Affluent Society and Civil Rights

Introduction Affluent Society – Statistics – Vets – Family Life Civil Rights Phase I: – Background – Brown – Bus Boycott Other Americans Conclusion

Themes Prosperity of U.S. society after WWII Beginnings of modern civil rights movement

Affluent Society and Civil Rights Introduction Affluent Society – Statistics – Vets – Family Life Civil Rights Phase I: – Background – Brown – Bus Boycott Other Americans Conclusion

Affluent Society American Families in 1960 – 60% owned homes – 75% owned a car – 87% owned a TV

Affluent Society and Civil Rights Introduction Affluent Society – Statistics – Vets – Family Life Civil Rights Phase I: – Background – Brown – Bus Boycott Other Americans Conclusion

G.I. Bill 1944 Full tuition and spending money for school Loans guaranteed up to $2,000 Money for 52/20 Club – Unemployment of $20 a week for a year Produced a social revolution – Growth of middle class – Primary Beneficiaries were white males

Affluent Society and Civil Rights Introduction Affluent Society – Statistics – Vets – Family Life Civil Rights Phase I: – Background – Brown – Bus Boycott Other Americans Conclusion

Many new homeowners built in the suburbs – 20 million Americans moved to the suburbs during the 1950s

American Family and Baby Boom Americans tended to marry at a younger age Fertility rate increased – 1940: 80 births per 1,000 women – 1957: 123 births per 1,000 women Baby Boom Generation: born between – 76 Million Americans

American Family and Baby Boom Impact of Baby Boomers – Late 1940s: Baby supplies – 1950s: School Construction – 1960s: College Enrollments – 1970s: House Construction – s: Stock Market – 2000s: Social Security and Health Care

Affluent Society and Civil Rights Introduction Affluent Society – Statistics – Vets – Family Life Civil Rights Phase I: – Background – Brown – Bus Boycott Other Americans Conclusion

Civil Rights: Background WWII raised expectations of many African Americans Returning veterans expected more racial equality after fight a war against fascism Truman established the first President’s Committee on Civil Rights Armed Forces desegregated in 1948 NAACP attacked segregation through court system

Affluent Society and Civil Rights Introduction Affluent Society – Statistics – Vets – Family Life Civil Rights Phase I: – Background – Brown – Bus Boycott Other Americans Conclusion

Brown Decision Linda Brown couldn’t attend a school near her home because of segregation Thurgood Marshal: NAACP attorney who represented the Browns Earl Warren: Supreme Court Chief Justice who presided over the case

Brown Decision 1954 The decision – The doctrine of separate but equal had no place in education – Segregation in schools was prohibited

Brown Decision 1954 The decision – The doctrine of separate but equal had no place in education – Segregation in schools was prohibited Impact – The Courts would protect the civil liberties of all Americans, even if Congress or states would not – Spark that started the modern Civil Rights movement

Following Brown Supreme Court ordered schools be desegregated with all deliberate speed Flash Point – Desegregation of high school in Little Rock, Arkansas – Guards had to escort Af. Am. Students to and from campus

Affluent Society and Civil Rights Introduction Affluent Society – Statistics – Vets – Family Life Civil Rights Phase I: – Background – Brown – Bus Boycott Other Americans Conclusion

Bus Boycott Montgomery, AL, Rosa Parks sparked the boycott Af. Am. Community mobilized and demanded equality

Bus Boycott Montgomery, AL, Martin Luther King, Jr. Goal: Integration of Af. Am. into U.S. society Tactic: Non-violent protest The boycott continued for about a year In 1956, the buses became intergrated

Civil Rights: Phase I In the mid-1950s the modern civil rights movement began Actions of individuals began to erode the Jim Crow/Segregation laws in the U.S.

Affluent Society and Civil Rights Introduction Affluent Society – Statistics – Vets – Family Life Civil Rights Phase I: – Background – Brown – Bus Boycott Other Americans Conclusion

Other Americans The Other Americans: Poverty in the United States – Author: Michael Harrington – Published in 1962 U.S. in 1960s – 22% at or below poverty level – 35 million Americans

Other Americans U.S. in 1960s – 22% at or below poverty level – 35 million Americans – Many lived in inner-cities – Disproportionetly racial and ethnic minorities, single parent families, senor citizens

Affluent Society and Civil Rights Introduction Affluent Society – Statistics – Vets – Family Life Civil Rights Phase I: – Background – Brown – Bus Boycott Other Americans Conclusion

The U.S. was charachterized by its affluence; but not all Am. were included Beginnings of modern Civil Rights movement

Websites of Interest Linda Brown Family 1950s Popular Culture

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