Post-War Promise

Question 1

What % of world’s weath does U.S. make up in 1950s?

Answer 1

50%

Question 2

Wealth disparity in 1950s in US?

Answer 2

At its most even

Question 3

what % of income was paid to the federal government in the top income tax bracket?

Answer 3

90%

Question 4

What was the US considered the standard bearer for in 1950s?

Answer 4

Liberty and freedom

Question 5

What was the industrial output during WW2?

Answer 5

90%

Question 6

What % of GDP went to US military during Cold War Era?

Answer 6

3.5% to 5%

Question 7

What % of Soviet GDP was spent on military during Cold War?

Answer 7

25%

Question 8

Income parity

Answer 8

Working-class and middle-class came out of WW2 with better income than before

Question 9

What % of US workers could claim to be middle-class in the 50s?

Answer 9

40%

Question 10

What annual income was considered to be middle-class?

Answer 10

$5,000

Question 11

What caused the post-war recession?

Answer 11

1. Soldiers coming home and refusing to spend their money due to growing up in the Great Depression
2. Many companies had converted factories to build war materiels

Question 12

Levittowns

Answer 12

Homes built in sections that were cheaper and faster to manufacture.

Question 13

Who invented levittowns?

Answer 13

William Levitt

Question 14

Where did the “cookie-cutter” idea of Levittowns originate from?

Answer 14

Building Liberty Ships in sections and then welding the sections together.

Question 15

How did the invention of new housekeeping electronics and tools impact housekeeping?

Answer 15

Women spent more time cleaning to maintain a facade.

Question 16

What was considered the “new segregation” in the 50s?

Answer 16

Suburbias

Question 17

Federal Highway Act of 1956

Answer 17

Federal govt. built interstate highways using the stockpile of money being saved for the Social Security program

Question 18

What did America see a surge of in the 1950s?

Answer 18

Juvenile deliquencies

Question 19

What did parents blame juvenile deliquency on?

Answer 19

Hollywood and movies

Question 20

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

Answer 20

Congressional committee that was tasked with rooting out the facism and communism in America.

Question 21

When was HUAC created?

Answer 21

1930s

Question 22

What did HUAC shift its focus to in 1950s?

Answer 22

Communism in Hollywood

Question 23

How did HUAC impact Hollywood?

Answer 23

Resulted in a lot of actors, directors, and writers blacklisted and shunned from the Hollywood industry

Question 24

Joseph McCarthy

Answer 24

Senator of Wisconsin from 1950-1954

Question 25

How did McCarthy capitalize on the communism scare in the US?

Answer 25

Argued that he had a list of names of the communists in the US department of State, who were influencing US foreign policy

Question 26

McCarthy upped his tactics by going from speeches to…

Answer 26

televised hearings and interviews

Question 27

How many Americans lost their jobs due to McCarthy’s actions?

Answer 27

hundreds to thousands

Question 28

Who did McCarthy target that led to Americans finally questioning him?

Answer 28

The Army