The Darker Side of the 1950s 23.3

Not Everyone Was Fortunate As we have discussed, the 1950s was a time of incredible abundance for many U.S. citizens However, not everyone experienced the new wealth and standard of living in this new era 20% of Americans (30 million people) lived below the poverty line during this time – Poverty line: the minimum income to support a family

Groups/Areas Hit the Hardest African Americans Hispanics Native Americans Appalachia

African Americans During the Great Migration, African Americans from the South to the urban areas of the North When WWI and WWII end, this has negative effects for these migrants – Job insecurity, discrimination, poor housing, bad schools They were stuck in cities with low paying jobs – In 1958, African Americans’ salaries were 51% of what whites earned

Mexican Immigrants Bracero Program: the U.S. government arranged for workers from Mexico to help with harvests Some of these immigrants stayed in the States These people lived in extreme poverty – Worked long hours, labor was intensive, low wages, poor living conditions

Native Americans By mid-century, Native Americans poorest ethnic group in the country After WWII, federal government encouraged (or forced) Native Americans to assimilate Termination Policy: the federal government withdrew all recognition of Native American groups as legal entities and put them under the rule of state governments The government provided incentives for Native Americans to move off of reservations and into cities

Appalachia Rural areas were hit hard, too Mechanization of mining and farming left these areas destitute People left these areas in droves Those who stayed faced high rates of nutritional deficiency and infant mortality, as well as terrible schools

Discussion Slide How could the suburbs have contributed to the forms of poverty that developed in the 1950s?

The Deterioration of the Inner City How did whites respond to the Great Migration? What reasons did whites give for leaving cities? What barriers were there for black Americans who wanted to own houses? How did these migration trends contribute to the decline of inner cities?