NOTES 5: THE COLD WAR HOMEFRONT Modern US History Unit 4: The Cold War

WATCH MOVIE CLIPS ON THE COLD WAR HOMEFRONT 30 min

CAUSES OF CONFORMITY IN THE 1950’S

Suburbs  Migration from cities to the suburbs  Started by the Veteran’s Administration giving home loans and tax incentives to WWII Veterans  Construction boom  Levittown – one of the first giant suburbs in Long Island, NY standardized housing plans; like assembly line for homes  By % of Americans were living in the suburbs; by the end of the century 50% were living in suburbs

$7,990 or $60/month with no down payment. Suburbs lead to increased homogenization 1949  William Levitt produced 150 houses per week. Levittown, Long Island: “The American Dream”

Suburban Living: The New “American Dream” 1 story high 12’x19’ living room 2 bedrooms tiled bathroom garage small backyard front lawn

SHIFTS IN POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, Central Cities 31.6% 32.3%32.6% 32.0% Suburbs 19.5% 23.8%30.7% 41.6% Rural Areas/ 48.9% 43.9%36.7% 26.4% Small Towns U. S. Bureau of the Census. Americans Move to the Suburbs

The Donna Reed Show Leave It to Beaver Father Knows Best The Ozzie & Harriet Show Suburban Living in Popular Culture: The Typical TV Suburban Families

The Culture of the Car  Families with 2 cars doubled from  1956 – Interstate Highway Act  Largest public works project in US history - $32 billion; built 41,000 miles of new highways  Car culture leads to increased homogenization (everybody doing the same thing) 1958 Pink Cadillac First McDonald’s (1955) Drive-In Movies Howard Johnson’s

TheBaby Boom  During Depression – decrease in children born  Not so after WWII! Marriage and babies  50 million babies added to the population by 1950s  Population growth slowed by 1957  Caused a bubble that is still moving through America – Baby Boomers are retiring now

When exactly was the Baby Boom?  There are some debates about this…  Belief of the Giant Baby Boom:  Approximately  Belief of two generations during the Baby Boom:  Baby Boomers: (these kids were teens in the 60’s)  Generation Jones: (teens in the 70’s)

It seems to me that every other young housewife I see is pregnant. -- British visitor to America,  1 baby born every 7 seconds Baby Boom

WATERGATE

Watergate  During the 1972 Presidential Campaign, a group trying to get Nixon reelected broke into the Democratic Headquarters in the Watergate Building  5 men from this group, CREEP (Republican Presidential Re-Election Committee), were caught with bugging equipment during the break in  By early 1974, 29 people had been indicted for Watergate related crimes  There was also proof that government agencies were used to cover up Watergate or harass candidates  FBI, CIA, IRS

The Tape!  Senate began special hearings during  John Dean III, a former White House lawyer testified that Nixon and top staff knew about and participated in the cover up  How do you prove what Dean said?  White House aide said that Nixon’s conversations in the Oval Office were taped even though the other person didn’t know  Nixon wouldn’t give up the tapes  He claimed “Executive Privilege”

More About the Tapes  1974 Nixon allowed access to “relevant” portions of the tapes that had a lot removed  July 24, 1974: Supreme Court UNANIMOUSLY ruled that executive privilege gave Nixon no right to withhold the tapes  August 5, 1974 Nixon made 4 tapes available that proved he knew about the cover-up and wanted to use the CIA to keep the FBI from investigating further

Impeachment  July 1974 House began to vote for what they were to accuse Nixon of (impeachment):  Obstructing justice  Abused powers of office  Showing contempt of Congress  Public backlash after release of the 3 final tapes was so great that Republican leaders “suggested” to Nixon that he resign instead of being kicked out

Good Bye Nixon!  August 8, 1974 Nixon announced his resignation on TV  By resigning before he was impeached, Nixon got to keep his pension  Top: Saying Goodbye to Staff  Bottom: Leaving White House

Unelected Ford