What was/is the legacy of WWII? How do we remember WWII? How do you think lives were changed by WWII?
Post-WWII America Rest of course- decades (50s, 60s, 70s, etc) (Cold War) What was happening domestically (at home) What was happening in foreign policy (abroad)
How did life in America change immediately following WWII?
Readjustment GI Bill Housing Paid part of tuition, year of unemployment, loans to former soldiers Housing Severe shortage Mass-production of houses, suburbs Levittown
Economic Recovery Wartime savings = money to spend after the war Economy boomed Buying houses, cars, etc Demand > Supply Created jobs
Politics- 1948 Election Truman (Democrat) nominated Southern democrats protested Truman’s emphasis on civil rights Dixiecrats Formed States’ Rights Democratic Party
Politics Truman’s program- Fair Deal Extension of New Deal Raised minimum wage Extended Social Security, etc
Politics- 1952 Election Truman’s approval rating sank- didn’t run for reelection Republican candidate- Eisenhower -wins “Modern Republicanism” Conservative with money, liberal with human beings Middle-of-the-road course
What is the American Dream?
Business Expansion As the American economy improved, businesses expanded Conglomerates- a major corporation that includes many smaller companies Protected corporations from declines in industries
Business Expansion Franchise- a company that offers similar products/services in many locations Ex: McDonald’s- efficient service, simple menu using assembly-line methods
Conformity Standardization of food, workers Doing consistent work was important to employment in many businesses Which is more important- success and belonging or individuality?
Rise of Suburbs Job security= Providing families with goods (being “breadwinner”) “Keeping up with the Jones’” Living outside city (commuting)
Lifestyle Changes Baby boom- population explosion after WWII Late 1940s-early 1960s Largest generation in America’s history
Lifestyle Changes Advancing medicine saved thousands of young baby boomers Typhoid fever Polio New child-rearing techniques employed No spanking/scolding Allow children to express themselves Mothers stay home
Lifestyle Changes Women’s roles changed (back) Homemaker and mother glorified in pop culture Others unhappy with this image Betty Friedan- The Feminine Mystique 1/5 housewives dissatisfied
The Feminine Mystique “Each suburban wife struggles with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night- she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question-- 'Is this all?” “It is perhaps beside the point to remark that bowling alleys and supermarkets have nursery facilities, while schools and colleges and scientific laboratories and government offices do not.” “The feminist revolution had to be fought because women quite simply were stopped at a state of evolution far short of their human capacity.”
Lifestyle Changes Americans had more leisure time than ever Weekends, paid vacation Sports- playing, attending, watching on TV Reading- DIY, fiction, magazines Movies, teen culture
New Automobile Culture Automania- cars now a necessity in suburban culture Interstate system- roads linking major cities Unified and homogenized the nation
Consumerism Buying material goods = success New products appeared in marketplace Electric household appliances Recreational items
Consumerism Planned absolescence- good purposefully designed to become obsolete Credit cards- buy now, pay later Confident that prosperity would continue
Consumerism Advertising Encouragement to buy more was everywhere Appealed to desire for status and belonging
Consumerism Consider each advertisement, and how it appealed to Americans in the 1950s Create your own ad and explain why it would be effective on a 1950s-audience Due: at the end of class