CHAPTER 22

POSTWAR AMERICA (1945-60)

I: TRUMAN AND EISENHOWERA. PEACETIME:

GI BILL: (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act), aided the economy by providing low-interest loans to veterans to

establish businesses, buy homes, and attend college.

B. INFLATION AND STRIKES:1. Following World War II, labor unrest was triggered

by rising inflation. Truman found himself forced to take actions to prevent LABOR STRIKES.

2. Truman used force to end MINING AND RAILROAD strikes by ordering government seizure of the mines while pressuring owners to grant most union demands.

3. He also threatened to DRAFT striking workers to keep strikes from crippling the nation.

C. REPUBLICAN VICTORY

1. Congress passed the TAFT-HARTLEY ACT over President Truman’s veto because supporters of the act wanted to curb the power of organized labor. The Act outlawed CLOSED SHOP (practice of forcing business owners to hire only union members.)

2. Under the Taft-Hartley Act, states could pass laws outlawing union shops; laws known as

RIGHT-TO-WORK LAWS

3. It also prevented the practice of limiting work output in order to create more jobs: known as FEATHERBEDDING

D. TRUMAN’S DOMESTIC PROGRAMS: 1. Congress was determined to restrict labor and defeat

many of Truman's domestic policy proposals: FAIR DEAL. His Fair Deal brought:

a. a raise in the MINIMUM WAGE,

b. an extension of SOCIAL SECURITY

c. JOBS PROGRAMS,

d. LOW-INCOME HOUSING,

e. RENT SUBSIDIES, AND

f. CIVIL RIGHTS LEGISLATION

2. In 1946, Truman created a PRESIDENT’S COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS.

Following the group’s recommendations, Truman asked

Congress for several measures including: a. a federal ANTILYNCHING LAW,

b. a ban on the POLL TAX as a voting requirement,

and c. a permanent CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION.

a) Congress refused to pass these measures, or a measure to integrate the ARMED FORCES.

b) In July 1948, Truman issued an executive order for INTEGRATION OF THE ARMED FORCES, calling for “equality of treatment and

opportunity in the armed forces without regard to

race, color, religion, or national origin.”c) He ordered an end to discrimination in the hiring of GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

d) The Supreme Court also ruled that the lower courts could not bar African Americans from RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS.

e) All these actions represented the beginnings of a federal commitment to dealing with racial issues.

E. ELECTION OF 1948: 1. Harry S Truman, Democratic Party: Opposed by

critics who denounced his DOMESTIC, FOREIGN, AND CIVIL RIGHTS

POLICIES

2. Composed of Southern Democrats who were opposed to some of civil rights legislation:

STROM THURMOND: Dixiecrats

3. THOMAS DEWEY: Republican

4. HENRY A. WALLACE: Progressive Party –dissatisfied with Truman’s ineffective domestic policies and his anti-Soviet foreign policy

5. Truman won the election in 1948 with strong support from LABORERS, FARMERS, AND AFRICAN AMERICANS.

F. ELECTION OF 1952:

1. Truman chose not to run again and Democrats nominated ADLAI STEVENSON

2. Republicans nominated World War II hero DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

a. Vice-President nominee was RICHARD M. NIXON

b. Campaign slogan: “I LIKE IKE”

c. Campaign promise to GO TO KOREA AND END THE WAR

d. Negative publicity was that Nixon had received on nationwide television, he made his famous “CHECKERS SPEECH” where he admitted receiving a DOG as a gift for his daughters after being accused of receiving $18,000.00 in gifts as a Senator.

G. EISENHOWER

1. Described his political beliefs as "MIDDLE OF THE ROAD."

2. Referred to notion of balancing economic conservatism with some activism: DYNAMIC CONSERVATISM

3. As a Conservative:

a. cut FEDERAL SPENDING

b. worked to limit the federal government's role in the NATION'S ECONOMY

c. “CREEPING SOCIALISM” Eisenhower’s term for the federal government’s continuing aid to businesses:

d. extended the SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM AND UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

e. raised the MINIMUM WAGE

f. Eisenhower ended government PRICE AND RENT CONTROLS that many conservatives had viewed as unnecessary federal control over the business community.

g. two large projects — Congress passed the FEDERAL HIGHWAY ACT (the Interstate Highway System)

(The construction of highways in the 1950s resulted

in an increase in popularity of SHOPPING CENTERS and movement of industry from CENTER CITIES)

and the GREAT LAKES-ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY(connected Great Lakes to Atlantic Ocean).

h. backed creation of the DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE.

II. AFFLUENT SOCIETY

A. According to John Kenneth Galbraith, economist, postwar America had “ECONOMY OF ABUNDANCE” because of new businesstechniques and improved technology.

B. Turned the 1950s into decade of prosperity for many:

1. Average income of American families roughly TRIPLED

What Things Cost in 1950: What Things Cost in 1959:

Car: $1,750 Car: $2,200Gasoline: 27 cents/gal Gasoline: 30 cents/gal

1950 FORD

1959 FORD

1950 Cadillac

1959 Cadillac

1950 Chevrolet

1959 Chevrolet

House: $14,500 House: $18,500

Average Annual Salary: Average Annual Salary: $3,800 $5,500

Minimum Wage: Minimum Wage: 75 cents per hour $1.00 per hour

2. GI BENEFITS AND TAX DEDUCTIONS madehome ownership affordable

3. SUBURBS grew as families and their baby boom children moved away from cities. The AUTOMOBILE

was the technology that helped in the growth of the suburbs. One of the earliest suburbs was LEVITTOWN, New York.

4. Changes in American businesses characterized by:

a. increase in WHITE-COLLAR JOBS (those in salesand management),

b. MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS (businesses that expanded overseas)

c. FRANCHISES (businesses in which a person ownsand runs one or several stores of a chain operation)

d. CONGLOMERATE: is a major corporation that includes a number of smaller companies in

unrelated industries. (For example, one conglomerate, International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT),

whose original business was communications, bought car-rental companies, insurance companies, and

hotel and motel chains.)

5. CONSUMERISM, along with ADVERTISING (which

became the fastest-growing industry in the U S during the

‘50s), created an increase in consumer spending.

6. PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE: manufacturers purposely designed products to become obsolete

that is, towear out or become outdated in a short period of

time.

C. 1950s FAMILY

1. BABY BOOM: period of rapidly increasing

birthrates between 1945 and 1961.

2. Increasing number of WOMEN chose to workoutside the home. Prior to this women’srole had been more that of stay-at-home wife and mother

D. TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGHS

1. Medical breakthroughs helped families lead healthier lives

a. INFANTILE PARALYSIS (POLIO): epidemic spread in postwar America

1. JONAS SALK developed an injectable vaccine for polio

that became available in 1955

2. ALBERT SABIN later developeda vaccine for polio that became the most common form of treatment.

b. Many died or were paralyzed by polio, while others were confined to large metal tanks withpumps that helped patients breathe:

IRON LUNGS.

2. TRANSISTORS revolutionized the electronics industry. The development of the transistor by

JOHN BARDEEN, WALTER H. BRATTAIN, AND WILLIAM SHOCKLEY in 1947 made possible the MINIATURIZATION OF RADIOS.

3. COMPUTERS made their business debut.

a. The nation's first computer developed in 1946, used to make military calculations, was called the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)

b. UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was developed later, an early computer that handled business data launched the computer revolution.

4. In the United States, the launching of Sputnik contributed to REFORMS IN PUBLIC

EDUCATION.

III. CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT ENTERED A NEW ERA:A. Most significant judicial action occurred in 1954, when

the Supreme Court ruled that public schools must be racially integrated: BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA. It overrode the previous Supreme Court decision of Plessy v. Ferguson.

B. In 1955, a black seamstress refused to give up herseat on a bus to a white man. Her arrest sparked a boycott of the entire Montgomery, Alabama, bus system: ROSA PARKS

IV.POPULAR CULTURE OF THE 1950s

A. MASS MEDIA

1. 40 MILLION television sets were in use in the United States: became means of

information, athletic events, and entertainment. This period of rapid expansion was the “golden age” of television.2. Many of the early television comedy shows were adapted from popular RADIO SHOWS

3. Millions of television viewers tuned in each week to watch varied programsas: a. westerns such as

GUNSMOKE

b. many quiz shows left the air when FRAUD WAS DISCOVERED IN ONE OF THEM (Twenty-One)

(Charles Van Doren was guilty person) c. variety shows such as Toast of the Town starring

ED SULLIVAN

d. Television promoted the IMAGE OF A SUBURBAN FAMILY with programs such as I Love Lucy, Howdy Doody, Leave It To Beaver, etc.

4. The FILM INDUSTRY suffered after the war due to the popularity of television. Moviemakers tried to attract customers with 3-D EFFECTS AND CINEMASCOPE (movies shown on large, panoramic screens)

5. Radio stations adopted MUSIC AND NEWS FORMATS

a. GENERATION GAP: cultural separation between children and their parentsb. Rock’n’roll developed from the sounds of AFRICAN AMERICAN RHYTHM AND BLUESc. ROCK ‘N’ ROLL had a loud and heavy beat

that made it ideal for dancing d. ELVIS PRESLEY eventually claimed the title of

King of Rock ‘n’ Roll e. AFRICAN AMERICAN rock 'n' roll singers that

recorded hit songs in the fifties included Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Little Richard, and the Drifters.

1. ROCK'N'ROLL expressed youthful restlessness

B. NEW YOUTH CULTURE

Teen CultureTeen Culture

IN THE 1950S THE WORD “TEENAGER” ENTERED THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE.

1951 “ROCK ‘N ROLL”

Elvis Presley “The King”

f. ALAN FREED -disc jockey who helped launch rock ‘n’ roll by playing the music on the air.

2. The BEAT MOVEMENT used art and poetry to criticize modern society.

a. BEATS: A group of mostly white poets, writers, and artists critical of 1950s American society and culture and who sought to live unconventional lives.

“Beatnik”

“Clean” Teen

b. a beat poet who blasted modern American life ALLEN GINSBERG

c. beat member who published On the Road in 1957JACK KEROUAC

V. OTHER SIDE OF AMERICAN LIFE

A. 30 million still lived below the POVERTY LINE

(a figure the government set to reflect the minimum income required to support a family). In 1959, the

poverty line for a family of four was $2,973. In 2000,

it was $17,601.

B. In his book The Other America, MICHAEL HARRINGTON wrote about poverty.

D. POOREST GROUP IN THE NATION were Native Americans who found their conditions worsened

following the federal government employed a TERMINATION POLICY designed to integrate Native Americans into mainstream society. However, they were unprepared for living in cities, and their standard of living often deteriorated.

E. JUVENILE DELINQUENCY (antisocial or criminal behavior of young people.) Topping the list of juvenile crimes in the 1950s was CAR THEFT. Most car thieves had grown up in MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES.

C. The poor included IMMIGRANTS, BLACKS, WHITES, AND NATIVE AMERICANS

Teen CultureTeen CultureBehavioral Rules of the

1950s:

Don’t Even Think About Sex!!!

Obey Authority.

Control Your Emotions.

Don’t Make Waves

F. URBAN RENEWAL programs tried to eliminate poverty by tearing down slums and erecting new high-rise buildings for poor residents. The

government unwittingly encouraged residents of public housing to remain poor by EVICTING THEM AS SOON AS THEY BEGAN TO EARN ANY MONEY.

G. In numerous cities the inner-cities deteriorated as middle-class flight deprived urban areas of TAX DOLLARS. At the same time, the rural poor migrated to the inner cities. The urban crisis prompted by the “WHITE FLIGHT” had a direct impact on poor whites and nonwhites.

Contemporary pop-artist who defined the pop-culture movement was ANDY WARHOL, best known for multiple illustrations.