AMERICA in the ’50s
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Transcript of AMERICA in the ’50s
Provided college for returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as GIs)
THE G.I. BILL
Millions of GIs bought homes, attended college, started
business venture, or found jobs
Provided one year of unemployment compensation
THE G.I. BILL
VA Mortgages paid for nearly 5 million
new homes, by making homes
affordable with low interest rates and 30
year loans.
Between 1945 and 1954, the U.S. added 13 million new homes to its housing stock
President Franklin Roosevelt signs the GI Bill in 1944
The Baby Boom
From 1945 -61 more than 65 million children were
born
Contributing factors:The end of wars led to more
young couples getting married G.I. Bill encouraged growth of families by offering generous benefits for home purchases
This period became known as the Baby Boom
The American birthrate exploded after World War
II.
Pop culture glorified pregnancy, parenthood and large families
The Taft-Hartley ActThe federal law that
greatly restricting the activities and power
of labor unions
Closed shops illegal (Businesses could hire non-union workers)
No more jurisdictional strikes and secondary boycotts.
Truman and Civil RightsOne of the major acts Harry
Truman made as president was in when 1948 Truman
made an executive order to end segregation in
the armed forces
Truman also asked Congress to pass a civil
rights bill that would make lynching a federal crime
ELECTION of 1948
Thomas Dewey
Harry S Truman Strom Thurmond
Many people didn’t think he would be re-elected
Truman angered many Southern Democrats by
NOT supporting segregation
People were so sure that Truman would lose that one headline even incorrectly said that Dewey had won
Historians view the Election of 1948 as the greatest election upset in American history
Southern Democrats leave national party in response to Truman's support for Civil Rights
Strom Thurmond – South Carolina Senator, runs for president as a Dixicrat
Dixicrats were Southern Democrats who backed racial segregation and limiting the voting rights of African Americans. The party was also known as the States Rights Party.
Thomas Dewey, New York’s Governor, runs for the Republicans
Truman appeared to lose – but appeals directly to the people, citing the “Do-nothing Republican Congress” and wins the Election
ELECTION of 1948
Truman’s “Fair Deal”Truman said that all
Americans had the right to expect a “fair deal” from the government
What did the Fair Deal do? It increased the minimum wage
Expansion of Social Security benefitsNational Housing Act was passed to provide funding to
build low-income housing
“The buck stops here.”
-- Harry Truman
Chapter 22, Section 2A Society on the Move
Suburbs = The American Dream Affordable
single-family housing
Good schools Friendly
neighbors like themselves
The New York
suburb of Levittown was the
first modern suburb
New highways, affordable automobiles, low gasoline prices
A safe, healthy environment for children
Interstate Highways BuiltThe Federal Highway
Act was passed in 1956
This was the largest public works program in American history.
Law called for the building of 40,000 miles of interstate Interstate roads in DFW are I-20, I-30, I-35 and I-45
First McDonald’s
(1955)
America became a more homogeneous nation
because of the automobile.
Drive-In Movies
Holiday Inn
The Automobile Culture
Movement to the SunbeltAmericans were
attracted to the Sunbelt (southern and western states) because they offered new defense industry jobs. The invention of air-conditioning also made living in these states easier.
However, population growth increased tensions between groups. There was also greater pollution in
these areas.
Changes in the EconomyDuring the postwar
era, many Americans found jobs in the service
sector as opposed to manufacturing.
Industries that experienced growth: information, franchises. Many companies also became
multinational– doing business around the world.
Chapter 22, Section 3Mass Culture and Family Life
Increased ConsumerismAfter the war,
American incomes rose, leaving more money to be spent on the emerging
conveniences of the time period–
appliances and cars especially.
The New American FamilyFamilies focused on unity. Women were encouraged
to stay at home and raise the children, while the husband was the primary breadwinner. There was
also an increased emphasis on religion and morality.
Birth of television
Shows like I Love Lucy and The
Honeymooners were the
most popular TV
shows of the ’50s
By 1957, there were about 40 million television sets in
use and TV became an important source of
information
Pop Culture of the 1950sFather Knows Best1954-1958
The Ozzie and Harriet
Show1952-1966
Leave it to Beaver
1957-1963
Birth of Rock ’n RollIn the 1950s, many teenagers
rebelled against the middle-class suburban values,
particularly conformity and wanted to be unique. It was during this period that many
youths turned to new and unconventional styles of music.
Soon white artists began making music that was based on African American rhythm and blues.
This form of music became known as rock ‘n’ roll and it became wildly popular with the nation’s teenagers.
Elvis Presley
The King of Rock ’n Roll
Presley’s extraordinary popularity established
rock ’n’ roll as an unprecedented mass-market phenomenonHis reputation as a
performer endured up to his death in 1977 at the
age of 42. Graceland, his home in Memphis, is now a public museum visited by upwards of 600,000 people annually.
Chapter 22, Section 4Dissent and Discontent
The Generation GapMany parents viewed rock ’n’ roll as
loud and dangerous.The music was banned in some
communities.
The music united teens in their own world and helped to create what
became known as the generation gap.The generation gap was the cultural separation between children and their
parents.
The Beat Generation
The major works of Beat writing
are Allen Ginsberg's
Howl, William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch
and Jack Kerouac's On
the Road
Members of the Beat Generation were referred to as “beatniks” and set the stage for the rise of the counter-culture and hippies during the 1960s
The Beat Generation was the cultural movement of the 1950s
when young people – often writers – ditched society’s normal standards
for new ways of thinking
The War on Poverty
“America needs to build a ‘Great Society.’ I am declaring a war on poverty.”
-- Lyndon B. JohnsonUniversity of Michigan, 1964
In his book The Other America, Michael Harrington showed that many Americans lived in poverty in the U.S.
The book influenced the thinking of both John F. Kennedy and his
successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, as they both made the elimination of
poverty a major goal.
Problems Faced by MinoritiesMinorities
continued to face unemployment and
discrimination. Mexican migrant
farmers were exploited and lived in poor conditions.
The U.S. gov targeted Native Americans and cut off healthcare and other services.