Economic impact of WW2 and post war developments

Question 1

Why did industrial output increase?

Answer 1

• supply of weapons increased after 1941 Lend-Lease Act
• weapons and supplies provided for Britain
• unrestricted supply to allies
• more factories in USA

Question 2

What controlled the war economy?

Answer 2

War Production Board

Question 3

How much worth of weapons and supplies did the War Production Board make?

Answer 3

$183 billion

Question 4

How were big business brought into supplying weapons?

Answer 4

General Motors made millions of machine guns

Question 5

How did the US government control certain industries ?

Answer 5

Office of war mobilisation to control national prices and wages

May 1943

Question 6

How much did defence contribute to USA’s income ?

Answer 6

1937… less then 1.5%
1945… 50%

Question 7

What happened to the unemployment rate during WW2?

Answer 7

Decreased
8.1 mil (1940)
to 1mil (1945)

Question 8

By the end of the war what were employment figures ?

Answer 8

16million in armed forces
14 million in factories

(home front)- 4mil were African American

Question 9

How many women were there in the workforce by the end of the war ?

Answer 9

7 million

Question 10

What were teenage employment figures like during the war?

Answer 10

900,000 in 1940
to 3mil by 1944

Question 11

During the war how much did USA produce in weapons?

Answer 11

~millions of artillery (weapons and machine guns)
~hundreds of thousands of tanks and aircraft
~35,000 landing craft
~1,200 large ships
~1,000 medium-sized ships

Question 12

Due to the Cold War, what was the defence spending in the late 1940’s ?

Answer 12

$11 Billion per year

Question 13

Due to the Cold War, what was the defence spending in the 1950’s ?

Answer 13

$50 Billion per year

Question 14

What was the Lend-Lease Act ?

Answer 14

An American law that allowed the President to send military aid to countries fighting in a war.

Question 15

What were President Johnson’s reforms called ?

Answer 15

The Great Society

Question 16

What was President Truman’s plan called ?

Answer 16

The Fair Deal

Question 17

What did the Fair Deal do?

Answer 17

• Increased minimum wage
• old age benefits to 10 million Americans
• replacing slums

Question 18

How much had Americans spent at the the start of the 1950’s? (Affluence )

Answer 18

spent a total of $100 billion that they had saved up during World War Two.

Question 19

What is consumerism ?

Answer 19

to spend more money on consumer goods and luxury items that made their lives more comfortable

Question 20

What is a consumer cycle?

Answer 20

A cycle where as people spend more money, businesses make more money, and pay their workers more.

Question 21

How did consumer goods reach target audiences?

Answer 21

Advertising in newspapers and magazines, on television and on the radio

Question 22

By the 1950’s how much goods did USA produce ?

Answer 22

66% of all goods produced in the world

Question 23

How much did credit card use increase by ?

Answer 23

800 per cent between 1945 and 1957.

Question 24

What are suburbs ?

Answer 24

living areas built at the outer edges of towns or cities.

Question 25

Who did suburban development target?

Answer 25

Middle Class Families

Question 26

What was the purpose of suburban development?

Answer 26

• To move people away from town centres
• Affordable property
• Easier commute to work

Question 27

What are the advantages to living in the suburbs ?

Answer 27

• Part of the American Dream
• Reasonable Prices
  -Low interest rates on loans
  -Large houses and land
  -Labour saving appliances

Question 28

How much the amount of homeowners increase by 1960?

Answer 28

23.6 million in 1950 to 32.8 million in 1960.

Question 29

How many houses were being built every year from 1944 to 1950 ?

Answer 29

14,000 in 1944 to 1.7 million in 1950.

Question 30

What were the cons of Suburban Development?

Answer 30

• Houses not sold to African Americans or ethnic minorities.

Question 31

What was the baby boom?

Answer 31

a rapid increase in the number of babies being born after the war.

Question 32

Why did the baby boom happen?

Answer 32

• men returning from the war
• increased affluence
  -an increase in the number of marriages and fewer divorces

Question 33

How many babies were born each year between 1954 and 1964?

Answer 33

4 million

Question 34

How many Americans lived below the poverty line in 1962 ?

Answer 34

40 million

Question 35

What is the poverty line ?

Answer 35

The estimated minimum level of income needed to secure the necessities of life.

Question 36

What were the causes of poverty after WW2?

Answer 36

• African Americans and minorities were discriminated, paid less
  -Elderly with little pension
• No national health service or welfare
  -Lack of employment for the disabled

Question 37

What is rugged individualism ?

Answer 37

Personal liberty and free competition, and the idea that people should be self-reliant.

Question 38

Why was there very little welfare FOR : elderly , unemployment and medical benefits ?

Answer 38

• Rugged individualism
• Reluctance to pay higher tax
• medical insurance
  -companies stop congress from providing national healthcare

Question 39

When was there reform to the causes of poverty ?

Answer 39

1960’s

with the Democratic party

Question 40

What is a welfare state ?

Answer 40

A state (or country) where the government provides welfare benefits, such as education, health care and unemployment payments.

Question 41

What are consumer goods ?

Answer 41

Goods that are used as ends in themselves and not for the production of other goods.