Chapter Seventh Edition O ut of Many A History of the American People Brief Sixth Edition Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Out of Many: A History of the American People, Brief Sixth Edition John Mack Faragher Mari Jo Buhle Daniel Czitrom Susan H. Armitage America at Midcentury

America at Midcentury Under the Cold War’s Shadow The Affluent Society Youth Culture Mass Culture and Its Discontents The Coming of the New Frontier Conclusion

Chapter Focus Questions How did the Eisenhower administration’s foreign policy respond to Cold War challenges? On what foundations did the nation’s post- World War II prosperity rest? What ideals did America’s suburban life evoke, and how did these ideals correspond to suburban realities?

Chapter Focus Questions (cont’d) What explains the emergence of a distinct youth culture in 1950s’ America? What criticisms did television and the 1950s’ mass culture evoke? Who was John F. Kennedy, and why did his New Frontier seem so promising to many Americans?

North America and Memphis

Popular Music in Memphis Memphis was a rapidly growing segregated city with whites and blacks of various classes. Elvis Presley listened to both “white” and “black” music. Elvis blended black styles of music with white styles to help create a new style of music.

Popular Music in Memphis (cont'd) Rock ‘n’ roll united teenagers and gave them the feeling that it was their music (and misunderstood by adults).

Under the Cold War’s Shadow

Dwight D. Eisenhower hosts a group of Republican National Committee women

Under the Cold War’s Shadow Eisenhower took office in 1953 as the confrontation with communism dominated America’s foreign relations. Eisenhower developed new Cold War strategies, from reliance on nuclear weapons to use of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for covert action, to forestall an all-out nuclear conflict.

Under the Cold War’s Shadow (cont’d) He ended the Korean War and avoided military involvement in Indochina. In 1961, he felt compelled to warn the nation of the growing dangers posed by a “military industrial complex” largely of his own making. Soon, John F. Kennedy, would discover just how difficult it was to escape the Cold War frame in shaping American foreign policy.

The Eisenhower Presidency Eisenhower inspired confidence and adopted a middle-of-the-road style. He ran the government in a businesslike, cooperative manner, pursuing policies that helped private companies and allowing practices that harmed the environment. He rejected calls from conservatives to dismantle the welfare state.

The Eisenhower Presidency Eisenhower ended the Korean War but kept up anti-Communist rhetoric, treating the Cold War as permanent. Although his presidency included two brief recessions, he presided over an extensive increase in real wages.

The “New Look” in Foreign Affairs Stalin’s death did little to thaw U.S.-Soviet relations. Eisenhower favored a reliance on American nuclear superiority in favor of more expensive conventional forces. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles called for a policy of rollback to reverse communist gains.

The “New Look” in Foreign Affairs The “new look” conflicted with Eisenhower’s cautious approach. Ike refused to intervene to aid anticommunist uprisings in East Berlin and Hungary. In 1960 the Soviets shot down an U.S. spy plane and relations were frozen.

The “New Look” in Foreign Affairs (cont'd) Sputnik alarmed Americans, leading to creation of NASA for space and missile research and greater federal aid to science and language education.

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev enjoys a bite to eat

Covert Action Eisenhower favored covert action over direct confrontation. Under Allen Dulles, the CIA grew in size, budget and operations. The CIA sponsored paramilitary operations in hostile or unstable regimes when newly emerging nations sought to recover resources from foreign investors.

Covert Action (cont'd) Covert operations did little to lessen Anti- Americanism in the Third World.

Global Interventions American interventions in Iran overthrew a popular but leftist government and helped secure oil concessions from the restored Shah. Support for Israel was challenged when Ike rejected European appeals to help seize and return the Suez Canal to Britain.

Global Interventions (cont'd) In just one of several actions, the CIA- sponsored coup overthrew the government of Jacobo Arbenz Guzman in Guatemala.

MAP 27.1 The United States in the Caribbean, 1948–66

Global Interventions The United States provided France with massive military aid in its struggle to hold on to Vietnam. Ike rejected the use of U.S. ground troops, but believed that if Vietnam fell, the rest of Southeast Asia would fall like dominoes. Vietnam was temporarily divided at the 17th parallel.

Global Interventions (cont'd) Eisenhower backed the repressive and unpopular Diem regime in South Vietnam.

The Affluent Society

A crowded commuter train

The Affluent Society John Kenneth Galbraith’s book, The Affluent Society (1958), gave a label to postwar America. While American capitalism had worked “quite brilliantly” since World War II, Americans, he argued, needed to spend less on personal consumption and more on schools and social services.

The Affluent Society (cont’d) The deeply-held popular belief in the right to a continuously expanding economy and a steadily increasing standard of living— even against the backdrop of global anxieties associated with the Cold War— shaped American social and political life.

Subsidizing Prosperity The federal government helped subsidize this prosperity by providing loans for homes and assisting the growth of suburbs. One of the first planned communities was built by William Levitt and encompassed 17,000 homes, without a single African- American resident.

An aerial view of 1950s tract houses

Subsidizing Prosperity The federal government:  paid for veterans’ college education;  built an interstate highway system; and  following the Russian launch of a satellite, spent millions on education Meanwhile, Cold War military spending supported well paying civilian jobs, jealously protected by politicians.

Suburban Life Suburban life:  strengthened the domestic ideal  provided a model of the efficient, patient suburban wife for television Suburban growth corresponded with an increase in church attendance.

FIGURE 27.1 The Growth of the Suburbs, 1950–70

Suburban Life Popular religious figures stressed the importance of fitting in, while rebels such as Betty Friedan (The Feminine Mystique, 1963) challenged conformist assumptions. California came to embody postwar suburban life, with the cars connecting its components.

Suburban Life (cont'd) Many suburbs were segregated on lines of class and national origin—workers, Jews, Italians or Irish—challenging ideals.

FIGURE 27.2 L.A. County Population 1920–80

Organized Labor and the AFL-CIO In the mid-1950s, trade unions reached a peak of membership and influence, especially in the Democratic Party. The merger of the AFL and the CIO marked the zenith of the unions. Labor corruption led Congress to pass the Landrum-Griffin Act widening control over union activities.

Organized Labor and the AFL-CIO (cont'd) Total membership numbers declined after 1955 but new inroads were made in the public sector.

Lonely Crowds and Organizational Men Critics found the suburbs as dull and conformist—obscuring the real class and ethnic differences  David Reisman (The Lonely Crowd, 1950) -Americans had become overly conforming, less individualistic, more peer-oriented  William Whyte (Organization Man, 1956) -culture of conformity

Lonely Crowds and Organizational Men (cont’d) Critics found the suburbs as dull and conformist—obscuring the real class and ethnic differences  C. Wright Mills  argued that a small, interconnected power elite was emerging

The Expansion of Higher Education The postwar baby boom accompanied by an expansion of higher education, assisted by extensive federal aid. Enrollments grew from 2.6 m. in 1950, to 3.2 m. in 1960, to 7.5 m. in 1970 Draft deferments  military service fell to the lower class

The Expansion of Higher Education (cont'd) Colleges accepted the values of corporate culture with 20 percent of all graduates majoring in business.

Health and Medicine New medicines and new vaccines against diseases allowed many to live healthier lives. Doctor shortages meant that poor and elderly Americans and those in rural areas lacked access to these improvements. The AMA did nothing to increase the flow of new doctors and discouraged any national health insurance.

Health and Medicine (cont'd) Alfred Kinsey’s studies of human sexuality alarmed many but led to more open discussion of sex.

Youth Culture

The marquee at the Paramount Theater

Youth Culture The term—and concept—of “teenager” entered American life after WW II. The fifteen years following World War II saw unprecedented attention to America’s adolescents.

Youth Culture (cont’d) Deep fears were expressed about everything from teenage sexuality and juvenile delinquency to young people’s driving habits, hairstyles, and choice of clothing.

Youth Culture (cont’d) At the same time, advertisers and businesses pursued the disposable income of America’s affluent youth with a vengeance, indirectly promoting growth of the youth culture.

The Youth Market Young people’s numbers grew and their purchasing power increased to $10 b. a year by The marketplace, schools, and mass media reinforced the notion of teenagers as a special community. Psychologists and popular writers began to address “teen” issues and advised parents on how to raise teenagers.

“Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll” Structural changes in the media transformed radio into a music-dominated medium. In addition, small independent record labels promoted black rhythm-and-blues artists, many of whom “crossed over” to white audiences.

“Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll” (cont'd) Established record companies offered toned-down white “cover” versions that frequently outsold the originals.

“Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll” (cont'd) Alan Freed, a white Cleveland disc jockey, promoted black artists and set the stage for the first major white performer who could play rock ‘n’ roll: Elvis Presley. Black singer-guitarist Chuck Berry was probably the most influential artist after Elvis. More than anything else, rock ‘n’ roll came to define the youth culture.

Almost Grown Ironically, teenagers were torn between their identification with youth culture and the desire to become adults as quickly as possible. The new affluence and especially cars gave youth more freedom with less adult supervision.

Almost Grown (cont'd) Girls matured and started “going steady” and married earlier—an average of 18 by the late 1950s. Many adult observers saw rock ‘n’ roll as unleashing youthful passions in a dangerous way.

Deviance and Delinquency An increase in youth crime in the 1950s, but public perception exaggerated the problem. Some linked rock ‘n’ roll to juvenile delinquency. Films like The Wild One and Rebel Without a Cause showed the different reactions of youth and adults to the growing generation gap.

Deviance and Delinquency (cont'd) Marlon Brando, James Dean, Elvis embodied the appeal of rebellion and membership in a community defined by youth.

Mass Culture and Its Discontents

A 1950s’ family watching I Love Lucy

Mass Culture and its Discontents Developed in the 1930s, TV came into its own as the dominant mass media after the war; by 1960, 90% of families had a set and watched it five hours a day. TV defined and shaped culture in ways other media never had, simultaneously reinforcing and challenging conformity, status and materialism.

Television: Tube of Plenty Television’s development as a mass medium was eased by the prior existence of radio. The high cost of TV time changed advertising as sponsors left production to others. Early TV replicated radio formats including situation comedies set among urban ethnic families.

Television: Tube of Plenty By the late 1950s, situation comedies featured idealized, white suburban families. Television also created overnight fads and sensations. Fess Parker and Disney’s Davy Crocket show capitalized on the power of television, selling $300 million in shirts, dolls, toys and coon-skin caps.

Fess Parker, the actor who starred as Davy Crockett

Television and Politics Prime-time shows made no references to contemporary political issues and avoided being tainted with communist influence. Television did bring important congressional hearings before mass audiences and by 1952, slick ads began to shape presidential campaigns.

Television and Politics (cont'd) Richard Nixon’s televised “Checkers Speech” showed television’s power of appealing to emotions and manipulating voters.

Culture Critics A growing chorus of critics  Intellectual critics bemoaned the great “Middlebrow Culture” that was driving out high culture.

Culture Critics (cont'd) A growing chorus of critics  The Beats articulated some of the sharpest dissents from conformity, celebrating spontaneity, jazz, open sexuality, drug use, and American outcasts. -Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” -The Beats foreshadowed the mass youth rebellion of the 1960s.

Jack Kerouac

The Coming of the New Frontier

Presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon

The Coming of the New Frontier No one could have resembled Dwight Eisenhower less than John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The handsome son of a prominent, wealthy Irish American diplomat, husband of a fashionable heiress, 42-year-old JFK embodied youth, excitement, sophistication.

The Coming of the New Frontier (cont’d) Kennedy ran under the banner of the New Frontier, inspiring idealism in millions of young people at home and abroad, and his presidency seemed to embody the call for a new sense of national purpose beyond simply enjoying affluence. In foreign affairs, Kennedy was a traditional Cold Warrior, but may have been softening his position by the time of his death.

MAP 27.2 The Election of 1960

The Election of 1960 JFK began his political career in Congress in 1946 then moved to the Senate in After winning the Democratic nomination, Kennedy won a narrow victory over Republican vice-president Richard Nixon. Televised debates played a key role in the election, emphasizing image over substance.

The Election of 1960 (cont'd) His inauguration brought out a bevy of intellectuals who heard him inspire a sense of sacrifice among young Americans.

Ike’s Warning A growing public anxiety over nuclear weapons led to small but well-publicized protests. Ike expressed his own doubts when he warned the nation of the growing “military industrial complex” in a televised “Farewell Address” in January 1961.

Ike’s Warning (cont'd) While Eisenhower called for restraint, his own policies had institutionalized and heightened Cold War tensions and the military establishment he criticized.

Shoppers in an appliance store watch President John F. Kennedy

New Frontier Liberalism JFK  proposed a liberal agenda but conservatives prevented much of it from passing  supported efforts to improve employment equality for women  used fiscal policy to stimulate the economy  committed the country to expanding its manned space program.

New Frontier Liberalism (cont'd) JFK  greatest achievement may have been strengthening the executive branch of government.

Kennedy and the Cold War JFK’s foreign policy shifted from containment to easing tensions. He created the Green Berets who fought unsuccessfully to stop communist movements in Laos and Vietnam. By 1963, 16,000 American “advisers” were involved in Vietnam.

Kennedy and the Cold War A CIA-backed coup in November 1963 overthrew the Diem regime but did little to stabilize South Vietnam. JFK supported the Alliance for Progress, ostensibly a Marshall Plan for Latin America, which produced less democracy and economic development than promised.

The Cuban Revolution and the Bay of Pigs The revolution brought Fidel Castro to power in 1959  overthrew Batista, who had many ties to U.S. business Ike cut off aid when Castro began a land reform program and later the United States severed diplomatic relations.

The Cuban Revolution and the Bay of Pigs (cont'd) The Bay of Pigs  Ike’s plan for a CIA-backed invasion by Cuban exiles  Kennedy accepted blame for the failure, but continued to back CIA plots to overthrow or kill Castro.

The 1962 Missile Crisis Frightened by U.S. belligerency, Castro asked Khrushchev for help. The Soviets began shipping missiles to Cuba. When U-2 photos revealed the missile sites, Kennedy went on TV to announce the buildup and demand their removal. JFK rejected calls for an immediate attack but ordered a blockade on Cuba.

The 1962 Missile Crisis The Soviets backed down and withdrew the missiles and JFK pledged not to invade Cuba. Kennedy tried to improve cooperation with the Soviets, signing a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in August He may also have begun to question the commitment to Vietnam, but had taken no action before his death.

The Assassination of President Kennedy The November 22, 1963, assassination of Kennedy made him a martyr and raised questions about what he would have achieved, had he lived. The Warren Commission report concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone, but conspiracy theories, none of them provable, continue to abound.

The Assassination of President Kennedy (cont'd) What strikes you as most powerful about these images from more than four decades ago?

Televising a National Tragedy

Conclusion

America at Midcentury, more and more Americans were enjoying the middle class dream of a good job, providing a house full of appliances, a car, and a good education for children who would be even better off than their parents.

America at Midcentury, (cont’d) JFK’s youth and energy symbolized a generational shift in politics and society and inspired many Americans, but by his death in 1963, doubt and anxiety were once again setting in.

Chronology