Do Now:
“I’m Mrs. Edward M. Barnes. Where do I live?
 What words or phrases would you use to
describe the housing development
depicted in this cartoon?
 How do you think the woman in the
cartoon Mrs. Edward M. Barnes, feels
about living in a suburban development?
 Why do you think Americans in the 1950s
wanted to live in a housing development
like this one?
Life After WWII
Do Now: 2/26
 “The War is Over!”
 What problems might arise in the
post-war era?
 at home?
 abroad?
GI Bill of Rights
 Passed in 1944 by Congress
 Helped veterans return to civilian life
 Paid part of their tuition
 Guaranteed 1yrs worth of unemployment
 Offered low interest federal loans- many
used these loans to buy a home, farm, or
business
The Housing Crisis
 Returning veterans faced a housing
shortage
 Lived in cramped apartments or with
relatives
 The answer to the housing crisis was
the newly developed suburbs
Levittown
 The 1st suburb in Long Island, NY
 Developed by William Levitt
 Homes built in 16 minutes (assembly
line) and cost only $7,000
 Could be rented for $65/m (2 bedrooms,
1 bathroom, kitchen, living room, and
appliances)
 All homes looked the same-zoning laws
ensured that they would stay that way
Redefining the Family
 Women didn’t want to give up their
independence (jobs)
 Men traditionally breadwinners
 Divorce rate rose (1950- more than
1,000,000 war marriages ended in
divorce)
Economic Adjustment
 Wartime » peacetime economy
 War contracts cancelled and defense
workers laid off
 Unemployment increased
 Prices skyrocketed when the OPA
cancelled the controls on inflation- for
2yrs until the supply caught up with
the demand
 Wages were less
 4.5 million workers went on strike
Recovery
 Congress placed controls on prices,
wages, and rent
 Supply eventually caught up with the
demand & wages increased because
people where spending their savings
 Americans prospered in the 1950s“the affluent society”
 The threat of the Cold War kept
America spending on defense and
allowing to employ workers
 Truman would not allow workers to
strike
 “The buck stops here”
 Threatened to draft anyone striking
 Ordered them to work
1946 Congressional Elections
 Republican Party won control of both the
Senate and House of Representatives
 80th Congress ignored Truman’s
domestic proposals
 1947- passed the Taft-Hartley Act
 Overturned many rights won by unions
 Passed over Truman’s veto
Truman Supports Civil Rights
“I am asking for equality of
opportunity for all human beings,”
“…and if that ends up in my failure to
be re-elected, that failure will be in
good cause.”
 Wanted Congress to support a federal
anti-lynching law, abolition of the poll tax,
and set up a body to prevent racial
discrimination in hiring (Congress refused)
 1948 Truman integrated the armed forces
 Also, ordered an end to discrimination in
the hiring of gov’t employees
 Supreme Court said no more
discrimination in residential neighborhoods
 1947- Jackie Robinson integrated baseball
1948 Election
 Truman-Democrats
 Dewey- Republicans
 Strom Thurmond- Dixiecrats
 303 Electoral College Votes
 189
 39
 Southern Democrats
 Wallace- Progressive Party
 Truman’s “Give em hell,
Harry”
 Traveled the country
campaigning
 0
The Fair Deal
 Truman’s Domestic Program
 Raised Minimum Wage- 40 ¢ - 75 ¢
 Extended Social Security Coverage to 10
million more people
 Initiated flood control projects
 Provided financial support for cities to
clear out slums and build 810,000 units for
low-income families