Post - War And American Society Flashcards

1
Q

When did Roosevelt die?

A

April 1945

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2
Q

What did Truman mainly want?

A

Get rid of poverty, and racial inequality

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3
Q

What changes of Truman did congress agree to in 1948?

A
  • hourly wage increased from 40 - 74 cents
  • slums were cleared to make room for affordable housing
  • old age benefits extended to 10,000 people
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4
Q

What didn’t congress let Truman change?

A

African American rights

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5
Q

By the end of the 1950s, what fraction of housing had:

  • cars
  • TVs
  • phones
  • washing machines
A
  • 8/10 had cars
  • 9/10 has TVs
  • 8/10 had phones
  • 7/10 had a washing machine
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6
Q

By how much did population increase after the war?

A

40%

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7
Q

How were people able to buy TVs, washing machines, e,t,c after the war?

A

Buy now pay later persuaded many and luxury goods were being produced at prices millions could afford

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8
Q

What did the GI bill do?

A

Helped veterans at the end of WWII

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9
Q

How did the GI Bill’s unemployment compensation programme help?

A

Between 1944 - 1949, almost 9 million veterans got around $4 billion

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10
Q

What did the Veteran’s administration offer?

A

Insured loans that totalled over 50 billion until 1962

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11
Q

Up to when did the education training provisions exists and how many veterans did it help?

A

Up to 1956 helping 10 million veterans

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12
Q

What was the GI Bill able to establish?

A

Cheap hospitals, made cheap home loans available and offered grants to pay for ex soldiers to get an education and provide a living wage

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13
Q

Why did America have a good economy in the 1950s?

A

It was undamaged by the war

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14
Q

How much did a home cost in the 1950s?

A

$100 and came with a fridge, stove and washing machine

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15
Q

How was average American income different to that of a British and an Italian?

A

The income of an American was 2x higher than a British worker and 4x higher than an Italian

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16
Q

How common were cars in the 1950s and give a reason for this.

A

In 1955 there was 1 car to every 3 Americans, one reason is fuel was cheap and mass production was very high

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17
Q

How long did people used to have to work for a living before what?

A

Before mass production people used to need to work 69hrs a week

18
Q

What is consumerism?

A

Steadily increasing the buying of goods, enduring economic growth

19
Q

In the 1950s, what caused the gross national product to increase by what?

A

Shopping being a recreational activity caused the GNP to almost double

20
Q

What could make the American dream a reality?

A

In 1960, American standard of living was 3x that of an average Briton

21
Q

Give three examples showing the American dream was a myth

A
  • 25% of the pop. were considered to be living in (poverty many being black )
  • in the 1960s over 60% of families had to try to live off >$2000 a year
  • after the war, women’s wages in factories which had risen to 66% of those earned by men fell back to 53% of men’s wages during the 1950s
22
Q

Was the American dream overall a myth or a reality?

A

A myth

23
Q

What was the average factory income in the 1950s?

A

$4000

24
Q

How were the lives of young people changing during the 1950s?

A

Teenagers began to forms gangs, more young people would get education and a lot of teenagers got pocket money and drove cars

25
Q

To what extent was there a major clamp down on suspected communists in America?

A

Around 6000 were arrested across 33 cities

26
Q

What was macCarthism?

A

The period of time where Joseph McCarthy spread rumours about communists

27
Q

Who was accused of spying for the SU?

A
  • Alger Hiss (member if the Us government)

- Ethel and Julius Rosenberg (American citizens accused with providing the SU information about atomic bombs

28
Q

What would cause someone to be suspected of being a communist sympathiser?

A

By not displaying so-called American virtues of patriotism, freedom and enterprise from the 1940s onwards

29
Q

What was HUAC?

A

House of Representatives Un - American Activities Committee was set up by congress to investigate communist involvement in government, education and the film industry

30
Q

What happened to many Americans investigated by HUAC and the loyalty programmes between what years?

A

1947 - 1950, million lost jobs despite not actually found guilty of spying

31
Q

How did senator Joe McCarthy scare people with communism?

A

By campaigning against possible communists using half-truths, rumours and lies

32
Q

How many suspects did the FBI keep files on during what period?

A

McCarthy period of late 1940s-1950s, FBI kept files on 1 million suspects

33
Q

When did McCarthy go to far?

A

When he started accusing some officers in the US army

34
Q

How was McCarthy getting across his anti communist headlines?

A

Through newspapers, TVs and radios

35
Q

What was influencing young people in the 1950s?

A

Advertising, tv and music

36
Q

How did rock n roll on tv affect the population ?

A

In 1956 Elvis Presley’s tv performance was watched by 82 % of the population

37
Q

What kind of adverts were aimed at teenagers?

A

Cigarette, sweets and toothpaste adverts which mainly featured females

38
Q

How did the number of households with TVs change?

A

In 1949 only 0.8% of homes had a TV but by 1958 83.7% of homes had a tv

39
Q

Name a film that influence teen audiences

A

’Rebel without a cause’ which was about a rebellious young man

40
Q

What dominated the TV in 1950s and what was this for?

A

Commercial sponsors that tried to encourage spending in consumer society

41
Q

How did people see rock n roll?

A

It was linked to teen crime and was dangerous, older generations didn’t like it and lyrics contained sexual references that appealed to teenagers

42
Q

How was Elvis Presley famous?

A

He has at least 170 hit singles and over 80 top selling albums