Chapter 13: Postwar Confidence and Anxiety
Demobilization – decreasing the man power in the
military by allowing service men and women to return
home
GI Bill of Rights – Federal law that granted benefits to
veteran’s
1. A year of unemployment benefits if they could not find a job
2. Financial aid for college
3. Government loans for building and starting businesses
.
ESSENTIAL Question
EQ: How did life and culture change in America
in the late 1940’s and 1950’s?
1A. 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
1B. Baby Boom
Dr. Benjamin Spock
and the Anderson
Quintuplets
Converting War Time
Economy
Inflation most painful economic problem after war
U.S. untouched by war’s devastation
◦ U.S. produce 50% of world’s output
◦ 6% of world’s population
Technology improves productivity
◦ Use of computers began in business
Increased military spending leads to new technologies
◦ Development of plastics and light metal alloys
◦ Marshall Plan increased demand for American goods
The Taft-Hartley Act
Republicans take control of both houses of Congress in 1946
and seek to return to a conservative government:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Lower taxes
Reduced government regulation
Support for business
Anti-Union – reduce the power of unions to aid business
End price controls passed during the war
Taft, a conservative Republican Senator sponsored act
◦ Authorized President- 80 day cooling off period for strikes in
essential industries
◦ Banned shops closed to non-union members
Truman Vetoes but is overridden
Truman and Civil Rights
Supports the trend in post war America against intolerance- Lesson of
discrimination of the Nazis- rings loud and clear- Nuremberg Trials
began, the truth of Nazi racism comes out
War was fought for freedom- freedom should be available at home
Some former soldiers don’t like racism in USA
American society is developing conditions for change emerge
Truman Integrates military during Korean War (Blacks and Whites fight
in same units.)
Incremental Civil Rights for
African Americans
1946 Morgan v. Virginia- segregation in public interstate travel was
unconstitutional
1950- Shelley v. Kraemer- restrictive covenants in housing- not selling
property to members of certain groups violated the Constitution
Civil Rights
Truman desegregated the Military and Federal Civil Service
Big step in the early struggle for an end to discrimination
Election 1948
Southern Democrats leave national party in response to Truman's
support for Civil Rights (Dixiecrats)
Dixiecrats
Strom Thurmond- South Carolina Senator, runs for president
Dewey runs for the Republicans
Truman appeared to lose- but appeals directly to the people citing the
“Do nothing Republican Congress” and Wins the Election
Fair Deal
Liberal programs of Truman similar to New Deal
◦ National health insurance
Limited and refused by Republican Congress 1946
Eisenhower Charts Middle
Path
Eisenhower popular choice for president in 1952 – both
parties wanted him!!
First elected post he ever held was president
Charted middle course
◦ Agreed government was too big, but did not repeal New
Deal programs
◦ Federal spending increased during his presidency
The Car Culture
Automania
• Cheap, plentiful gas, easy credit, advertising
increase car sales
• No public transit in suburbs; cars necessary
Car Culture Takes Over
• Depended on cars to get to work
• Cars necessary to grocery shop or go to new
suburban shopping malls
• Fast food restaurants and drive-in movies
capitalize on car
• Towns near highways prosper; those near older,
smaller roads decline
NEXT
continued
The Car Culture
Mobility Takes Its Toll
• Cars create social, environmental
problems—
e.g. accidents, pollution
• Upper-, middle-class whites leave
cities; jobs, businesses follow
• Economic gulf widens between
suburban and urban
- also widens gap between middle class
and the poor
NEXT
Chapter 13: Postwar Confidence and Anxiety
Interstate Highway Act
1. $$$ to build 41,000 miles of highway consisting of
multilane expressways that would connect the nation’s
major cities
2. Biggest public works expenditure in history
3. Modeled after the German Autobahn that Hitler built
4. Ike’s plan for rapid mobilization in times of international
crisis.
5. In 1990, became known as the Dwight D. Eisenhower
System of Interstate and Defense Highways
Chapter 13: Postwar Confidence and Anxiety
Sunbelt – Name given to southern and western states during the
migration of the U.S population from eastern and northern cities
Houston, TX - Benefited from boom in petrochemical and
aerospace business
Migration had a heavy impact on the shift of
representative power in Congress
California and Texas are now players in the Electoral
College game
Factors in move
◦
◦
◦
◦
Climate
Large number of jobs (especially defense industries)
Air conditioning
Influx of Latino populations
Chapter 13: Postwar Confidence and Anxiety
The Organization and the Organization Man
Employment in the U.S.
• By 1956, majority of Americans not in blue-collar
(industrial) jobs
• More in higher-paying, white-collar (office,
professional) positions
• Many in services, like sales, advertising,
insurance, communications (service sector)
Conglomerates
• Conglomerates—corporation that owns
smaller, unrelated companies
• Diversify to protect from downturns in individual
industries
NEXT
The Organization and the Organization Man
Franchises
• Franchise—company offers similar products,
services in many places
- also the right to use company name and system
• Fast-food restaurants among first, most successful
franchises
Social Conformity
• Many employees with well-paid, secure jobs
lose individuality
• Personality tests see if job candidates fit in
company culture
• Companies reward teamwork, loyalty, encourage
conformity
NEXT
Chapter 13: Postwar Confidence and Anxiety
Multinational Corporation - Companies that
produced and sold their goods and services all over the
world and established branches abroad.
General Motors, General Electric, International
Business Machines, Coca-Cola
Consumerism – large-scale buying, most of it on
credit
Union Gains
◦ 1955 AFL and CIO combine to form AFL-CIO
Educational Opportunities
◦ Number of young people attending college increase
◦ Government funds education (science and math)
◦ California Master Plan
Consumerism Unbound
New Products
• 60% of Americans in middle class; twice as many
as before WW II
• Consumerism (buying material goods) equated
with success
• Numerous new products appear on market in
response to demand
Planned Obsolescence
• Planned obsolescence—making products that
get outdated, wear out
- makes consumers buy or want to buy new ones
NEXT