Economy/Consumer Society Flashcards
During the 1950s, what did the GNP increase by?
1950 - $355.3 billion
1960 - $487.76 billion
What was the increase in disposable income for families in 1960 compared to 1950?
30%
Which two prior economic issues under Truman were now low under Eisenhower?
Inflation + unemployment
Which shortage from Truman’s presidency continued into Eisenhower’s?
The Housing shortage
How many houses were constructed to tackle the shortage? How many of these were built in the suburbs?
13 million were constructed overall
11 million within the suburbs
What was the ‘white flight’ phenomenon?
The post-WWII exodus (mass departing) of white Americans from inner-city areas which was then left to minorities
Who were the most famous builders of suburbs during this time? What was their first construction?
The Levitt Brothers
A ‘Levittown’ in Hempstead, Long Island
What were the statistics of Levittown? (5 examples)
17,000 homes
80,000 residents
9 swimming pools
7 shopping centres
2 bowling alleys
What rules did Levittown have? (3 examples)
Weekly lawn mowing
No fences
No washing hung out at weekends
How expensive were the suburban houses? Why was this very appealing?
$8000
It was only two and a half times of the average family income
What were the perks of a suburban house? (6 examples)
Well constructed
Central heating
Built-in wardrobes/garages
Spacious homes
Modern bathrooms/kitchens
Which two administrations offered low-interest loans to allow families to buy new homes?
The Federal Housing Administration
The Veteran’s Administration
What did Levittown operate which was controversial?
Restricted covenants - meaning African-Americans couldn’t buy property on any Levitt property
What were the ‘Big Three’ of car manufacturing in the 1950s? Where were they all located?
General Motors, Ford and Chrysler
All manufactured in Detroit
How many cars were manufactured in 1955 alone?
7.9 million
The mass-production of cars lead to what industries developing?
The service industry
Motels, fast food outlets + out-of-town shopping malls
What modern motel chain was born as a consequence of the new car boom? When was this?
1952 - the first Holiday Inn opened near Memphis
As a result of the car boom, how many McDonalds were in the US by 1960?
228
What was a critique for all this service-work boom?
The people actually working in these service jobs (waitresses, caretakers + petrol station attendants) were poorly paid
By 1960, what was the statistic for televisions within a family?
At least 90% of families had a television within their home
Why was television criticised in the 1950s? What shows back this?
It promoted:
- Conformity (‘Father Knows Best’ + ‘The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet’)
- Consumerism (‘I Remember Mama’)
With the rise of television in the 1950s, which other industry profited? What’s the statistics to back this?
The Advertising industry
1950 - $5.7 billion spent
1960 - $11.9 billion spent
When and what did the historian David Potter argue about advertisements?
1954 - that advertising was as socially influential as education and religion as it dominated the media and exercised social control
What was the name of the book published by Vance Packard in 1957? And what did it describe in terms of advertisement?
‘The Hidden Persuaders’
That advertisements psychologically manipulated consumers through incentives to buy sweet things (candy, cola etc.)
What did the liberals who disliked advertisement describe it as?
‘the bland leading the bland’
Where was the first credit card used? And when?
1950 - the Diner’s Club launched a credit card intended for restaurant payments
Due to the expansion of credit cards being used, what grew?
The amount of private debt doubled about $100 billion by 1960
When was the ‘Baby Boom’ and what were its consequences?
1946-59
An entirely new demographic when those babies grew into teenagers - a ‘$10 billion power’ (Life Magazine)
What new industries did these teenagers in the 1950s spend money on which consequently developed them?
Food, cosmetics + entertainment
What was the impact of the consumer society in terms of foreign policy? What is an example of this?
That America’s standard of living was unparalleled and used in Cold War propaganda
The 1959 ‘Kitchen Debate’ between Nixon and Khrushchev
What was a downside of the Consumer Society? Which book exposed this?
A quarter of the US population lived in poverty (annual income under $3000)
‘The Other America’ - Michael Harrington
The Eisenhower years saw two recessions - when were they?
A minor one in 1954
A more serious in 1958
What were the consequences of the 1958 recession? (3 examples)
5 million Americans were unemployed
Production fell by 14%
The Republican’s financial probity (quality) were exploited by Kennedy in his 1960 election campaign
Eisenhower attempted to balance the federal budget, what were examples of this? (3 examples)
His scaling back of Truman’s ‘Fair Deal’
Reducing the TVA subsidies
Changed many aspects of the energy generation industry
What was the TVA?
The Tennessee Valley Authority
A federally owned electric utility corporation that provides electricity to Tennessee and neighbouring states
How dramatic were the Tennessee Valley Authority’s subsidies reduces?
1952 - $185 million
1960 - $12 million
How did Eisenhower modify the energy-generation industry?
He sold off power plants and allowed the money from drilling rights to go to the states rather than the federal government - popular move among southern states
With the increased productivity of agriculture - what had to be set up and what did it provide?
A Soil Bank - which provided subsidies to farmers of $5.1 billion per year (1960) compared to the original $1 billion (1951)
Was Eisenhower happy with the Soil Bank?
He was uncomfortable with such a heavy handed government intervention - yet the Great Depression taught that this was a necessary intervention
Which wealthy families benefitted from the investment opportunities in the Consumer Society? (3 examples)
The Getty Family
The Rockefeller Family
The Mellon Family
Which entrepreneurs began to amass fortunes in the Consumer Society? (3 examples)
Ray Kroc - fast food (McDonalds)
Lucille Ball - Media (actress)
Sam Walton - retail (Ben Franklin chain + Walmart)
What were extreme downsides of the Consumer Society? (3 examples)
Women were forced into a traditional family role
The elderly became isolated as families moved away
Ethnic minorities fired over trivial matters + made redundant due to an increase in teenager part-time
