U6L3 Eisenhower and Postwar Conflicts Flashcards
Why was the GI Bill of Rights passed?
Experts feared that without wartime production, many returning soldiers might not find jobs. Unemployment would rise, and the economy would tumble.
What did the GI Bill of Rights do?
Congress passed the GI Bill of Rights to help returning veterans. Under this law, the government spent billions of dollars to help veterans set up farms and businesses. Many GIs received loans to pay for college or a new home. It also provided a full year of unemployment benefits for veterans who could not find work.
What is the definition of inflation?
Rising prices
Why was inflation a problem after the war?
During the war, the government had controlled prices and wages. After the war, the controls ended. The price of goods rose. Workers demanded higher wages to pay for the price increases. When employers refused, labor unions called strikes. President Harry Truman was sympathetic to workers but feared that higher wages would only add to inflation. He urged strikers to return to work.
As the election of 1948 approached, why did Truman and his Democratic Party seem doomed for defeat?
Labor strikes and soaring prices had already helped Republicans win a majority in both the House and the Senate for the first time since the 1920s. Among Democrats, unhappy liberals and conservatives deserted Truman to form parties of their own. The Republicans confidently nominated Governor Thomas Dewey of New York for President.
Even though the odds were against them, how did Truman win the election of 1948?
During his campaign, Truman traveled thousands of miles across the country by train. At every stop, he attacked the Republicans as “do-nothings” and “gluttons of privilege.” When all the votes were counted, Truman won a surprise victory over Dewey.
Why did Truman want the Fair Deal?
He wanted to extend the liberal policies of his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
How did the idea of the Fair Deal do in Congress?
In Congress, the Fair Deal faced heavy opposition from conservative Democrats and Republicans. Congress rejected most of Truman’s reforms, including a bold plan to provide government-financed health insurance.
What did the Fair Deal propose?
A higher minimum wage, expanded Social Security benefits, and loans for buying low-cost houses.
In the election of 1952, Truman chose not to run for re-election. How did Eisenhower win this election?
Democrats nominated Adlai Stevenson of Illinois. Republicans chose General Dwight D. Eisenhower, a hero of World War II. Eisenhower, known as “Ike,” promised to end the conflict in Korea and lead Americans through the Cold War.
For the first time, television played a major role in a presidential campaign. Instead of long speeches, Republicans used 20-second TV “spots” of Ike responding to questions from hand-picked citizens. Complained one critic: “It was selling the President like toothpaste.” Still, enough voters were impressed with Ike’s military experience and foreign policy skills to give him a landslide victory.
Describe Eisenhower the plan he called his political course the “straight road down the middle”.
Like most Republicans, President Eisenhower believed in limiting federal spending and reducing federal regulation of the economy. He favored cutting the federal budget but expanding Social Security benefits and some other New Deal programs. Most Americans supported Eisenhower’s middle-of-the-road approach. In the 1956 presidential election, voters reelected Ike to a second term of office.
Describe the baby boom. Why was their a baby boom?
In the 1930s, the population of the United States had grown by only 9 million. In the 1940s it grew by 19 million and in the 1950s by an astounding 29 million! Most couples married young, had an average of three children, and completed their families by their late twenties. Improvements in health care and nutrition contributed to the baby boom. Better care for pregnant women and newborn infants meant that more babies survived. Fewer children died from childhood diseases than had died in the past.
During the economic boom, how did government project increase factory production?
Federal projects also increased factory production. The government spent more money to build new roads, houses, and schools.
How did the production of military good help the growth in the economy?
New technology added to the boom by promoting steady rises in productivity, or the average output per worker. Corporations began using computers to perform calculations and keep records. High productivity allowed the United States to manufacture and consume, or use, more goods than any other country. Increased productivity also led to a workweek that averaged 40 hours. Americans now had more leisure time. The good feeling produced by victory in World War II and the booming economy created a sense of public confidence in the United States. American citizens enjoyed a postwar prosperity that saw significant job growth throughout much of the nation.
What is the standard of living?
A measurement that determines how well people live based on the amount of goods, services, and leisure time people have.
How was the standard of living during the economic boom?
It rose
How did public confidence help with the economic boom?
Public confidence in the United States replaced much of the financial worries associated with the Great Depression and World War II. Because so many of their purchases revolved around home and family, few Americans worried that they were saving little. Instead, most Americans enjoyed a life in which they had more money to spend. This consumer spending reshaped the country.
