4: Economic Transformation - Increased mobility

Question 1

The growth of the car industry led to the growth of what?

Answer 1

Led to the growth of suburbs as people could now commute to work rather than live in crowded inner-city areas.

Question 2

What did owning a home symbolise?

Answer 2

Symbolised the prosperity of ordinary people as they were now owner-occupiers (the house belonged to them once the mortgage was paid).

Question 3

What did the increase in home ownership enable?

Answer 3

It enabled the growth of the middle class.

Question 4

How much did the sales of new cars, per year, increase by?

Answer 4

1945: 69k
1950: 6.7million

Question 5

How did car sales boost the economy?

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

What did cars symbolise?

Answer 6

Cars symbolised the post-war confidence of the USA - slick, colourful, and big, gas-guzzling machines.

Question 7

What were the 3 main car companies?

Answer 7

Chrysler
Ford
General Motors (Johnny Cash).

Question 8

By 1961, how many different car models were on sale and what did this symbolise?

Answer 8

1961: 350 models on sale.

Symbolised the belief that choice was paramount and essential in a free, liberal democracy.

Question 9

How much was a new Chrysler, and what could this be a symbol of?

Answer 9

$1,300 (40% of avg fam income).

It could be a symbol of wealth of prosperity amongst the people.

Question 10

How many cars were bought on credit, and what did this mean?

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

What demonstrates the colossus of the car industry?

Answer 11

General Motors had a larger GDP than Belgium.

Question 12

What developed as a result of the growth in the automobile industry?

Answer 12

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).

Question 13

What were the stats for McDonalds by 1960?

Answer 13

228 Restaurants

$37.5 million annual sales.

Question 14

How did the state become more involved in road building?

Answer 14

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).

Question 15

What did the increase in cars and road-building signal the demise of?

Answer 15

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).

Question 16

The growth of the suburbs was as a result of what?

Answer 16

The increase in prosperity and car manufacturing.

Question 17

When did suburb growth originally begin?

Answer 17

Began during the war years but rapidly expanded in the proceeding years.

Question 18

How many family homes were built in 1944 compared to 1950?

Answer 18

1944: 114k family houses built.
1950: 1.7 million.
Exponential growth.

Question 19

How many houses were built in the decade after 1945?

Answer 19

15 million, mainly for private purchase.

Question 20

What percentage of the population were home owners in 1945 compared to 1960?

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

What did the growth mean for inner city areas?

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

Suburbs also gained malls. What are the figures to show the growth in malls?

Answer 22

8 in 1946, but over 4,000 in the late 1950s.

Question 23

How did the increase in malls spell disaster for small shopkeepers?

Answer 23

Everything could be purchased in one place, so there was no need to go around to different convenience stores.

Question 24

What was the growth in people living in the suburbs?

Answer 24

1920: 17%
1960: 33%
There was also a massive population boom so 33% in 1960 is significantly larger than 33% in 1920.

Question 25

How did some criticise the suburbs?

Answer 25

They lacked variety, with all the houses looking the same.