1. 2006

2. Presidential Survivor

3. The all important Megadeth endorsement…

4. Rick Santorum?

5. Take out a Piece of Paper

6. #1 What do you think that the song “Little Boxes” is about?
Is it describing something or somewhere specific?
What do you think “ticky tacky” means?

7. #2
Record the first thoughts that come to mind when you think of the following term:
“Inner City”

8. #3
Record the first thoughts that come to mind when you think of the following term:
“Suburb”

9. The War Is Over!!! 12 million Americans return home from overseas
Americans are ecstatic

10. Popular Culture Celebrates Returning Heroes
Two of the top contenders for Best Picture at the 1946 Academy Awards prominently feature returning veterans
“The Best Years of Our Lives” edges out “It’s A Wonderful Life” for Best Picture
“It’s A Wonderful Life” remains one of the most beloved movies of all time

11. The Great Depression Quick Refresh
What was the major domestic challenge of the decade leading up to World War II?
The Great Depression
America’s exuberance at the end of the war is tempered by fears that America will slide back into a depression after the war. The Federal government intervenes…

12. G.I. Bill Provides Returning Soldiers…
Money to attend college or trade school
$20 a week of unemployment for up to 52 weeks
Government backed guaranteed home loans

13. Effects of the G.I. Bill
Huge boom in new home construction as millions of veterans take advantage of benefits
Much of this growth takes place outside of older, established cities

14. #4
Why do you think that returning veterans would choose to live in suburbs instead of cities?

15. Reasons for the Growth of the Suburbs
Americans increasingly desired “a place of their own” with more space and fewer neighbors packed closely together
Pent up demand from the Great Depression. Americans had gone without new things for so long that demand for goods and services explodes after the war

16. Number of Cars on the Road
1945: 26 million 1960: 60 million

17. Growth of the Suburbs
Frustrated by his inability to find a reasonably priced place to stay in Washington D.C., homebuilder Kemmons Wilson decides to open a chain of hotels….

18. Franchise Business
The 1950’s saw an explosion of chain-store businessess. Many of these new businesses were Franchises
Franchise: A business where goods or services are distributed through outlets owned by individual operators

19. Franchise Businesses

21. Reasons for the Growth of the Suburbs
Technological advances in construction allowed builders to mass produce suburban housing cheaply using the same floor plan and specialized labor
Houses that used to take months to build could now be built in weeks
Love starved couples, separated by war, were finally reunited. This led to a…

22. Baby Boom!
Between 1945 and 1960, the U.S. averaged about 4 million births per year
This remains the largest population increase in American history
The Baby Boom generation would go on to become profoundly influential in American culture
Baby Boomers are beginning to retire…your generation will pay for their retirement benefits

23. Interstate Highway Act
In 1956, President Eisenhower signs the Interstate Highway Act
Creates 41,000 miles of high-speed highways modeled after Germany’s autobahn
Its main objective was to ease transportation of military weaponry and troops in case of enemy attack
It replaced a patchwork of state and federal highways

24. Interstates Allow For Faster Commutes

25. In Theory…

26. Growth of the Sunbelt
Much of the new suburban growth took place in the southern tier of the U.S.

27. Suburban Growth in the Sunbelt
Broward County, Florida (Suburban Miami)
1950 pop: 83, pop: 333,946
Tarrant County, Texas (Suburban Dallas)
1950 pop: 361, pop: 538,495
Orange County, California (Suburban L.A.)
1950 pop: 216, pop: 703,925

28. Result of Shift to Suburbs and Sunbelt
Increases in population lead to greater political power for the South, the West, and Suburban areas
This new political clout came at the expense of the Northeast, the Midwest, and older cities

29. This led to Urban Decay in many American Cities

32. Compare that to the Suburbs

35. Where Would You Rather Live?

36. The First and Most Famous Suburban Developments were built by Bill Levitt
He named his planned communities Levittown

37. Segregation
The act or practice of separating or isolating

38. De Jure Segregation
The practice of segregation that has the force of law
Many businesses in the South were segregated legally, that is, blacks were not legally allowed in some establishments
Remember it like this “jure” sounds like jury, which meets in a courtroom where attorney practice law

39. De Facto Segregation
The practice of segregation that is not mandated by law, but happens in reality
Remember it like this: “facto” sounds like fact…this type of segregation doesn’t happen because of the law but it is still a fact

40. So, what have we learned today? Quick Quiz

41. #1
What was the name of the bill that guaranteed mortgages to returning servicemen?

42. #1
The G.I. Bill

43. #2
True or False: After World War II, millions of returning servicemen were unable to find jobs because the country sunk into another Great Depression…

44. #2
False

45. #3
What was the name of the most famous of the mass-produced postwar suburbs?

46. #3
Levittown

47. #4
Name two reasons for the growth of the suburbs:

48. #4 Acceptable Answers Veterans take advantage of GI Bill benefits
Explosion in the number of cars on the road
Passage of the Interstate Highway Act
People wanted “a space of their own”

49. #5
Which region of the country saw the most explosive growth after the war?

50. #5
The Sunbelt

51. #6
What are the generation of children born in the two decades following World War II known as?

52. #6
Baby Boomers

53. #7
What is “de jure segregation”?

54. #7
Segregation by law

55. #8
What is “de facto segregation”?

56. #8
Segregation in fact

57. #9
What is the name for individual units of a chain of businesses that are independently owned by individuals?

58. #9
Franchise businesses

59. #10
Who’s your favorite history teacher?