Chapter 19 Post War Boom

Sec One:  Post War America

I. Readjustment & Recovery

          A. GI Bill of Rights: 1 yr unemployment while Job hunting, Tuition for education, Low interest loans for homes, businesses, farms

                     * Purpose: to prevent high unemployment, return of depression

          B. Housing shortage 1945-6

                     * developers mass produce homes, suburbs grow

                     *Levittown, NY (built by Levitt)- cookie cutout homes

          C. Women mostly left jobs; divorces rise

          D. Price controls ended; 25% inflation hits, price controls return

          E. Consumerism rises due to savings & pent up demand; economy takes off

II. Economic Challenges

          A. Truman’s slogan: The Buck Stops Here

                     * Biggest challenges: Communism & fixing economy

          B. 4.5 million workers on strike; 1946- let Gov take over mines; almost took RRs, threatened to draft all strikers- strikes stopped

          C. Republicans run against Truman w/ slogan: “Had Enough?”

                     *sweep 80^th Congress in 1946-

                     * pass Taft Hartley Act over Truman’s veto

                               *outlawed closed shop- anti union bill

III. Social Unrest

          A. 1948 Integrated all branches of military & offices of federal gov by exec order

          B. So. Dems break away, form: Dixiecrats, run Strom Thurmond

          C. Liberals break away, run Henry Wallace (former VP)

          D. Repubs run Thomas E Dewey

          E. Truman has Whistle Stop campaign, runs against “80^th Do Nothing Congress”

                     *Give Em Hell Harry Speeches- “I just tell the truth and they think it’s Hell!”

          F. Surprise victory in 1948

          G. Proposed “Fair Deal” to increase Soc Sec, subsidize farmers, start compulsory health insurance- vetoed by Congress.

          H. Small gains: min wage up 40-75 cph, Soc Sec expands to 10 mill more people, urban renewal projects

                     *complaints: “Urban removal” as parking lots, stadiums replace low income housing

IV. Repubs- 1952 Eisenhower vs. Adlai Stevenson (gov IL)

          A. promised to go to Korea and end war

          B. will roll back Communism

          C. VP candidate Nixon accused of secret ‘slush fund’ (using donations personally)- refutes on TV in Checkers Speech; claims only received dog, Checkers.

          D. Ike won, called for Dynamic Conservatism: more conservative w/ money, liberal w/ people

          E. Tried to avoid civil rights issues, had to enforce Brown v. Board of Ed

Sec. 2: American Dream in Fifties

I. Organization & Organization Man

          A. more people in white collar than blue collar jobs

                     * white collar: service industry; blue collar: manufacturing

          B. Large corporations merge, expand

          C. Franchises expand, ie: McDonald’s

          D. Social conformity encouraged; independent thinking discouraged

                     * job satisfaction goes down

II. Suburbs

          A. more money to buy houses, cars, live in suburbs (American dream)

          B. increase in birth rate 1945-1960: baby boom

                     *1 child born every 7 seconds!

          C. Dr. Jonas Salk invents Polio Vaccine

          D. Dr. Benjamin Spock advices w/ Common Sense Book of Baby & Child Care

                     * don’t spank, scold; hold meetings to let children express themselves

          E. woman’s role defined on TV: Ozzie & Harriet, Father Knows Best: woman = homemaker will lead to Feminism in 60s

          F. Leisure rises due to time saving devices, work week down to 40 hours

                     *Fishing, hunting, golf, bowling, watching baseball

                     * Comic Books peak

III. Cars

          A. Cheap oil, gas, easy credit-> car sales rise

          B. cars become necessity in suburbs

          C. Interstate Highway built, nation homogenized

                     *millions drive cross country w/ campers

          D. accidents, pollution, traffic jams all go up

IV. Consumerism

          A. New products like electric household appliances, hi-fi stereos, lawn mowers, grills, swimming pools

          B. Planned Obsolescence- products no longer built to last a lifetime

          C. Buy Now pay later becomes common, debt rises