Postwar America

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Postwar America

• Chap 19 Secs 12

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After 1946, about 10 million men and women had
been released from the armed forces.
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To help ease veterans return to civilian life,
Congress passed the Servicemens Readjustment
Act.
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This was also known as the GI Bill of Rights in
1944.
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GI Bill guaranteed them a years worth of
unemployment benefits while job hunting. I would
pay part of their college tuition.
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Also offered low interest, federally guaranteed
loans.
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Millions of vets used these benefits to buy home,
farm, or businesses.
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At first, there was a terrible housing shortage.
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To meet shortage, developers such as William
Levitt built thousands of homes.
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The houses looked exactly alike, but were
affordable.
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Many were built in small residential communities
surrounding cities called suburbs.
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The US economy adjusted to peacetime. Many
defense workers were laid off.
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When price controls ended, prices shot up.
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The economy began to improve on its own. There
was a huge pent-up demand for consumer goods.
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People had been too poor to buy consumer goods
during the Depression.
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Since many items had not been available during
the war, consumers didnt have much to buy. So
People saved their money during the war.
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After the war, consumer goods again became
available people had the to spend.
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The Cold War (and Arms Race) increased defense
spending. This greatly stimulated the economy as
well.
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There were strikes by railroad, coal, and steel
workers. Truman threatened to draft workers into
military if they didnt end strikes.
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Voters grew conservative, and in 1946 gave
Republicans control of both the House Senate.
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Truman attempted to pass some civil rights
legislation, but the Republican Congress refused
to pass these bills.
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Truman, in 1948, desegregated the armed forces.
He also ordered an end to discrimination in
hiring gov employees.
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Truman was nominated for President in 1948. He
insisted on strong civil rights laws in the
democratic platform.
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Southern Democrats, called Dixiecrats, were
against civil rights. Some left the Demo party
to form States Rights Party.
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With the Democratic party split, it didnt look
like Truman could win.
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The Republican candidate was Tom Dewey.
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Truman promised a Fair Deal program for
American people.
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Fair Deal included Health Insurance,
Crop-subsidies for farmers, increased minimum
wage, and extension of Social Security.
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Truman did not run for re-election in 1952. The
Republicans nominated war hero Dwight D.
Eisenhower.
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Ike won due to his popularity and voter
disenchantment with Democrats handling of Korean
War.
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Ike followed conservative policies. America of
the mid 1950s was a place of peace, progress,
and prosperity.
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Eisenhower won a landslide reelection in 1956.
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The economy grew rapidly in the 1950s. More
Americans were white-collar workers in offices
than were in blue-collar factory jobs.
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They usually worked in service industries, such
as sales and communications.
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Businesses also expanded. They formed
conglomerates, or major corporations that own
smaller companies in unrelated industries.
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Other businesses expanded by franchising. A
franchise is a company that offers similar
product or services in many locations
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such as fast-food restaurants.
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These large companies offered well-paying, secure
jobs to certain kind of workers.
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They were company people who would fit in and
not rock the boat.
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Businesses rewarded loyalty rather than
creativity. They promoted sameness, or
standardization, of people products.
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Many Americans enjoyed the benefits of a booming
economy.
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Many worked in cities but lived in suburbs. They
had the American Dream of a single-family home,
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Good schools, and a safe neighborhood with people
just like themselves.
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There was a great burst of population called the
baby boom, prompted by the reuniting of families
growing prosperity.
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Medical advances also wiped out childhood
diseases. Dr. Jonas Salk developed a vaccine to
prevent polio.
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Polio had killed or crippled 58,000 children a
year.
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Baby Boom created a need for more schools and
products for children.
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Suburban family life revolved around children.
Many parents depended on advice from a popular
baby-care book by Dr.
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Benjamin Spock. He said it was important that
mothers stay at home with their children. The
role of
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Homemaker and mother was also glorified in the
media. But many women felt alone and bored at
home.
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By 1960, 40 of mothers worked outside the home.
Their career opportunities were usually limited
to womens fields.
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These included secretarial work, nursing, and
teaching. Even if women did the same work as
men, they were paid less.
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Americans had more leisure time. They spent time
and money on leisure activities, such as sports.
They also watched sports on TV and read
books/magazines.
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Youth activities, such as Scouts and Little
League, became popular too.
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Easy credit for buying cars and cheap gasoline
led to a boom in automobile ownership.
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A car was a necessity in the suburbs. There was
no public transportation. People needed to drive
to their jobs in the cities.
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They also had to drive to shop and do errands.
Therefore more/better roads were needed.
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In 1956, The US began building a nationwide
highway network. These roads allowed for
long-distance trucking.
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This led to a decline in the RR.
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Americans loved to drive. They went to drive-in
restaurants and movies. They drove on vacations.

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Motels and shopping malls were built to serve
them.
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Driving also led to problems. Stressful traffic
jams and air pollution.
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Many white people left the cities. Jobs and
industries followed.
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This left mostly poor people in crowded inner
cities.
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By the Mid 1950s, 60 of Americans were in the
Middle Class. They had money to buy more and
more products.
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They measured success by their consumerism, or
the amount of material goods they bought.
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American businesses flooded stores with new
products. Consumers had money to spend and
leisure time.
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They bought household appliances like washing
machines, dryers, and dishwashers, and
recreational items such as TVs, barbecue grills,
and swimming pools.
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Manufactures also tried a new marketing strategy
called planned obsolescence.
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They purposely made products to become outdated
or to wear out quickly.
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Americans began to throw away items in order to
buy new models.
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Easy credit, including the introduction of credit
cards, encouraged people to buy. Private debt
grew.
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The 1950s were the advertising age. Ads were
everywhereeven on the new medium of TV.
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They tried to persuade Americans to buy things
they didnt need. They appealed to peoples
desire for status and for a sense of belonging.