4: Economic Transformation - Increased mobility Flashcards
The growth of the car industry led to the growth of what?
Led to the growth of suburbs as people could now commute to work rather than live in crowded inner-city areas.
What did owning a home symbolise?
Symbolised the prosperity of ordinary people as they were now owner-occupiers (the house belonged to them once the mortgage was paid).
What did the increase in home ownership enable?
It enabled the growth of the middle class.
How much did the sales of new cars, per year, increase by?
1945: 69k
1950: 6.7million
How did car sales boost the economy?
They were mainly US-made cars so the industry expanded exponentially:
- Greater job availability.
- Greater spending and consumerism.
- People could use their car to commute, enabling suburb growth.
What did cars symbolise?
Cars symbolised the post-war confidence of the USA - slick, colourful, and big, gas-guzzling machines.
What were the 3 main car companies?
Chrysler
Ford
General Motors (Johnny Cash).
By 1961, how many different car models were on sale and what did this symbolise?
1961: 350 models on sale.
Symbolised the belief that choice was paramount and essential in a free, liberal democracy.
How much was a new Chrysler, and what could this be a symbol of?
$1,300 (40% of avg fam income).
It could be a symbol of wealth of prosperity amongst the people.
How many cars were bought on credit, and what did this mean?
The majority of cars were bought on credit (maybe not a symbol of individual wealth, then).
This meant the number of two-car families doubled between 1951 and 1958.
There were more cars in LA than in Asia.
What demonstrates the colossus of the car industry?
General Motors had a larger GDP than Belgium.
What developed as a result of the growth in the automobile industry?
Associated facilities such as motels, garages, and gas stations.
Further, the state got more involved in road building, and the first Maccies opened in 1956 (Idaho).
What were the stats for McDonalds by 1960?
228 Restaurants
$37.5 million annual sales.
How did the state become more involved in road building?
1956 Interstate Highway Act:
- It boosted Federal subsidies for road building.
- 41,000 mile system created (mainly of dual carriageway, eliminating unsafe roads and bottlenecks).
- Allowed for free traffic movement (designed to facilitate nuclear evac).
What did the increase in cars and road-building signal the demise of?
Public transport.
Railroad passenger services lost avg $700 million per annum by the mid-1950s (this was also partly due to growth in air travel).
The growth of the suburbs was as a result of what?
The increase in prosperity and car manufacturing.
When did suburb growth originally begin?
Began during the war years but rapidly expanded in the proceeding years.
How many family homes were built in 1944 compared to 1950?
1944: 114k family houses built.
1950: 1.7 million.
Exponential growth.
How many houses were built in the decade after 1945?
15 million, mainly for private purchase.
What percentage of the population were home owners in 1945 compared to 1960?
1945: 50%
1960: 60%
This was helped by the Federal Housing Administration whereby people acquired mortgages.
The mortgages were up to 90% of the cost with only 4% interest.
What did the growth mean for inner city areas?
They deteriorated as they no longer received funding because the middle classes were no longer paying taxes there.
They were also left to the poor and the ethnics - the prosperity did not benefit everyone.
Suburbs also gained malls. What are the figures to show the growth in malls?
8 in 1946, but over 4,000 in the late 1950s.
How did the increase in malls spell disaster for small shopkeepers?
Everything could be purchased in one place, so there was no need to go around to different convenience stores.
What was the growth in people living in the suburbs?
1920: 17%
1960: 33%
There was also a massive population boom so 33% in 1960 is significantly larger than 33% in 1920.
