baby Boom 3. demographics 4. interstate 5. aspirations 6. G.I. Bill of Rights 7. veterans 8. desegregation 9. civil rights legislation 10. minorities a. people who at one time served the country by being in the military b. between states; having to do with more than one state c. law that gave educational, housing, and employment benefits to World War II veterans d. to put an end to the forced separation of ethnic or racial groups e. the degree to which resources are being used efficiently to produce goods and services f. the science of the vital statistics of populations, such as births, deaths, and marriages g. laws ensuring the rights that all citizens are supposed to have such as guarantees against abuse of government power and discriminatory acts h. hopes i. racial, religious, national, or political groups smaller than and differing from the larger controlling group of which it is a part j. the name given to the generation born between 1946 and 1961, when the U.S. birthrate sharply increased following World War II
The Interstate Highway System In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized the largest public works project in the history of the world. The president had been impressed by Hitler s autobahns, which were the German high-speed roads. He believed that the national system of highways was necessary to move troops and military equipment and provide evacuation routes during national emergencies. In 1919, it took Eisenhower 62 days to travel over mostly unpaved roads from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco. Today, the same trip by highway takes 72 hours. Today, there are 46,300 miles of interstate highways, which cost $129 billion to build. The federal government paid 90 percent of the system s construction costs. Unlike older highways, the interstate had no intersections or traffic signs. To ensure that traffic would not have to stop, engineers had to build more than 55,000 bridges or overpasses. The Interstate Highway System changed the nation s landscape. Instead of taking trains or buses, workers began commuting by cars. Interstate Highway System Questions 1. The president who authorized the largest public works program in United States history was 2. Eisenhower was impressed by the autobahns made by in. 3. In 1919, it took Eisenhower days traveling from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco. 4. Traveling by car today, it would take about to drive on the highways from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco. 5. There are miles of highway today in the U.S. 6. The cost to build the highways we have today was.
Levittowns On the morning of March 7, 1949, builder William J. Levitt opened a sales office for new development of inexpensive single-family homes in a potato field in the center of Long Island s Nassau County. In bitter cold weather, more than a thousand young couples crowded outside the sales office, waiting for a chance to buy a four-room 25 by 32-foot house for $6,999, government financed, no money down. Some had camped out in tents fro as long as four days. To build houses rapidly and inexpensively, Levitt used the methods made famous by Henry Ford: the production (assembly) line. Levitt broke down the construction of a home into 26 separate steps. Teams of construction workers leveled the land, paved streets, poured concrete slabs, planted trees every 28 feet, and installed plumbing and electrical wiring. A hundred houses were built at a time. Construction was governed by clockwork. By 8 a.m., trucks unloaded pre-fabricated siding at each house site; at 9:30 a.m., toilets arrived; at 10 a.m., sheetrock (for walls) was delivered; at 11 a.m. flooring followed. To speed construction and trim costs, painters used spray guns instead of brushes, and carpenters used power saws. Interior partitions, roof trusses, and door and window units were cut to the required shape before they left the factory. In order to give young couples a chance to buy an affordable house, Levitt cut costs by eliminating basements and giving all houses in his development the same floor plan. Interior and exterior painting was limited to a single two-tone color scheme. Critics derided the monotony and uniformity of this new suburban development. A popular song, Little Boxes, described suburban homes as all made out of ticky-tacky and they all looked just the same. Nevertheless, newlyweds caught in the postwar housing shortage flocked to Levittown by the thousands. When the first phase of construction was completed, 17,500 families had moved in. A second massive development, near Philadelphia, housed 70,000 people. One of the most profound social changes of the postwar era was the rapid growth of suburbs. In the ten years following 1948, 13 million homes were built in the United States; 11 million 85 percent were built in the suburbs. By 1960, the number of Americans living in the suburbs was about the same number as those living in central cities. The suburban way of life was shaping the patterns and rhythms of American life. Suburbs, which only began to emerge as fringe (on the outskirts) communities around central cities in the late 1940s, became the country s main home town. In 1940, most Americans lived on farms, small towns with fewer than 2,500 inhabitants, or in big cities. But by 2000, four out of five Americans lived in suburbs. Levittown Questions 1. Levitt opened his office for selling inexpensive homes in. 2. These inexpensive homes cost. 3. Levitt built his homes quickly using the same method that Henry Ford made famous the. 4. Making one of these homes involved steps. 5. How many homes were built at one time?. 6. Levitt helped cut the cost of homes by. 7. The nickname for the homes that was used in a song title was. 8. The percnt of new homes that were being built in the suburbs was. 9. By the year 2000, out of 5 Americans lived in the suburbs.