1940-1949
Created By Ms. Miller
Facts about this decade:
Population 132,122,000
 Unemployed in 1940 – 8,120,000
 National Debt $43 Billion
 Average Salary $1,299
 Teacher’s salary $1,441
 55% of U.S. homes have indoor plumbing
 Antarctica is discovered to be a continent

The 1940's were dominated by
World War II

European artists and intellectuals fled to the
United States from Hitler and the Holocaust,
bringing new ideas created in disillusionment.
War production pulled us out of the Great
Depression. Women were needed to replace
men who had gone off to war, and so the
first great exodus of women from the home
to the workplace began. Rationing affected
the food we ate, the clothes we wore, the
toys with which children played.
After the war, the men returned,
having seen the rest of the world.

No longer was the family farm an ideal; no
longer would blacks accept lesser status.
The GI Bill allowed more men than ever
before to get a college education. Women
had to give up their jobs to the returning
men, but they had tasted independence.
The forties are pretty well defined
by World War II.
US isolationism was shattered by the
Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor
 The government reclassified 55% of their
jobs, allowing women and blacks to fill
them. First, single women were actively
recruited to the workforce. In 1943, with
virtually all the single women employed,
married women were allowed to work.

Japan surrendered only after two atomic
bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. The United States emerged
from World War II as a world superpower,
challenged only by the USSR
 Communism was treated as a contagious
disease, and anyone who had contact with
it was under suspicion

1940’s Television
Television made its debut at the 1939 World Fair, but the
war interrupted further development. In 1947, commercial
television with 13 stations became available to the public.
 At the end of the war, only 5,000 television sets, with five
inch black & white screens, were in American homes. By
1951, 17 million had been sold. The Original Amateur Hour, a
revival of a popular radio show, was the first top-rated show
in 1948 . Milton Berle's slapstick comedy, Texaco Star Theater,
was credited with creating the demand for televisions. Its
greatest rival was Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town. Kukla, Fran
& Ollie kicked off children's television as Junior Jamboree in
1947, followed by the Howdy Doody Show.
The sitcom made its appearance in January, 1949, with The
Goldbergs.

ART & ARCHITECTURE

As Adolf Hitler systematically eliminated artists whose ideals didn't
agree with his own, many emigrated to the United States, where
they had a profound effect on American artists. The center of the
western art world shifted from Paris to New York. To show the raw
emotions, art became more abstract. Abstract Expressionism, also
known as the New York School, was chaotic and shocking in an
attempt to maintain humanity in the face of insanity. Jackson Pollock
was the leading force in abstract expressionism, but many others
were also influential, including Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Ad
Reinhardt, Robert Motherwell, Lee Krasner, Franz Kline, Piet
Mondrian, Arshile Gorky, Adolf Gottlieb, and Hans Hofmann.
Andrew Wyeth, the most popular of American artists, didn't fit in
any movement. His most popular work, Christina's World, was
painted in 1948. Sculpture, too, became abstract and primitive,
utilizing motion in Alexander Calder's mobiles, and modern
materials such as steel and "found objects" rather than the
traditional marble and bronze.
ART & ARCHITECTURE

In architecture, nonessentials were eliminated, and simplicity
became the key element. In some cases, such as Ludwig Mies
van der Rohe's famous glass house, even practicality was
ignored. Modern glass-and-steel office buildings began to rise
after the war ended. Pietro Belluschi designed the prototype
Equitable Savings and Loan building, a "skyscraper" of twelve
stories. Eliel Saarinen utilized contemporary design,
particularly in churches. The dream home remained a Cape
Cod. After the war, suburbs, typified by Levittown, with their
tract homes and uniformity, sprang up to house returning
GI's and their new families. The average home was a one level
Ranch House, a collection of previously unaffordable
appliances surrounded by minimal living space. The family
lawn became the crowning glory and symbol of pride in
ownership.
MUSIC & RADIO

Like art, music reflected American
enthusiasm tempered with European
disillusionment. While the European émigrés
George Szell, Bela Bartok, Arnold
Schoenberg, Paul Hindemith, Kurt Weill, and
Nadia Boulanger introduced classical
dissonance, American born composers
remained more traditional, with Aaron
Copland's Rodeo (1942) and Appalachian
Spring (1944). William Schuman wrote his
symphonies #3(1941) through #7(1949).
Music and Radio

At the beginning of the decade, Big Bands dominated
popular music. Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Duke
Ellington and Benny Goodman led some of the more
famous bands. Eventually, many of the singers with the
Big Bands struck out on their own. Bing Crosby's
smooth voice made him one of the most popular
singers, vying with Frank Sinatra. Dinah Shore, Kate
Smith and Perry Como also led the hit parade. BeBop and Rhythm and Blues, grew out of the big band
era toward the end of the decade. Although these
were distinctly black sounds, epitomized by Charlie
Parker, Dizzie Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Billy
Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald, Woody Herman also
performed blues and jazz.
Music and Radio

Radio was the lifeline for Americans in the 1940's,
providing news, music and entertainment, much
like television today. Programming included soap
operas, quiz shows, children's hours, mystery
stories, fine drama, and sports. Kate Smith and
Arthur Godfrey were popular radio hosts. The
government relied heavily on radio for
propaganda. Like the movies, radio faded in
popularity as television became prominent. Many
of the most popular radio shows continued on in
television, including Red Skelton, Abbott and
Costello, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, and Truth or
Consequences.
Fads

In popular dancing, the Jitterbug made its appearance at the
beginning of the decade. It was the first dance in two
centuries that allowed individual expression. GI's took the
dance overseas when they to war, dancing with local girls,
barmaids, or even each other if necessary. Rosie the Riveter
was the symbol of the working woman, as the men went off
to war and the women were needed to work in the
factories. GIs, however, preferred another symbol, the pin-up
girl, such as Rita Hayworth or Betty Grable. Pictures were
mounted on lockers and inside helmets to remind the men
what they were fighting for. Wherever American soldiers
went, even the first to arrive would find a picture of eyes and
a nose, with the message, Kilroy was Here.After they
returned, Kilroy began to mark his place on the walls and
rocks of public places. More than one pregnant woman came
into the delivery room with "Kilroy was here" painted on her
belly.
Fads

Working mothers, combined with another new
phenomenon, the refrigerator, led to the invention of frozen
dinners. With the advent of television later in the decade,
they became known as TV Dinners. Tupperware and
aluminum foil eased the postwar housewives' burden, and
diners, originally horse drawn carriages with a couple of
barstools, became a stationary, respectable staple of the
postwar culture. The Slinky was invented by a ship inspector
in 1945. Teenagers became a recognized force in the forties.
With the men off to war, teenagers - boys and girls - found
employment readily available, and so had money to spend.
Seventeen magazine was established in 1944. Advertisement
began to be aimed at teens. With fathers away and mothers
at work, another new phenomenon arose - the juvenile
delinquent.
Fashion

The Zoot Suit was the height of fashion among
daring young men until the War Production
Department restricted the amount of fabric that
could be used in men's garments. The same
restrictions led to the popularity of the women's
convertible suit, a jacket, short skirt, and blouse.
The jacket could be shed for more formal attire
at night. Silk stockings were unavailable, so, to give
the illusion with stockings with their prominent
seam, women would draw a line up the backs of
their legs with an eyeliner. At work, as "Rosie the
Riveter" took on a man's work, slacks became
acceptable attire.
Fashion

When the war and it's restrictions ended,
Christian Dior introduced the New Look,
feminine dresses with long, full skirts, and tight
waists. Comfortable, low-heeled shoes were
forsaken for high heels. Hair was curled high on
the head in front, and worn to the shoulders in
the back, and make-up was socially acceptable.
Glamorous Rita Hayworth made the sweater
look popular. It took time to put the New Look
together, time the women now had as the men
returned to their jobs in the factories and offices.
Theater and Film

The theater, too, turned to abstractionism.
Thornton Wilder's The Skin of our Teeth
(1942) was bizarre and difficult to
understand but won the Pulitzer Prize.
Tennessee Williams wrote of selfdisillusionment and futility in the Glass
Menagerie (1945) and Streetcar named
Desire (1947). In contrast Musical Theater
was reborn, with Agnes de Mille's technique
of dancing in character in Oklahoma (1943).
Carousel (1945), and Annie get your Gun
(1946).
Theater and Film

The forties were the heyday for movies. The Office of War
declared movies an essential industry for morale and propaganda.
Most plots had a fairly narrow and predictable set of morals, and if
Germans or Japanese were included, they were one-dimensional
villains. Examples are Casablanca, Mrs. Miniver, Lifeboat, Notorious,
Best Years of our Lives, Wake Island, Battle of Midway, Guadalcanal
Diary, and Destination Tokyo. Citizen Kane, not fitting the template,
was one of the masterpieces of the time. Leading actors were Gary
Cooper, Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Bette
Davis, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, Ginger
Rogers, Jimmy Stewart, Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth
Taylor, Lana Turner. Walt Disney's career began to take off, with
animated cartoons such as Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941), and
Bambi (1942). During the war years, the studio produced cartoons
for the government, such as Donald gets Drafted (1942), Out of
the Frying Pan into the Firing Line (1942) and Der Fuehrer's Face
(1943).
Sports

World War II had its effect on sports as all able-bodied men between 18
and 26 were expected to serve in the military. Rubber went to the war
effort; consequently, balls were soggy and unresponsive. Wood was in short
supply, leading to a shortage of baseball bats and bowling pins. Even so,
professional sports were encouraged to continue, to improve the morale
of the troops. President Roosevelt signed the Green Light letter,
supporting baseball. Baseball games were considered so important to
troop morale that the Japanese tried to jam radio broadcasts. By 1943, half
the baseball players had enlisted. Teams used older veterans and even a
one-armed outfielder, Pete Gray of the St. Louis Browns. In the AllAmerican Girls Baseball League, players wore dresses and had to attend
charm school. After the war, television and easier transportation changed
the face of American sports. In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first
black professional baseball player - in fact, the first black professional
athlete outside of boxing. Baseball players negotiated for a minimum salary
of $5500 a year. By 1950, the top earning player, Stan Musial, was making
$50,000. Postwar baseball names included Ted Williams, Ralph Kiner and
Joe DiMaggio.
Sports

Before 1941 when two-platoon football was allowed, all
eleven players on a football team played the entire game.
Only injury was an excuse for substitution. That changed in
1941, when free subs were allowed, enabling weakened
college teams to continue playing. Because of travel
restrictions, the 1942 Army Navy game was played in
Annapolis, and half the midshipmen were assigned to cheer
for West Point. Sixty years later, Bill Williams, a Navy
midshipman (Class of 1945), remembered that game. "We
yelled the cheers and sang the songs but I don't remember
being very energetic. Also when Navy scored, we forgot
whose side we were supposed to be on. We won fourteen to
nothing." The penalty flag, first used in 1941, became official
in 1948. Elaborate playbooks were introduced by Paul Brown,
turning football into a game of strategy. Some of the
northern college football teams began to integrate blacks.
Sports

Basketball was less affected by the war than other sports because a
player's height often made him ineligible for military service. The Basketball
Association of America formed in 1946, merged in 1949 with the National
Basketball League to form the NBA. Joe Fulks of the Philadelphia Warriors
had a record high score of 63 points in a game when most whole teams
didn't score that high. The 1940's were the heyday of boxing. Boxing was
big money, mainly because of gambling, and was ruled by gangland boxing
czar Frankie Carbo. Joe Louis was the heavyweight champion from 1937 to
1948, in part because major boxing titles were frozen from 1941 to 1946
as four thousand professional boxers joined the military. Louis not only
enlisted, he donated over $100,000 to war relief efforts in 1942. Sugar Ray
Robinson, Ike Williams and Willie Pep were other big names in boxing. The
Indianapolis 500 was closed duirng the war and the racetrack deteriorated.
In the first postwar race in 1946, twenty-four cars dropped out due to
wrecks and mechanical difficulties. NASCAR, a stock car racing club that
purportedly ran cars that you could buy from a dealer's showroom started
the Grand Nationals in 1949. The Women's Professional Golf Association
formed in 1946, and the Ladies Professional Golf Association in 1949. Babe
Didriksen Zaharias and Patty Berg were the stars, with Byron Nelson the
men's champion. Jack Kramer dominated men's tennis.