Module 13: The Postwar Boom Lesson 1: Postwar America Lesson 2: The American Dream in the Fifties Lesson 3: Popular Culture Lesson 4: The Other America

Challenges of Peace Problems of Demobilization Fear of another Depression 9 million men and women out of service Cuts to government war purchases Back to laissez-faire

Government Steps In Before Problems Arise: Role of Pres. Harry Truman 1944: GI Bill Loans for vets to go to college, create small businesses, buy homes Employment Act of 1946 Goal of full employment, full production, stable prices Council of Economic Advisors Advises the President on economic policy War factories converted/Army surplus sold

BUT…Problems Remain… Some did lose jobs to returning soldiers Fair Employment Practices Commission abolished by Congress Originally prohibited discrimination in government hiring Consumer prices increased = Inflation Some labor unrest 1946: 5 million workers strike Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 = Anti-labor unions Sun Belt v. Rust Belt

Election of 1948 Harry Truman (D) v. Thomas Dewey (R) Split in Democratic Party over Civil Rights “Dixiecrats”: Strom Thurmond Progressives: Henry Wallace

Truman Wins (303 to 189) Commission on Civil Rights Ends discrimination in military and federal jobs Fair Deal Program (similar to New Deal) Full employment Minimum wage National health insurance Affordable housing Welfare programs

A Republican Wins Eisenhower elected in 1952 World War II hero Helped end Korean War (anti- communist) Calm, cool, friendly, optimistic Balance of liberal and conservative “Dynamic conservativism” “Modern Republicanism”

Suburban Migrations Social and economic mobility 1960: 60 million in suburbs = 1/3 of population Planned communities: Levittowns Interstate Highway Act of 1956 Baby Boom: 90% increase in birthrate Yet, divorce rate increased

The American Dream in the Fifties: Prosperity and “Boom” Companies merge into modern corporations Conglomerates, franchises Automation and technology More “white collar” jobs than “blue collar” jobs Middle class becomes dominant Unions: Good and Bad AFL + CIO merge in 1955 Promote better standard of living BUT overall union membership declines Links to mob BUT FEDERAL DEBT INCREASED BY 9%

Consumerism and Social Conformity Ever-expanding consumption of goods is beneficial to the economy Consumerism = conformity = consumerism Role of big business in advertising

The Suburban Lifestyle: 1950s Style Conformity Baby boom: major impact on social life and economy Advances in medicine / child care: Salk: Polio Vaccine Women’s roles undergoing transformation Leisure time: middle class reality based on having more time / money: more participation in activities Automobile culture = mobility Interstate Highway system New buying habits: obsolescence, credit, The Advertising Age

Popular Culture in the 1950s: Golden Age of Television MASS media 46 million in homes by the end of the 1950s Game Shows Conformity and materialism TV dinners Roll of the FCC Radio and Movies remain popular: cars, drive - ins

A Subculture Emerges to Challenge Suburban Conformity (A preview of Module 14) The “Beat Movement” rejected middle class, suburban conformity Beatniks (a preview of the hippies in the 1960s / 1970s) African – Americans and Rock and Roll: racial gap in music in general Alan Freed: Cleveland DJ 1951 “jazz” music was labeled as a racial art form Beginning of the so-called “teenage” generation and the start of a generation gap between parents and teenagers Role of Elvis Presley and the start of a racial, generational, sexual, musical, economic revolution

Teenagers → Rebellion: Generation Gap Rock and Roll, Civil Rights, Vietnam, Youth and Sexual Revolution, Hippies, Drugs, etc. (there is a connection between the 1950s and the 1960s / 70s) Specific Examples: Holden Caulfield: Catcher in the Rye (1951) MAD Magazine (1952) Marlon Brando “The Wild One” (1953) James Dean “Rebel Without a Cause” (1955) Elvis Presley (1954) Playboy Magazine (1953)

Rebellion Against Conformity Ralph Ellison: The Invisible Man (1952) John K. Galbraith: The Affluent Society (1958) Jack Kerouac: On the Road (1957) Allen Ginsburg: “Howl” (1956) Betty Friedan: Feminine Mystique (1963) Rachel Carson: Silent Spring (1962) Malvina Reynolds: “Little Boxes” (1962)

The Other America: On the Margins of Society Challenges of Poverty: 25% of Americans below poverty line Michael Harrington: The Other America: Poverty in the US (1962) Farmers face falling demand from overseas and falling prices Suburbs became an enclave for “white flight” thus, inner cities suffer Some attempts at reform: urban renewal: HUD, but mixed success Activism by Mexican – Americans, Native Americans, But, Longoria Incident, termination policy

Video Links The Idyllic Suburban Life Elvis Challenges Conformity Father Knows Best: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O64pR4IfYB0 Leave It to Beaver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sb1W0uu8w0 Leave It to Beaver (Again) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yb3Ie41s6o Elvis Challenges Conformity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMmljYkdr-w Challenges to the Suburban Conformity: Little Boxes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUwUp-D_VV0 The Wild One: Rebellion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyq4HZZ4H50