The Industrialized
Democracies
Chapter 15
Section 2
American Economy
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After WWII, U.S. businesses expanded into the
global marketplace
Other nations needed goods and services to
rebuild
This led to a period of economic success that
changed life in the United States
During the 1950s and 1960s, recessions
(economic slowdowns) were brief and mild
As Americans prospered, they left the cities to live
in the suburbs which is called suburbanization
Why Suburbanization?
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Americans took
advantage of the
growing economy
Moved to single
family homes
Lawns
Good schools
Access to highways
for work commute
Suburbanization
Suburbanization
1950’s stereotypical family
Post-War Housewife
Mom Hard at Work in the Fifties
“Housewife” is an
old, out-of-style
term. Today, the
terminology is “stayat-home mom” or
“domestic engineer”
Oil Crisis
 Job
opportunities brought people to the
Sunbelt region of the USA
 By the 1970s, countries in the Middle East
placed an embargo on the USA
 The price of oil and gas rose substantially,
which meant that people had less money
to buy other consumer products
 This showed American dependence of oil.
 The decades of prosperity ended in 1974,
with a serious economic recession
Oil
Oil Crisis
Oil Crisis
Energy Inefficient Home
Sorry….no gas.
Notice the large gas-guzzling cars of the 1970s.
American auto manufacturers were years behind the
Japanese in making smaller fuel efficient automobiles.
Oil prices in the 1970’s
Gasoline prices then and now
Gasoline prices
Discrimination and Segregation
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During the period of prosperity, African
Americans and other minorities faced
segregation in housing and education
 Blacks suffered from discrimination in jobs and
voting
 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. emerged as the
main civil rights leader in the 1960s
 During the 1960s, the U.S. Congress passed
some important civil rights legislation
Segregation
Segregation
Segregation
Segregation
Armed Forces Segregated
Brown vs. Board of Education
A 1954 landmark
Supreme Court
case that declared
that segregated
schools violated the
United States
Constitution.
Dr. Martin Luther King
Delivered the “I have a
dream” speech in 1963.
Major civil rights leader in
the 1960s
Dr. King organized boycotts
and peaceful protests to end
segregation in the USA.
Positive Effects of Civil Rights Movement
 Congress
passed new laws
 Public segregation outlawed
 Voting rights protected
 Equal access to housing and jobs
 But poverty, unemployment, and
discrimination still affected minorities
Women Rights
 Women
faced gender discrimination
 Example: the women’s rights movement
helped to end much gender-based
discrimination in jobs and higher salaries
Re-Building Western Europe
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W. Europe rebuilt after WWII
 The Marshall Plan helped restore European
economies by providing U.S. aid
 After the war, Germany was divided between
the communist East and the democratic West,
but reunited at the end of the Cold War in 1990
 Under Konrad Adenauer, West Germany’s
chancellor from 1949 to 1963, Germany build
modern cities and re-established trade
Marshall Plan Aid to Western
Europe
Division of Germany into 4
Occupation Zones After World War
II
Konrad Adenauer
Welfare States
 European
governments also developed
programs that increased government
responsibility for the needs of people
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National Healthcare
Unemployment Insurance
Old-age Pensions
 These
welfare states required high taxes
to pay for their programs
European Economy
 During
the 1980s, some leaders, such as
Britain’s Conservative Margaret Thatcher,
reduced the role of the government in the
economy
 Western Europe also moved closer to
economic unity with the European
Community, an organization dedicated to
establishing free trade among its members
Margaret Thatcher
1925-2013
European Economic Community
Japan
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Japan prospered after WWII
 After WWII the Japanese Emperor lost all power.
 Japan’s new government was a parliamentary
democracy.
Japan
Toyota
Mitsubishi
Sony
Japan’s economy
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Its gross domestic product (GDP) soared
 GDP = The GDP of a country is defined as the
market value of all final goods and services
produced within a country in a given period of
time
 Like Germany, Japan built new factories and
produced cheap consumer goods
 American military protected Japan so Japan
could direct more money to developing its
factories
Japan’s economy
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The Japanese government protected industries
by raising tariffs on imported goods
 This helped create a trade surplus for Japan but
angered the USA who wanted to export more to
Japan
Powerpoint Questions
1. What does recession mean?
2. Define suburbanization.
3. In what two areas did minorities face segregation? (2
points)
4. In what two areas did African-Americans suffer
discrimination? (2 points)
5. Who was a leader of the American civil rights
movement?
6. Identify the American plan to help re-build the European
economies
Powerpoint Questions
7. What West German leader helped re-build West
Germany’s shattered economy?
8. What was the national goal of the “Welfare States”?
9. After many years, which British leader reduced the role
of government?
10. What is the purpose of the European Community?
11. Define GDP.
The End