1. POSTWAR CONFIDENCE AND ANXIETY 1945-1960 Chapter 26
“How did social and economic changes after World War II affect Americans?”

2. An Economic Boom Section 1
“How did the nation experience recovery and economic prosperity after World War II?”
Vocabulary:
-demobilization productivity
-GI Bill of Rights Taft-Hartley Act
-baby boom Fair Deal

3. Standards
SSUSH21
The student will explain economic growth and its impact on the United States
SSUSH21.a
Describe the baby boom and the impact as shown by Levittown and the Interstate Highway Act.
SSUSH21.b
Describe the impact television has had on American culture, including the Presidential Debates (Kennedy/Nixon, 1960), news coverage of the Civil Rights movement.
SSUSH21.c
Analyze the impact of technology on American life including the development of the personal computer and the cellular telephone.
SSUSH21.d
Describe the impact of competition with the USSR as evidenced by the launch of Sputnik I and President Eisenhower's actions.

4. An Economic Boom
The Nation Recovers From War
Main Idea: When World War II ended, Americans worried that the economy would fall back into depression, but ultimately there was economic growth.
Truman Overcomes Huge Obstacles
Main Idea: When Truman entered office he struggled with labor problems and southerners who wanted to avoid passing civil rights reforms, but he still managed to achieve reforms while in office.
Eisenhower Charts a Middle Path
Main Idea: Politically, Eisenhower took the middle road as President and the United States had one of the most prosperous times in the twentieth century during his term.

5. The Nation Recovers From War
GI Bill aids returning soldiers
Baby Boom fills classrooms
Converting from a wartime economy – inflation and strikes
U.S. dominates the world economy
Technological progress boosts productivity
Government spending supports growth

6. Reading Skill: Understand Effects
NOTE TAKING

7. Birthrate,
CHART

8. Progress Monitoring TransparencyPM
TRANSPARENCY
Progress Monitoring Transparency
Answer C A

9. Truman Overcomes Obstacles
Grappling with Congress and Labor
-Taft-Hartley Act (outlawed the closed shop)
Angering segregationists – Congress rejected recommendations to reform civil rights
Truman upsets Dewey in Election of 1948
Truman proposed the Fair Deal

10. Truman’s Domestic Policies
Moving to a Peacetime economy
Taft-Hartley Act – 80-day cooling-off period
Fair Deal – 21-point program
Republican Congress
Election of 1948 – Truman defeats Thomas E. Dewey

11. The Presidential Election of 1948
GRAPH

12. Desegregation of the Armed Forces
Truman desegregated the Armed Forces and Civil Service Employees

13. Eisenhower Charts a Middle Path
“Ike” defeated Adlai Stevenson in the Election of 1952
World War II general
Did not repeal existing New Deal programs, such as Social Security and the minimum wage
Created the Interstate Highway system
Spent federal money to improve education
Prosperous, peaceful and tranquil time

14. Dwight Eisenhower Talented diplomat Nixon’s Checkers Speech
Wins election in 1952 and 1956
Modern Republicanism – “conservative when it comes to money, liberal when it comes to human beings.”

15. Suburbs and Highways Baby boomers Suburbs – GI Bill
Interstate Highway Act, $26 billion to build 40,000 miles of limited access highway

16. The Postwar Economy
Economic Prosperity in the years after World War II brought many changes to American life.

17. The Mood of the 1950s Many Americans enjoyed the stability and prosperity of the 1950s, while some young people began to rebel against their parents’ society
People have more free time to pursue entertainment and fun
New books and rock and roll challenge values of the time
After depression and war, Americans value prosperity and security
THE 1950s
Many young people stay in school, rather than leaving early and finding jobs
Women are expected to work at home, raise family and help husband
Many experience new found commitment to religious beliefs and practices

18. Demand for Civil Rights After WWII, African Americans began winning important victories in the battle for civil rights

19. A Society on the Move Section 2
“What social and economic factors changed American life during the 1050s?”
Vocabulary:
-Interstate Highway Act AFL-CIO
-service sector Sunbelt
-California Master Plan franchise business
-franchise business multinational
-informational industry corporation

20. A Society on the Move Americans Move to the Suburbs
Main Idea: Millions of Americans moved to the suburbs, where new housing developments established ideal communities to raise families.
Eisenhower Interstate Highway System
Main Idea: Eisenhower authorized the funding of an interstate highway system, which helped to connect major cities, making the move to suburbs possible and increasing the travel industry.
Migrating to the Sunbelt
Main Idea: Western and Southern states saw a rise in population as Americans moved there for jobs and Latinos migrated there from Mexico and Cuba.
The American Economy Changes Focus
Main Idea: After World War II, Americans shifted from mostly industry jobs to service jobs. This trend also led to a rise in franchises and multinational corporations and a decline in trade unions.

21. The American Dream
Characterized by a home in the suburbs and a car in the garage, came true for many people in the postwar years

22. Car Ownership
GRAPH

23. Americans Move to the Suburbs
Suburbs attract young Americans – developers such as William Levitt built homes; FHA provided low-interest loans; GI Bill provided low-interest loans for returning service men and women
“Car Culture”
Interstate Highway Act – built for defense and travel

24. The Interstate Highway System
TRANSPARENCY

25. Levittown
TRANSPARENCY

26. Migrating to the Sunbelt
Sunbelt- Name given to the southern and western states
Appealing climate and jobs in defense industries
Latinos, including many Cubans escaping Castro’s regime, moved to the Sunbelt
Impact of migration – California became large and Northeast and Midwest lost political power

27. Reading Skill: Identify Causes and Effects
NOTE TAKING

28. American Economy Changes Focus
Service sector grows – information industries; ENIAC, first computer
Entrepreneurs start businesses – franchise businesses
American corporations go multinational
Unions consolidate their gains – AFL-CIO
-Most white-collar workers did not join unions
-Corruption in the Teamsters Union

30. Changes in the Workforce
By 1956 a majority of American workers held white-collar jobs
Growth of the service industry
Blue-collar workers saw improved working conditions
American Federation of Labor and Congress of industrial Organizations merged into the AFL-CIO

31. Businesses Reorganize
Per capita income, the average income per person, increased from $1,526 to $2,788
Conglomerates, a large corporation that owns many smaller companies that produce entirely different goods and services
Franchises, the right to open a restaurant using a parent company’s brand name and system

33. Consumer Credit Grows Credit cards, used to charge goods and services
Diner’s Club, 1950
American express
BankAmericard (VISA)

34. Educational Opportunities Expand
Government provides funding for education
Education is “Democratized” – California Master Plan called for three tiers of higher education: research universities, state colleges, and community colleges
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka -1954; segregated schools declared unconstitutional

35. Reading Skill: Identify Main Ideas
NOTE TAKING

36. Brown v. Board of Education
May 1954 Supreme Court declared that “separate but equal” was no longer permissible in public education
“separate facilities are inherently unequal”
Struck down Plessy v. Ferguson , 1896

37. Progress Monitoring TransparencyPM
TRANSPARENCY
Progress Monitoring Transparency
Answer C A

38. Mass Culture and Family Life Section 3
“How did popular culture and family life change during the 1950s?”
Vocabulary:
-consumerism Benjamin Spock
-median family income rock-and roll
-nuclear family Elvis Presley

39. Mass Culture and Family Life
The Culture of Consumerism
Main Idea: New products in the marketplace and an increase in income led to a rise in consumer spending in the 1950s.
Family Life in the Fifties
Main Idea: In the 1950s, traditional families, which were described at the time as a mother who stayed home, a father as the breadwinner, and children at the focus, became the center of society.
Television Takes Center Stage
Main Idea: Televisions were purchased quickly by Americans, expanded the mass national culture, and had a huge impact on Americans and society.
Rock-and-Roll Shakes the Nation
Main Idea: Building on traditional African American rhythm and blues music, Elvis Presley helped to spread the popularity of rock-and-roll to youth in the 1950s.

40. Culture of Consumerism
Median family income rose to $5,417 during the 1950s
Buying new conveniences
Home appliances
By 1953, 90% of all households owned a television

41. Technology Transforms Life
Television
Computers-transistors
Nuclear Power
Advances in Medicine

42. Technology Challenge Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957
Americans afraid of nuclear attack
National Defense Education Act of 1958

43. Family Life in the Fifties
Nuclear family – many women stayed home
By 1960, 1/3 of women worked
Children are the focus of the family
Dr. Benjamin Spock, Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
Religious revival
Improved healthcare for baby boomers

44. Comfort and Security Youth culture
Resurgence in religion – Billy Graham
Men’s roles
Women’s roles –Betty Friedan

45. Television and the American Family
TRANSPARENCY

46. Rock-and Roll Shakes the Nation
Drawing on African American Roots
Attracting a wider audience
Elvis Presley

47. Poodle Skirt, Bobby Sox, Saddle Oxfords

48. Reading Skill: Identify Main Ideas
NOTE TAKING

49. Baby-Boom Kids
INFOGRAPHIC

50. Progress Monitoring TransparencyPM
TRANSPARENCY
Progress Monitoring Transparency
Answer C A

51. Dissent and Discontent Section 4
“Why were some groups of Americans dissatisfied with conditions in post-war America?”
Vocabulary:
-beatnik urban renewal
-inner city termination policy

52. Dissent and Discontent
Critics Reject the Fifties Culture
Main Idea: Many intellectuals, artists, and other social critics complained about the conformity of American society after World War II.
Rural and Urban Poverty
Main Idea: During suburban growth, those in urban and rural areas, especially African Americans suffered from overcrowding, crime, and poverty.
“Other Americans” Face Injustice
Main Idea: Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, and Native Americans were some of the minorities who suffered hardships in housing, employment, and other areas of life.

53. Critics Reject Fifties Culture
Objecting to Conformity – criticized advertising and loss of individualism
Beats reject middle-class life – beatniks
Refused to conform to accepted ways of dressing, thinking, and acting
Disliked materialism of fifties

55. Challenges to Conformity
Films: Rebel Without a Cause
Books: The Catcher in the Rye
Music: Rock and Roll – Elvis Presley
“Beat Generation” stressed spontaneity and spirituality, challenged traditional patterns of behavior

56. Rural and Urban Poverty
Cities suffer a decline – loss of middle class in cities
Urban renewal projects – government cleared large tracts of older housing and built freeways and developments to revitalize downtown areas
Poor forced to seek housing in overcrowded neighborhoods
Rural poor suffer

57. Other Americans Face Injustice
Puerto Ricans
Mexicans
Native Americans – termination policy (sought to end tribal government and to relocate Native Americans to the nation’s cities; terminated federal responsibility for the health and welfare of Native Americans
Stressed assimilation

58. The Struggle for Equality
Truman supported civil rights
Congress refused to act
Truman ended discrimination in hiring federal employees
Truman ordered an end to segregation in the armed forces
Jackie Robinson – first African American in pro baseball
Played for the Brooklyn Dodgers
1947, league’s most valuable player
Opened the way for other African American athletes

59. Reading Skill: Identify Main Ideas
NOTE TAKING

60. Poverty in the United States
GRAPH

61. Native American Relocation
TRANSPARENCY

62. Progress Monitoring TransparencyPM
TRANSPARENCY
Progress Monitoring Transparency
Answer C A