Chapter 41 Peace, Prosperity, and Progress Why are the 1950s remembered as an age of affluence?
41.2 Postwar Politics
Rocky Transition to Peace Fair Deal--Truman s package of reforms Economy adjusts to peacetime--govt. cancels contracts, price controls lifted Inflation soars but wages don t increase Labor unions strike Taft-Hartley Act placed limits on the power of unions Outlawed closed shop Banned sympathy strikes
Upset Victory in 1948 Democratic Party split into 3 factions: Democrats: Harry Truman Progressives: Henry Wallace Dixiecrats: Strom Thurmond Republican Party Thomas E. Dewey Truman s whistle stop tour helped him win narrow victory over Dewey Most of his Fair Deal reforms blocked by Congress
Ike Takes Middle of the Road 1952 Election Republicans nominate Dwight D. Eisenhower Supreme commander of armed forces during WWII Head of NATO I Like Ike campaign slogan Eisenhower s presidency Supported modern Republicanism Expanded Social Security; massive peacetime arms buildup Worried about military industrial complex
1952 Election Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower's campaign slogan "I Like Ike" epitomized the swell spirit that defined American culture in the 1950s.
Consumer Demand Spurs Economic Growth Due to large savings and twice as much real income for many families than in the 1920s, Americans began spending more than ever before. Consumers were spending money in different places (shopping centers). To encourage spending, businesses used advertising and offered credit cards. Businesses used planned obsolescence to encourage spending by introducing new products.
Consumerism 1950 Introduction of the Diner s Card All babies were potential consumers who spearheaded a brand-new market for food, clothing, and shelter. -- Life Magazine (May, 1958)
Consumerism
Economy Shifts from Goods to Services General Motors became the first U.S. corporation to earn more than $1 billion/yr GM workers received regular wage hikes tied to a cost-of-living index. New companies sold franchises, or agreements to operate a business that carries a company s name and sells its products (McDonald s, Holiday Inn)
Franchises
Workforce Shifts from Blue to White-Collar Workers For the first time, white-collar workers outnumber blue-collar workers. Growing middle-class
Marriage Boom to Baby Boom More people were marrying and at younger ages. Rise in marriages led to increase in number or babies Baby Boom More diapers, baby food, homes, cars and schools needed for children
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 seconds
Dr. Benjamin Spock and the Anderson Quintuplets Baby Boom
Family Roles Working Dads, Stayat-home Moms Dr. Benjamin Spock, leading child-care expert of the day, wrote Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care Television brought the ideal family to life on screen Number of women attending college dropped, many drop out to marry
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 a middle-class, white suburban male is the ideal.
Television 1946 7,000 TV sets in the U. S. 1950 50,000,000 TV sets in the U. S. Television is a vast wasteland. Newton Minnow, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, 1961 Truth, Justice, and the American way!
Television The Western Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier Sheriff Matt Dillon, Gunsmoke The Lone Ranger (and his faithful sidekick, Tonto): Who is that masked man??
Television-Family Shows The Typical TV Suburban Families The Donna Reed Show 1958-1966 Leave It to Beaver 1957-1963 Father Knows Best 1954-1958 The Ozzie & Harriet Show 1952-1966
Suburbs and Sunbelt New planned communities, like Levittown, are providing needed housing for middleclass New suburbanites were white, middleclass (homogeneity) More and more Americans move to Sunbelt warm-weather states
Suburban Living 1949 William Levitt produced 150 houses per week. $7,990 or $60/month with no down payment.
Suburban Living: The New American Dream k 1 story high k 12 x19 living room k 2 bedrooms k tiled bathroom k garage k small backyard k front lawn By 1960 1/3 of the U. S. population in the suburbs.
Middle Class Dream; Interstate Highway System More people commute to work from suburbs led to more production and sale of cars Cars become a status symbol In 1956, Congress authorizes construction of Interstate Highway System Creates new roadside businesses (gas stations, motels, restaurants)
The Culture of the Car Car registrations: 1945 25,000,000 1960 60,000,000 2-family cars doubles from 1951-1958 1958 Pink Cadillac 1956 Interstate Highway Act largest public works project in American history! Å Cost $32 billion. 1959 Chevy Corvette Å 41,000 miles of new highways built.
The Culture of the Car America became a more homogeneous nation because of the automobile. First McDonald s (1955) Howard Johnson s Drive-In Movies
The Culture of the Car The U. S. population was on the move in the 1950s. NE & Mid-W S & SW ( Sunbelt states) 1955 Disneyland opened in Southern California. (40% of the guests came from outside California, most by car.) Frontier Land Main Street Tomorrow Land
Advances in Medicine Dr. Jonas Salk created a polio vaccine Antibiotics being used to treat diseases Life expectancy increases
Nuclear Energy and Computers Nuclear energy used to generate electricity First electronic digital computer, called ENIAC, can perform 300 multiplications per second Transitor allows for smaller and more reliable computers
Progress Through Science 1951 -- First IBM Mainframe Computer 1952 -- Hydrogen Bomb Test 1953 -- DNA Structure Discovered 1954 -- Salk Vaccine Tested for Polio 1957 -- First Commercial U. S. Nuclear Power Plant 1958 -- NASA Created 1959 -- Press Conference of the First 7 American Astronauts
Progress Through Science Atomic Anxieties: Duck-and-Cover Generation Atomic Testing: 1946-1962 U. S. exploded 217 nuclear weapons over the Pacific and in Nevada.