Lecture 10 – Post War America, 1945-1960

Post-War Economic Growth

• The economy finally recovers at the end WWII and the United States is officially brought out of the depression
• For many, 1950s is marked by a decade of abundance and prosperity, though some, such as minorities and poorer farmers, continue to be overlooked
• GNP is a Marker for Economic Growth

Truman: Post-War President, Truman and the Fair Deal

• In Sept. 1945, Truman presented domestic legislation for economic development and social welfare
• In a State of the Union address, Truman stated that “every segment of our population, and every individual, has a right to expect from his government a fair deal.”
• Though it failed to be enacted, this Fair Deal established the call for universal healthcare as a major objective for the Democratic party

Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (GI Bill)

• In 1944, this legislation provided college or vocational training for returning WWII veterans
• Also included one year of unemployment benefits
• Also provided loans to veterans to help them buy  homes
• Since this original legislation, it has been expanded to provide benefits for veterans who have served in other capacities as well

The Housing Act of 1949

• Very important law that expands the role of the federal government in mortgage insurance and constructing public housing
  • Provided fed. aid for urban renewal projects
  • Increased mortgage insurance program
  • Gave money to build low-income housing
  • Allowed for the Federal Housing Authority to provide financing for rural homeowners (where the gov. would actually loan out money for people to buy homes)

Failures of the Fair Deal

• Though there are some successes like the GI Bill, overall Truman’s plan fails
• Organized labor unions are harmed by this deal as it makes it more difficult for them to actually organize
• Truman spends more time on foreign policy than on actually making the Fair Deal work
• Truman ultimately does not make good on his promises

Election of 1956

• Popular US President Eisenhower ran for re-election
• The Democrats ran Adelai Stevenson once again
• Eisenhower won easily once again

President Eisenhower: Eisenhower’s Domestic Politics

• Modern Republicanism: Eisenhower preaches a new type of Republicanism that would resist federal intervention in economic and social life (ie small government becomes a rallying cry of Republicans in opposition to the Democratic Party)

Termination and Relocation of Native Americans

• New direction in Native American policy, which reverses the emphasis on strengthening tribal governments and preserving Native American culture
• Believed the communal lifestyle of the Native Americans was too similar to socialism

Changes in Farm Life

• New agricultural technology allows for farmers to produce more crops than ever
• Large commercial farms replace single-family farms
• Many small farmers are overlooked during this period and do not experience the same affluence as others during the 1950s

Suburban Life

• Many Americans move to the suburbs in the 1950s
• Symbolize new affluence, and part of the American Dream includes buying one’s own home
• 11 million new homes are built in the 1950s
• ¼ of Americans live in the suburbs by the 1960s

Consumerism of the 1950s

• Many (not all) Americans enjoy economic prosperity
• Work ethic becomes shaped around an ethic of consumption
  • What you can buy shows off your success at work
  • America becomes a culture of consumerism
  • Median family income grows by 25%, allowing more people to buy more as well

Television and American Culture

• TV begins to change American culture
• Offers a break from Cold War tensions
• TV promotes the ideals of American families: the stay-at home mother that doesn’t have an outside job who often defers to her husband
• TV also affects politics, as presidential candidates can use TV as a medium to reach voters

1950s Counterculture

• A counter culture, or alternative culture, develops as well
• Rejects mainstream culture as an eagerness to conform
• Prides itself on masculinity
  • Playboy becomes a successful publication that idealized masculine independence from the nuclear family life and house in the suburbs

The Beginning of the Civil Rights Movement

• African Americans pose major challenges to social norms in the 1950s and into the 1960s during the Civil Rights Era
• Southern states had mandates to segregate public places, including schools, and African Americans begin to challenge these standards of life
• Blacks protest and create a major grassroots movement that attracts national attention and the support of many white liberals

Brown V. Board of Education, African Americans Challenge Desegregation in the Supreme Court

• In 1954, major civil rights organization the NAACP challenges segregation in the schools
• In the case Brown v. Board of Education, black Americans fight for their rights to go to school alongside whites
• A major victory, though it takes a full decade before all schools actually are desegregated

Little Rock’s Central High

• This high school was the site of forced desegregation during the Civil Rights Movement in 1957
• As you can tell from the following photograph, this was a very controversial act that was enforced by the government and not popular with many of the white students or parents of students who attended the school

Whites Protest Desegregation:  Mass Protest

• Large numbers of people, black and white, engage in protests against racial discrimination, particularly in boycotting the buses of Montgomery, Alabama when a black woman, Rosa Parks, is arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus for a white person, as whites were give priority seating on Alabama buses 

The Rise of the Sun Belt

The Sun Belt

• As a response to the growth of postwar industry, such as the automobile, aerospace, and defense industries, more Americans live in the American West and Southwest
• This region becomes known as the sun belt, a place that is more desirable to live when air-conditioning technology becomes available in the 1950s