Truman 1945: Divisions and Prosperity

Question 1

What caused Post War (WW2) prosperity in the US?

Answer 1

• During the war, there was full-time employment that was relatively high due to the rise of trade unions
• Unemployment stayed at 4% and under throughout the 1940s
• Workers had high levels of disposable income and this fed into a consumer boom

Question 2

What trade unions were on the rise?

Answer 2

American Federation of Labour (AFL) and Congress of Industrial Organisations (CIO)

Question 3

What industries flourished in the war?

Answer 3

Aircraft, electrical, pharmaceutical, motor, food processing and tobacco

Question 4

What were the regional divisions?

Answer 4

Northeast: politically dominant and key industrial centre with major cities (NYC, Boston, DC)
Midwest: large area with low population, focus on agriculture
South: agriculture, specifically cotton, sugar and tobacco; conservative, racial segregation
West Coast: increasingly important with the growth of LA and San Francisco

Question 5

How many white people were there in 1945 in the USA?

Answer 5

130 million out of 145 million

Question 6

How many African American people were there in the USA?

Answer 6

Around 14 million out of 145 million

Question 7

What divisions existed among the white population?

Answer 7

• Sub-groups: Polish-Americans, Italian-Americans, Irish-Americans
• Anti-catholic prejudice and dominance of WASPS

Question 8

Where were black Americans living and leaving?

Answer 8

• Predominantly in the south but the northern black population was growing due to ‘the Great Migration’.

Question 10

What was causing black Americans to leave the South?

Answer 10

• Jim Crow laws and segregation remained in the South; no de jure segregation in the North
• In WW2 black soldiers had fought in segregated and having fought Fascism they came home to face continuing discrimination

Question 11

How many Hispanic Americans were in the US?

Answer 11

Around 1-2 million, concentrated in the southwest

Question 12

How many Asian Americans were there in the US?

Answer 12

• Around 250,000 to 300,000; the majority were Chinese-Americans who came to work on railroads
• Most lived in the west

Question 13

How many Native Americans were there in the US?

Answer 13

• Around 1/3 of a million; largely lived on reservations; marginalised

Question 14

How did people improve their economic position during this time?

Answer 14

• Armed forces and the abundance of work gace opportunities for people to improve their position

Question 15

How did women play a role in the war effort?

Answer 15

• They were 36% of the workforce in 1944
• Did not lead to a permanent shift in traditional gender roles as 12 million men returned from military service

Question 16

What was the GI Bill concerning social divisions?

Answer 16

• Designed to help returning soldiers with access to college tuition, loans to start businesses and low cost mortages
• Only one in five African American servicemen applied for the educational funding getting a place in college