Key Question 5: What were the major changes in the U. S Key Question 5: What were the major changes in the U.S. economy from 1941 to 2000?

Review: Post WWII America GI Bill Baby Boom 1 baby born every 7 sec. White Flight to the Suburbs Increased $- rebuilding Japan and Europe No competition

Shopping Consumerism – the obsession of buying goods Planned Obsolescence – making products that will become outdated on purpose Malls Credit

(Non)Mobile Society Fast food Cars Interstates Television Luxury moves to necessity Cars No longer 1 per family Interstates Television 9% of homes in 1950 had TV’s, 90% by 1960

Inventions of the 1950s 1950: credit card 1951: Super glue, Power steering, videotape recorder 1952: Mr. Potato Head, diet soft drink, hydrogen bomb 1953: Radial tires, musical synthesizer 1954: nonstick pan, McDonald’s 1956: computer hard disk, hovercraft, “Liquid Paper” (white out) 1958: laser, Hula Hoop 1959: internal pacemaker, Barbie Doll, microchip

More Events of the 1950s! 1950: 1st Organ Transplant, "Peanuts" Cartoon Strip 1951: Color TV Introduced 1952: Car Seat Belts Introduced, Polio Vaccine Created 1953: DNA Discovered 1954: Report Says Cigarettes Cause Cancer 1955: Disneyland Opens, McDonald's Corporation Founded 1956: T.V. Remote Control Invented, Velcro Introduced 1957: Dr. Seuss Publishes The Cat in the Hat, Soviet Satellite Sputnik Launches Space Age 1958: Lego Toy Bricks First Introduced, NASA Founded, Peace Symbol Created

Health & Lifestyle What changes did you notice about health care in America? What do the previous inventions tell us about the lifestyle of a typical American? Why?

James Conant’s attack on High School Curriculum Conant believed the students needed more English, Math, Foreign Language to compete in the Democratic Society (1959) Reaction to Sputnik Falling Behind the Soviets Question: Do we have something similar happening today in America? Why or why not?

70s Malaise Economy struggles Effects OPEC Oil embargo-1973 Response to US support of Israel in Yom Kippur War Import 50% more oil from 1972 to 1973 $3 per barrel to $12 per barrel almost overnight Gas rations Money feels worthless due to inflation Effects Smaller cars Japanese cars take over Search for alternative energy Speed limits of 55 mph Dow Jones loses 45% of value

Economic Insecurity Meat prices rose at 75 percent annual rate in 1973. From 1972 to 1973 the cost of a bushel of wheat rose 240 percent. Soybeans rose from $3.50 a bushel in 1972 to $12.00 in 1973.

70s Malaise (con.) Vietnam Presidency No longer feel like #1 North Vietnam takes over South when we leave Presidency Lose faith in president’s office because of Watergate Ford pardons Nixon Carter’s problems Iranian Hostage Crisis in 1979 Further Economic woes Insult Congress Soviet Union invades Afghanistan in 1979 Nuclear power concerns (3 mile island)

A New Era Reagan wins election of 1980 Gov’t turns conservative Traditional American Values!!! Deregulation – reduced gov’t rules of businesses

Economy Reaganomics – cut taxes, cut gov’t spending Federal Debt – money owed by the US gov’t Recession, then recovery Voters respond

1980s Econ History http://countrystudies.us/united-states/history-137.htm

1990s Tech DVDs Internet Pagers become popular and then obsolete Cell phones take off by the end of the decade Email and buddy chats come around Windows Dot coms (new websites) make people overnight millionaires/billionaires

Economic Boom Major economic growth for 6 straight years Raising the Gross Domestic Product – value of all goods and services in a country Balanced the budget – 1st time in 24 years no money added to debt

Computer Regulation Napster- MP3 music for free 80 million users + high speed Internet = No royalties Government decides it is copyright violation Shutdown service in 2001

Any idea what is our debt now? http://www.usdebtclock.org/