the affluent society chapter 28. a new affluence in the usa usa was the only nation in wwii that...
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The Affluent SocietyThe Affluent SocietyChapter 28Chapter 28
A New Affluence in the USA
USA was the only nation in WWII that was NOT bombed during the war
US economy benefited greatly from wartime contracts
Emerged from the war economically strong and prosperous
Became the leader of the “free world,” major post-war decision-maker
Western states especially benefited
A New Affluence in the USA
This prosperity validated Keynesianism
John Maynard Keynes was an economist
A New Affluence in the USA
Keynesian economics argues that private sector decisions sometimes lead to inefficient macroeconomic outcomes
These outcomes require active policy responses by the public sector
A New Affluence in the USA
Active government policy responses are particularly in the area of monetary policy actions by the central bank, and fiscal policy actions by the government
The goal is to stabilize output over the business cycle
A New Affluence in the USA
The theories forming the basis of Keynesian economics were first presented in The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, published in 1936
The interpretations of Keynes are contentious
Several schools of thought claim his legacy
A New Affluence in the USA
Keynesian economics advocates a mixed economy — predominantly private sector, but with a significant role of government and public sector
It served as the economic model during the later part of the Great Depression, World War II, and the post-war economic expansion (1945–1973)
A New Affluence in the USA Labor unions shared in
the prosperity, often cooperated more with industry (nicknamed “postwar contract”)
AFL and CIO merged in 1955
Less-active unions (especially Teamsters) suffered from corruption
A New Affluence in the USA
Prosperity led to many new inventions
Medical (antibiotics, new surgery techniques, polio vaccine)
Also to awareness of the dangers of pesticides, and the start of an environmentalist awareness
“Silent Spring” (1962) by Rachel Carson
Technology and Affluence in the USA Television soon a fact of every
American home
Technology in the USA
Computers were a new field, first developed in ’30s
The first actual “computer bug,” 1947 ➜
Technology in the USA
Weapons technologies boomed The US and USSR were locked in
“arms race” to outdo each other MAD (“Mutually Assured
Destruction”) All of this created unprecedented
new jobs for Americans
Technology in the USA
In October, 1957, the USSR successfully launched an artificial satellite into earth orbit
“Sputnik I” The “Space Race” began in
earnest
Technology in the USA
US had also been working on a “space program” for some time
Many of the US rocket scientists had formerly worked for Nazi Germany developing rockets during WWII
The USSR also had some former Nazis working in their space program as well
The “Space Race”
USA launched a satellite in January 1958
Formed NASA in 1958, out of “National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics”
Wernher von Braun
Education andThe “Space Race”
American schools, urged by President Eisenhower, renewed science education
In 1961, JFK committed the US to putting a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth before the end of the decade
The “Space Race”
“. . . I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth”
The “Space Race”
“No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish”
The “Space Race”
Alan Shepard First American
sent into space, 1961
Sub-orbital flight
The “Space Race”
John Glenn was the first American to orbit earth, 1962
USSR had already accomplished each feat
The “Space Race”
Mercury, Gemini, and finally Apollo programs of late 1960s set in place by JFK to put an American on the moon and return him safely to Earth by the end of the decade
Goal was achieved July 1969 USA “first” to land a manned
spacecraft on the moon
The “Space Race”
An Affluent Nation
Prosperity led Americans to new expectations of middle class life
Levittowns – mass-produced housing that made home ownership more available
“Cookie Cutters” -- “Little Boxes” Mass move to suburbs Automobile ownership more
widespread
An Affluent Nation
Levittown, NY
An Affluent Nation
“Every man in his own castle!”
An Affluent Nation
A “typical” house for a typical family
The Television Age
Television programming reflected ideals of the Cold War
Traditional family, personal affluence Unintended consequence: began to
create a sense of alienation in less affluent Americans who saw middle class life on TV, but could not attain it
The “Beats”
Others protested what they saw as a society that was too organized and restrictive
Protest among young intellectuals who called themselves “Beats”
Wrote about how the affluence could also be oppressive
The “Beats”
Allen Ginsberg: “Howl”
Jack Kerouac: On The Road, The Dharma Bums, Visions of Cody. The Subterraneans
The “Beats”
Salinger: the Catcher in the Rye, Franny and Zooey
William H. Whyte: The Organization Man
Other protests
Some films picked up the protest genre
James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause
Marlon Brando, The Wild One
Other protests
Elvis Presley, rock ‘n roll music
Contradictions: teenagers protested their parents’ emphasis on affluence
But they enjoyed the affluence they protested
Not unlike the “Occupy” crowd
The Civil Rights Movement Michael Harrington, The Other
America (1962) Book pointed out how many
Americans did not share in prosperity
Migrant workers, sharecroppers, black Americans in inner cities
Black Like Me (1961), John Howard Griffin
The Civil Rights Movement
In 1954, the Supreme Court issued the decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
Brown overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Plessy had established the “separate but equal” standard for segregated public accommodations
The Civil Rights Movement
New order: all government funded institutions must be de-segregated with “all due speed”
Followed up with another order the next year
“All due speed” ended up being as much as ten years, or more
The Civil Rights Movement
Eisenhower hesitated to enforce desegregation too vigorously
Country “not ready yet” Meanwhile, black leadership forming
to exert “massive resistance” to segregation
Equal pressure began to form by “White Citizens Councils” (successor to the KKK)
The Civil Rights Movement
1957, protests as first black students enrolled at Little Rock HS
Eisenhower reluctantly sent National Guard troops to Little Rock to ensure black students’ safety
The Civil Rights Movement
In Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to stand up to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus
There had been other such cases, but this one became a symbol
Bus boycott led by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement at first was characterized by non-violence
Influence of Mohandas Gandhi Much of white middle class (and US
government officials) claimed the movement was communist-influenced
USSR propaganda frequently pointed out poor situation of black Americans as one of the “evils of capitalism”
Eisenhower’s America
Emphasis on “what was good for business”
“What’s good for General Motors is good for the USA”
Emphasis on containing communism, supporting democracies that supported the USA
Ignored McCarthyism, which eventually self-destructed
Eisenhower’s America
Secretary of State John Foster Dulles crafted foreign policy of confrontation with communism
Called “brinkmanship” – Push USSR to brink of war, if necessary
Underlying idea: nuclear war so frightening a prospect that neither power would go that far, but push to edge anyway as power tactic
Eisenhower’s Crises
Conclusion of Korean War 1953 led to permanent split between communist North and democratic South
Korea remains divided at the 38th parallel of latitude
Eisenhower’s Crises
Technically there is a truce (a cease-fire, not a treaty)
A state of war still exists
Every now and then, hostilities flicker
Eisenhower’s Crises
The French lost their colony of Viet Nam in 1954 to communist forces led by Ho Chi Minh (“He Who Enlightens,” AKA Nguyễn Sinh Cung)
Eisenhower’s Crises
Ike refused to send combat troops to prevent communist victory, but did send “advisors”
And the US provided financial aid and military advice to South Viet Nam when country split in two in 1956
Eisenhower’s Crises
The state of Israel was created by the UN in 1948 as a homeland for displaced Jews of Europe
“Palestine” (then administered by Great Britain under a League of Nations mandate) was partitioned
The state of Israel was founded, and was immediately attacked by neighboring Arab countries
Eisenhower’s Crises
Eisenhower’s foreign policy was unwavering in its support of Israel
Saw Israel as an essential democratic ally in Middle East
And as a buffer against communist influences there
Eisenhower’s Crises
USSR under Josef Stalin continued to absorb former Nazi captive nations of Eastern Europe
Winston Churchill spoke at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri in 1946
“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an "iron curtain" has descended across the continent . . . “
The Iron Curtain
Eisenhower’s Crises
1960 embarrassment: Ike had publicly denied any US
spying on USSR On the eve of a “summit” meeting
between Ike and USSR premier Nikita Khrushchev . . .
U-2 Incident
US U-2 spy plane (joint USAF/CIA operation) shot down over Russia
U-2 Incident
Civilian CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers was captured and imprisoned
U-2 Incident
Powers was later exchanged for Soviet KGB Colonel Vilyam Fisher (aka Rudolf Abel)
Fisher/Abel was a Soviet colonel who was caught by the FBI and imprisoned for espionage
Cold War tensions escalated