A New Kind of War, A World Divided, A Changing Work Place, Rise of Credit

Cards, Evolving Role of Women, Technology Explosion

• How did the term “Cold War originate and is the term an accurate description?

** Don’t Copy

A New Kind of WarIn addition to establishing control in

parts of Europe the SU wanted to spread communism further. The SU backed communist governments in China and North Korea. It was clear the SU hoped to control the whole

world and crush the west.

The US was committed to stopping the spread of communism and supported freely elected governments and free enterprise, which were not allowed under communism. This long and bitter struggle between the two

ideologies became known as the Cold War.

In the Cold War, there was no direct attacking of one country by another, as

in a “hot” war. The Cold War was waged all over the world, sometimes with words, money, and weapons.

Propaganda, or a systematic effort to spread opinions or beliefs, was a key

element of the Cold War. Organizations would broad cast

messages to people behind the Iron Curtain to let them know that they

were not forgotten and democracy still existed.

The SU would tell their people that Americans were poor and that

democracy did not work. One piece of propaganda was a picture of people

lined up to buy Super Bowl tickets, but the SU said the people were in line to

get food. The SU would also hold great parades to show off its military.

** The world was split between the west or Free World and the

Communist World. Countries that did not fit, fell into the Third World

countries. The Cold War focused on the Third World countries because the

SU knew it would be easier to take them over.

**In the SU the needs of the state was put ahead of the needs of the

freedoms and rights of the people. If people spoke out they risked arrest, imprisonment, and death. In fact,

Stalin was responsible for more deaths than Hitler.

**In the US people had the right to speak out and vote for their leaders. If

communism spread to the entire world, personal freedoms would no

longer exist.

** Boom Years at Home

After the war Americans hoped for security, peace, and comfort. Now that the war was over families were reunited and they could spend their

money on anything they could afford.

The United States Government wanted to help the people who served in the military. FDR signed the G. I. Bill of

Rights. This bill helped provide benefits, such as: education and

training, loan guaranties for home, farm, or business, $20 unemployment

and job-finding assistance.

**Industries that produced materials for war now focused on producing consumer goods. Shiny new cars,

televisions, grills, toys, and portable radios became popular. Americans

could not get enough and the economy become strong. Consumers bought

more goods, so businesses and industries grew.

**When soldiers returned they wanted to buy homes for their families. Builders started building on the outskirts of cities. Hundreds of

affordable homes were built and this became known as the suburbs.

**Women returned to their traditional roles as men returned to work in

factories. Unions continued to grow as more jobs were created. However, some unions became powerful and wealthy. They used their power to convince politicians to pass laws. Some unions joined together to become even more powerful.

**With the economy growing and credit available a new concept was born, consumer credit. Consumers

could buy what they needed and then pay back what they owed the bank in monthly installments. With a greater

demand for goods, prices went up and more people needed credit to buy

what they wanted.

**With the rise in consumer credit, credit cards became available. In 1950

Dinners Club offered the first credit card that could be used at many

different places, rather than one store. The down side was that many people spent too much and consumer credit doubled form 73 billion to 196 billion

in ten years.

**Even though many women returned to the role of homemakers, new

technologies gave women more leisure time. New televisions programs and magazines were created for women.

New stores opened and women became an important part of the new

credit society.

**Some women did not want to return to the home. With the growth in

economic prosperity and technology lead to a large numbers of women

entering the workforce. Life was not easy for women who worked outside

the home. They were still expected to take the lead in housework and child raising. Public kindergarten became

common.

**Women who entered the work place were not promoted as often as men

and earned less money. It was largely assumed that a women would only

work until they had families. Eleanor Roosevelt spoke out for women’s

rights working to improve women’s wages.

**Life for families were better than ever. Families who moved to the suburbs now had lawns, backyard

barbecues, new stores, churches, and cleaner air. Children did not have to look far to find friends, the suburbs

were full of kids. The number of children under 18 rose from 47 million

to 64 million.

** Children played sports, took music lessons, of joined clubs. The emphasis on education increased. Taxes in the

suburbs went up to pay for new schools needed. Families in the cities moved to the suburbs taking their tax

dollars with them, because of this inner-city children found themselves

attending schools that did not have the money to be repaired.

**As people moved to the suburbs they still worked in the city. The commute or trip to work became

longer. New highways were built with tax money were crowed with

automobiles on a daily basis. Families also went on vacations to national

parks or to Disneyland, the world’s first theme park.

**The most popular highway was Route 66. Families would travel their

route to the west. Families would have a lot of fun as they traveled. Route was lined with billboards,

trading posts, diners, tourist camps, motels, historical sites, and natural

attractions.

**Much of the good life was made possible by new technologies. More and more cars were need for people who lived in the suburbs. Cars were

designed to look like airplanes. Automatic transmissions, radial tires,

and power steering were made possible. The first interstate highway system was build linking major cities.

**The “jet age” also began during this time. People could now travel from

city to city faster than ever. Televisions became common in every home. Televisions were not only for entertainment, but for broadcasting

news. Homes became more comfortable with heating systems and

new air-conditioning systems.

**Store and theaters would attract costumers with air conditioners so

they could escape the heat. Direct dial telephones became available. Now

people could call coast to coast without the help of telephone

operators. Room sized computers helped people solve math problems and increase the speed of research.

The US was rich in technology.