1. The Post War Boom
Chapter 19

2. Section 1-Postwar America

3. Readjustment and Recovery
By million veterans needed a job
GI Bill (1944)
Encouraged vets. to get an education
Paid them a years worth of unemployment while they looked for a job
Low interest loans to be used for housing

4. Readjustment and Recovery
Housing Crisis
Vets. came home and with money from GI Bill
Not enough houses out there
Levitt and Kaiser solved this problem by making
Houses using assembly line ideas (Cookie Cutter Houses)
Suburbs began to fill up
1st Suburb-Levittown in Long Island NY

5. Readjustment and Recovery
Family
Divorce rate up, some stress after war
Women tasted independence, did not want to give it up
How did the US Change Post war Economically?
Peacetime economy
Canceled war contracts
People laid off and unemployment up
Prices skyrocketed, but not wages
25% raise on prices!

6. Recovery Not as bad as could be
People that had been saving money and had gone without and now are ready to spend!
Cold war spurned growth
Aid to other countries encouraged an increase factories

7. Recovery How did we meet our challenges?
Truman had to meet the needs of the people
Fears of Communism
Restore economy

8. Social Unrest Problems at Home:
Strikes-Higher prices and low wages led to strikes
Truman supported unions, but could not allow chaos
Threatened to draft striking workers, unions cave
This caused Truman future problems on the labor front because they would not support labor

9. Social Unrest Truman supports Civil Rights reform
1946 President’s Commission on Civil Rights
1948 Executive Order to integrate Armed Forces
Tried to end discrimination in gov. jobs
Supreme Court said they could not segregate neighborhoods

10. Social Unrest 1948 Election- South Dems not happy: Dixiecrats:
Democrats-Truman
Republicans-Dewey
South Dems not happy: Dixiecrats:
Nominated Thurmond as candidate
Liberal Progressive party formed too
Nominated Wallace

11. Social Unrest The Fair Deal However Extension of New Deal
Compulsory health insurance
Aid to farmers
But both ideas defeated
However
Minimum wage up
Social security for more people
Flood control and irrigation
Low income housing

12. Republicans Take the Middle Road
Truman’s approval rating low
Communism, McCarthyism caused problems
1952 Election
Truman not run
Democrats-Stevenson
Republicans-Eisenhower

13. Republicans Take the Middle Road
Pushed conservatism and anti communism
Pick Ike
Slogan “We Like Ike”
His V.P. Nixon in trouble for illegal slush fund
Checkers Speech: TV helped saved Nixon

14. Republicans Take the Middle Road
Ike different then Truman
Dynamic Conservatism
Conservative towards money, liberal to people
Tried to stay middle of the road, but civil rights was not going to let him
Did push for a balanced budget and higher minimum wage
Created highways