AMERICA in the ’50s

Provided college for returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as GIs) THE G.I. BILL Millions of GIs bought homes, attended college, started business venture, or found jobs Provided one year of unemployment compensation

THE G.I. BILL VA Mortgages paid for nearly 5 million new homes, by making homes affordable with low interest rates and 30 year loans. Between 1945 and 1954, the U.S. added 13 million new homes to its housing stock President Franklin Roosevelt signs the GI Bill in 1944

Truman and Civil Rights One of the major acts Harry Truman made as president was in when 1948 Truman made an executive order Truman made as president was in when 1948 Truman made an executive order to end segregation in to end segregation in the armed forces the armed forces Truman also asked Congress to pass a civil rights bill that would make lynching a federal crime

ELECTION of 1948 Thomas DeweyHarry S TrumanStrom Thurmond Many people didn’t think he would be re-elected Truman angered many Southern Democrats by supporting segregation People were so sure that Truman would lose that one headline even incorrectly said that Dewey had won Historians view the Election of 1948 as the greatest election upset in American history

 Southern Democrats leave national party in response to Truman's support for Civil Rights  Strom Thurmond – South Carolina Senator, runs for president as a Dixicrat  Dixicrats were Southern Democrats who backed racial segregation and limiting the voting rights of African Americans. The party was also known as the States Rights Party.  Thomas Dewey, New York’s Governor, runs for the Republicans  Truman appeared to lose – but appeals directly to the people, citing the “Do-nothing Republican Congress” and wins the Election ELECTION of 1948

Truman’s “Fair Deal” Truman said that all Americans had the right to expect a “fair deal” from the government What did the Fair Deal do?  It increased the minimum wage  Expansion of Social Security benefits  National Housing Act was passed to provide funding to build low-income housing “The buck stops here.” Harry Truman -- Harry Truman

The Taft-Hartley Act The federal law that greatly restricting the activities and power of labor unions  Closed shops illegal (Businesses could hire non-union workers)  Union shop only after a vote of a majority of the employees.  No more jurisdictional strikes and secondary boycotts.  Employers have right to be exempted from bargaining with unions

The Taft- Hartley Act Labor unions hated the Taft-Hartley Act

Interstate Highways Built The Federal Highway Act was passed in 1956 This was the largest public works program in American history. Law called for the building of 40,000 miles of interstate Interstate roads in CO are I-25, I-70, I-225 and I-76

Suburbia in America During the ’50s, many people began to move into the suburbs. Suburbs are places outside the city where many white- collar workers live The New York suburb of Levittown was the first modern suburb

Suburbs = The American Dream  Affordable single- family housing  Good schools  Friendly neighbors like themselves 13 million homes built in the 1950s – 85% were suburban  New highways, affordable automobiles, low gasoline prices  A safe, healthy environment for children

The Baby Boom From more than 65 million children were born Contributing factors: The end of wars led to more young couples getting married G.I. Bill encouraged growth of families by offering generous benefits for home purchases This period became known as the Baby Boom The American birthrate exploded after World War II. Pop culture glorified pregnancy, parenthood and large families

Technological Breakthroughs

Jonas Salk and polio vaccine Medical advances of the 1950s: antibiotics to fight infections antibiotics to fight infections new drugs to fight cancer, diabetes and heart disease new drugs to fight cancer, diabetes and heart disease polio vaccine developed polio vaccine developed Jonas Salk developed the vaccine that prevented polio. Not long after, the threat of polio would almost completely disappear

Birth of television Shows like I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners were the most popular TV shows of the ’50s By 1957, there were about 40 million television sets in use and TV became an important source of information

Pop Culture of the 1950s Father Knows Best The Ozzie and Harriet Show Leave it to Beaver

Hollywood: apex of the biblical epics. It’s un-American to be un-religious! -- The Christian Century, 1954 The Robe The Ten Commandments Ben Hur The Robe The Ten Commandments Ben Hur Pop Culture of the 1950s

First McDonald’s (1955) America became a more uniform nation because of the automobile. Drive-In Movies Holiday Inn The Automobile Culture

Birth of Rock ’n Roll In the 1950s, many teenagers rebelled against the middle-class suburban values, particularly conformity and wanted to be unique.  It was during this period that many youths turned to new and unconventional styles of music  Soon white artists began making music that was based on African American rhythm and blues  This form of music became known as rock ‘n’ roll and it became wildly popular with the nation’s teenagers

Elvis Presley The King of Rock ’n Roll Presley’s extraordinary popularity established rock ’n’ roll as an unprecedented mass-market phenomenon His reputation as a performer endured up to his death in 1977 at the age of 42. Graceland, his home in Memphis, is now a public museum visited by upwards of 600,000 people annually.

The Generation Gap  Many parents viewed rock ’n’ roll as loud and dangerous.  The music was banned in some communities.  The music united teens in their own world and helped to create what became known as the generation gap.  The generation gap was the cultural separation between children and their parents.

The Beat Generation The major works of Beat writing are Allen Ginsberg's Howl, William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch and Jack Kerouac's On the Road Members of the Beat Generation were referred to as “beatniks” and set the stage for the rise of the counter- culture and hippies during the 1960s The Beat Generation was the cultural movement of the 1950s when young people – often writers – ditched society’s normal standards for new ways of thinking

Juvenile Delinquency Another problem facing the nation was juvenile delinquency, which was antisocial or criminal behavior by teenagers Juvenile crime rose 45% between 1948 and Car thefts by juveniles increased and more teenagers joined street gangs Many attributed this rise in teenage rebellion to movies such as “Rebel Without a Cause” and books like J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”

Pop Culture of the 50s The Lone Ranger TopTVShows The Honeymooners Father Knows Best

Pop Culture of the 50s Top in Movies

Coming Up: The 1960s