IKE Consumer Society Flashcards
What was the difference in GDP and per capita income under Eisenhower?
GDP:
- 1950 = $355 billion
- 1960: $488 billion
Per capita income:
- 1940 = $1740
- 1960 = $2699
How much did the economy grow in the 1950s and why was it so strong?
- Grew by 37%
- Purchasing power of average family: +30%
- Inflation and taxes were low
- The federal Govt stimulated the economy, e.g., by building highways and the Soil Bank that subsidised farmers
- The US had plentiful oil
- Europe and Asia bought US good
Why was the economy in the Eisenhower era growing?
- There was a consumer boom driven by war manufacturing to consumer manufacturing
- Trumans GI Bill bossed house building and improved education
- Baby Boom so growing population- more children, more spending, and teens spending money
- Demand-driven by advertising, esp on TV
- Cheap credit, for houses from the Federal Housing Administration and Veteran’s Administration and the advent of the credit card
By how much did the US population increase?
-$152 million in 1950 to $181 million in 1960
By how much money was spent on advertising?
$6 billion in 1950 to $13 billion in 1960
By how much did private debt increase?
$104.8 billion to $263.3 billion
How was the Eisenhower era a golden age for many?
- Access to consumer goods, labour-saving devices, plentiful food, good affordable housing, travel and leisure time
- Move away from manual work- in 1960 the combination of service workers and white-collar workers outnumbered the number of blue-collar workers
- The US had a growing middle class
- At home washing machines, freezers, and dishwashers transformed the lives of many housewives
Why was the ‘Kitchen Debate’ important?
Nixon in the ‘Kitchen Debate’ with Khrushchev in 1959 pointed out the high standard of living a steelworker’s family could expect, leading to Krushchev demanding more consumer goods be produced in the USSR
Why was the Eisenhower era NOT a golden age for some?
- Two recessions (1954- fairly minor; 1958- much more severe leading to 5 million unemployed)
- The rich got richer, and the white middle class had a surge in living standards, but the working class did not benefit
- Manual labourers were losing their jobs to increased mechanisation and there was a growing gap between the haves and have not
- Ethnic minorities faced discrimination in employment and housing (‘white flight’, out-of-town shopping malls reduced investment in downtowns)
- Women lost their jobs to men returning from the war and now felt trapped in suburban lives
How did the suburbs grow during Ike’s presidency?
- 11 million new homes were built in suburbs during the 1950s
- The Levitt brothers built ‘Levittown’ in Hempstead, LI- 17,000 homes, 84,000 residents
- There were village greens, shopping centres, bowling alleys and swimming pools
- The houses were on big lots, cost $8,000 (2.5x average salary), were largely prefabricated, had modern gadgets, bathrooms, attached garages, etc.
What were the problems with Levittowns/suburbs?
- Massive controversy as the Levitts refused to sell to people of colour
- The first African American family to move in (Myers, PA) was faced with 500 angry white residents outside of their house
How did the car industry and car production grow in the consumer society?
- Detroit was the centre of the car industry and home to Ford, Chrysler and General Motors
- Up to 8 million cars were made each year (4.5 million scrapped)
- Having a car meant you could live in the suburbs and commute to work
- You could attend church, watch movies, get drive-in and eat in your car
- Highways being built became lined with hotels, motels, restaurants, and fast food outlets such as McDonald’s
How did the service and leisure industries grow during Ike’s presidency?
- Those with money needed places to spend it, leading to massive growth in the service sector with jobs in fast food outlets, shopping malls, etc.
- Teenagers gained part-time work in these sectors
- Sport became hugely popular
- Watching TV became a major US pastime and the TV was full of advertising selling the new products available at the malls
- Disney theme park opened in 1955
- Life became homogenised with people living in the same kind of homes and areas, eating the same food, watching the same TV
How did McDonald’s grow during the consumer society?
- Ray Kroc devised the idea of selling individual McDonald’s restaurant franchises
- By 1961 there were 228 McDonalds across the US, focusing on suburban locations
- Kroc bought McDonald’s and was a prime example of the American Dream- came from an immigrant family
What were the positives of the Consumer Society?
- Many look back on this time with great positive, especially in contrast with the Great Depression (1930s) and WW2 (1940s)
- For many life did improve, Americans had plenty of cheap food, consumer goods that they had never had access to before, good affordable housing and the majority of the world’s cars
- Unemployment was generally low as were inflation and taxes
- Conservatives tend to look at the 1950s as an idealistic time before the progressive ideas of the 1960s that followed
What were the negatives of the Consumer Society?
The gap between rich and poor grew, and racial divisions were stark
- ‘The Other America’ (by Michael Harrington) showed how the move to the suburbs had made poverty easy for many Americans to ignore
- TV and advertising promoted conformity, some felt the American people were being controlled
- Conformity and consumerism of the 1950s were a trigger for the rebellion and counter-culture of the 1960s as people rejected the extreme material and enforced homogeny around them
