1. Life in the 1950s
Chapter 23

2. Peacetime Economics- 23.1 Domestic Policies: Truman & Eisenhower
After WWII, Americans feared the US would sink into the Depression again.
*The GI Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act)
Gave money to veterans to start businesses, buy homes & go to college
US government poured $38.5 Billion into higher education for Military veterans.
Taft-Hartley Act (1947)
Banned closed shop
Allowed states to pass right to work laws
Prohibited featherbedding
Unions can’t use money to support political campaigns
Closed shop – businesses hire only union members
Featherbedding – reducing output to create more jobs

3. Truman & Civil Rights 1948- Truman asked Congress:
Pass a Civil Rights Bill to do the following:
Protect African-American’s right to vote
Abolish poll taxes
Make lynching a federal crime
** His Civil Rights agenda was blocked by Republicans & Southern Democrats.
** Truman did:
Desegregate (integrate) the US military (1948)
Bar discrimination in federal government hiring.

4. Peacetime Politics – Election of 1948
Dixiecrats (a third party)
Southern Democrats who split with
Democrat Party over Civil Rights.
Strom Thurmond-nominee
Progressive Party
Democrats split because anti-Soviet & poor domestic policy
Henry Wallace
Republican
George Dewey
Democrat
Harry Truman
Blamed the “Do-Nothing Congress”
George Dewey didn’t even campaign because he seemed unbeatable – Even the newspapers printed that Dewey had won – when actually Truman won

5. Presidential Election of 1948

6. *The Fair Deal Minimum wage raised Increased social security benefits
National Housing Act of 1949
Construction of low income housing
Wanted but didn’t get:
Civil Rights legislation
Education federal aid
National health insurance
He wanted to distinguish the Fair Deal from the New Deal
“Every segment of our population and every individual has a right to expect from Government a fair deal.”

7. The 1952 Election
Republicans nominated Dwight D. Eisenhower & Richard Nixon- “I like Ike” “It’s Time for a Change!”
Democrats nominated Adlai Stevenson
1952 Election Campaign
“Checkers Controversy”- Nixon addressed charges that he had accepted campaign contributions from wealthy donors.
Eisenhower & Nixon win in a landslide
** Eisenhower & Nixon won a second term!!

8. Dynamic Conservatism
Eisenhower’s plan to balance economic conservatism with activism to benefit the country
*Federal Highway Act
Largest public works project ever
$25 Billion to construct 40,000 miles of highway.
Cut government spending
Limited government involvement
‘Creeping Socialism’ – Eisenhower’s term for aid to businesses
Returned some federal functions back to state & local govenrments
Helped big business – 8 of his 9 cabinet members were corporate millionares

9. The Affluent Society
“Communism doesn’t work because people like to own stuff.” – Frank Zappa
1950’s a decade of prosperity
: family income tripled
:Home ownership 41% to 61%
Number of white collar jobs outpaced blue collar jobs.
“The Affluent Society”: Book written by John Kenneth Galbraith
An economy of abundance
A. Multinational Corporations
Offices & factories in other countries
Franchises & Chain stores

10. What icon urged women to get out during WWII and work?
Superwoman
Carrie Chapman Catt
Alice Paul
Rosie the Riveter

11. Conformity New Consumerism Suburbia – **Levittown, NY *The Baby Boom
Desire of people to conform to other people’s desires
Suburbia – **Levittown, NY
1st large suburbs; mass produced homes (Bill Levitt)
*The Baby Boom
1945 – 1961 – over 65 million babies were born
Factors that led to the Baby Boom
Young couples delayed marriage until after WWII ended.
GI Bill encouraged home purchases
Advertising glorified parenthood
Corporations didn’t want free thinking, creative individuals or ones who might criticize
New Consumerism – keeping up with the Joneses – everyone acquiring the same products
Leviitown – people saw this as another sign of America’s tendency towards conformity
By /3 of women were a part of the workforce

12. Roles of Women in the 1950’s Still looked upon as “homemaker”
Number of women working outside the home increased
TV glorified traditional “homemaker role” (Lucy, Father Knows Best”, Leave It to Beaver”)

13. Inventions Jonas Salk Transistor
Developed injectable vaccine for polio
Inventions
Albert Sabin:
Oral Polio
Vaccine.
Transistor
Made small radios & calculators possible
ENIAC – Electrical Numerical Integrator & Computer
First computer used for the Army
UNIVAC – Universal Automatic Computer
First computer for businesses
First American jet flight from NY to Los Angeles
Cases of deadly polio fell from 58,000 in 1952 to 5,700 in 1957
Other medical breakthroughs were made for arthritis, diabetes, cancer & heart disease

14. Pop Culture Television 1946- 8,000 TV sets in US 1957- 80% owned TV’s
* America’s new favorite
Pastime.
News
Advertising
Ozzie & Harriet
The Lone Ranger
Dragnet
Gameshows: $64,000 Question
Twenty One- cheating scandal (Charles Van Doren)
Movies lost popularity
Cinemascope, 3-D
Became popular for its wide screens
Rock N’ Roll
Distinctive music of the youth
Roots in African American Rhythm & Blues
Elvis Presley – King of Rock N’Roll
African Americans found acceptance in Rock N’ Roll where they didn’t find it on TV or the movies
Chuck Berry
Ray Charles
Little Richard
The Drifters
Most youth turned their backs on conformity
Alan Freed, a dj, noticed young people buying rhythm & blues records & decided to play it on the radio – young peoplewent crazy for it – White artists then began making music that stemmed from African American rhythyms, creating Rock N’ Roll

15. The Beat Movement The Beats-group of mostly white POETS
Called themselves “the Beats”
Criticized conformity
Jack Kerouac
Allen Ginsburg
Generation Gap
Created as young people
united in music against their parents
Juvenile Delinquency: juvenile crime increased 45% ; car theft popular crime among middle class whites youths

16. The Other Americans Written by Michael Harrington
Exposed poverty in America
Appalachian region – poorest region
1950’s young people left behind elderly & young children
Urban Renewal Programs
Tried to eliminate poverty by tearing down slums & erecting new buildings
US gov’t evicted residents when they started to earn money= encouraged poverty
Most poor were single mothers, elderly, minority immigrants, rural Americans & inner city residents
Created gentrification
Appalachia – 1.5 million people abandoned the area to look for a better life in cities leaving behind elderly and less mobile people. High rates of nutritional deficiency and infant mortality characterized the area. Schooling was considered worse than the inner city schools

17. Race in the 1950s African Americans Whites fled cities “white flight”
Blacks left in deteriorating inner cities as suburbs grew
NAACP – fought unsuccessfully for greater economic opportunity
Hispanics
Brought over by Bracero program faced harsh working conditions

18. Native Americans Policy 1950’s
The Termination Policy
Federal government withdrew all official recognition of Native American groups
Helped Native Americans move off reservations– land developers gained the land & got rich.
Attempted to assimilate them into society as white citizens– Failed
Helped deepen Native American poverty--
Termination policy meant no recognition of their culture