Post War America Flashcards
What happened after the war?
A boom
What was America known as by the 1950s?
Richest country in world
By when was America the richest country in the world?
1950s
In the 1950s, how much of the world’s manufactured goods was America supplying?
1952 - 65%
Why did the economic boom arise after the war for USA while other countries struggled?
USA suffered no mainland bomb damage in WW2 unlike all its other industrial competitors
What were living standards like in the 1960s?
By 1960s, living standards of avg American was 3 times that of avg Brit
American Consumerism (5)
Goods only expected to last a few years + then replaced
People could afford new luxury goods (fridges, vacuum cleaners, cars, TVs) so bought them
Credit schemes encouraged spending
Malls built - convenience
Common to spend + not save
When was Truman’s Fair Deal?
1945-1952
What was Truman’s Fair Deal? (2)
Main issues = poverty + rights for A.Americans
Wanted to bring about fairer society
What was part of Truman’s Fair Deal? (5)
Raised min wage from 40 cents to 70 cents
Cleared large slums to make way for affordable housing
GI bill passed to help veterans
- established hospitals, cheap home loans, grants to pay ex soldiers to attend college/trade school
— from 1944-49 nearly 9mil veterans received $4bn from gov
When did Eisenhower become president?
1952
Eisenhower (3) (when, encouraged what, Republican/Democrat)
President 1952
Encouraged economic growth
Republican
Percentage living in suburbs in 1960
25%
How many people had cars in 1945 and 1960?
1945 - 25 million
1960 - 62 million
Percentage still living in poverty in 1950s
25%
Teenagers before the war (3)
Expected to work to support families upon leaving school
Graduating high school / college = less common
- before 1950s, fewer than 2/3 students completed compulsory education
Teenagers after WW2 (3)
no longer had to get a job - booming economy - parents could support
Parents began to insist on teens finishing education + going to college
Teenagers had more leisure time + spending power
Teenager’s spending power after WW2 (2)
1957 - average teenager spent between $10-$15 a week compared to $1-$2 in early 1940s
Annual spending power climbed from $10bn in 1950 to $25 billion in 1959
Rock and Roll 1950s (4)
New style of music spread across US
Appealed to teenagers
Lyrics often contained sexual references - unpopular with older people so even more popular with teens
Elvis Presley performed on TV in 1956 + 82% of Americans watched
Television 1950s (4)
One of most popular products in 1950s
Start of decade = 3 mil tv owners, end = 55 mil
Average price of TV dropped from about $500 in 1949 to $200 in 1953
Vast audiences
Movies 1950s (3)
Colour films
Bigger screens
Young people wanted new + exciting symbols of rebellion in films + Hollywood responded
What does HUAC stand for?
House of Representatives of Un-American Activities Committee
What is HUAC? (3)
Est 1938
Investigated allegations of communist activity in the USA during the early years of Cold War
Contributed to fear, distrust + repression of Red Scare
Loyalty Programme
Programme gave loyalty review boards power to fire gov employees when “reasonable grounds” existed for belief they were disloyal e.g treasonous activities
