Unit 1.4 - Changing Quality of Life (COMPLETE)

Question 1

What happened to the American economy shortly after WW1?

Answer 1

• The USA entered a brief Depression.

Question 2

What stopped in America after WW1?

Answer 2

• War production.

- Manufacturing and producing crops for Europe & America.

Question 3

What was the impact of the Post War Depression on farming?

Answer 3

• During the war farmers were encouraged to produce more wheat.
• Some farmers took out loans to buy more machinery resulting in unemployed workers.
• Due to the overproduction of wheat during the war, after the war they produced too much and prices fell.
• Farmers growing cotton still faced plight due to the boll weevil.

Question 4

What was the impact of the Post War Depression on industry?

Answer 4

• Many strikes in 1919&1920.
• Most of which failed to achieve the strikers terms causing businesses to fail and increasing unemployment.
• Many older industries within the North and East were already in decline. (Coal production for energy dropped to 60% by 1930.)

Question 5

What was the Government reaction to the Post WW1 Depression?

Answer 5

• Republican government didn’t intervene due to Laissez-faire policies.
• Isolationist Tariffs placed on foreign goods caused other countries to do the same leading to a drop in US exports.
• The Government believed that the Depression would right itself, which it did. Impacting their reaction to the 1929 Depression.

Question 6

What 6 factors contributed to the Post-War Boom?

Answer 6

• Mass Production.
• New management techniques.
• Federal policies.
• Hire and purchase loans.
• Changing Industry.
• The Stock market.

Question 7

How did mass production contribute to the Post-War Boom?

Answer 7

• Broke down manufacturing into a series of steps.
• Mass-produced goods were produced quicker and cheaper, so they could be sold at a lower price.
• This made then more affordable so manufacturers sold more, and consumers bought more.

Question 8

How did new management techniques contribute to the Post-War Boom?

Answer 8

• Some employers began adopting ‘scientific management’ ideas (Set out by Frederick W. Taylor).
• Made the production line worker as efficient as the production line itself.
• Each worker was trained in the most efficient way to carry out their task.
• The system worked best when the workers stayed at the factory so good wages, working conditions and benefits were advised.

Question 9

How did Federal Polices contribute to the Post-War Boom?

Answer 9

• Generally avoided intervention in businesses.
• Kept some wartime subsidies to farmers in place.
• Cut taxes for businesses to encourage ‘buying American’.

Question 10

How did hire and purchase loans contribute to the Post-War Boom?

Answer 10

• Before the war borrowing was seen as a last resort, that wonky banks and loan companies could administer.
• In the 1920’s companies pushed hire purchase (paying the company for goods in instalments.) as the practical way to buy.

Question 11

How did the changing industry contribute to the Post-War Boom?

Answer 11

• New industries were more efficient and used a higher level of mechanisation.
• Older industries became less important than newer industries that manufactured consumer goods.
• Many new industries and the goods they produced ran on electricity, meaning that the Boom couldn’t really take off until the electricity grid was reaching a significant amount of homes and businesses.

Question 12

How did the Stock Market contribute to the Post-War Boom?

Answer 12

• In the 1920s prices of shares in new industries rose rapidly.
• Share trading had previously been something that only banks and wealthy people did.
• Media coverage encouraged normal people to invest in the stock market eventually causing a Bull Market.
• People began to borrow money in order to buy their shares.
• Banks began using their customers investments to trade in shares.
• The government did nothing to stop this.

Question 13

How much did consumer debt rise between the years 1920 & 1929?

Answer 13

• Consumer debt rose from $3.3 billion to $7.6 billion.

Question 14

What were the warning signs that the Boom was over?

Answer 14

• Most people who could afford consumer goods already had them so demand decreased.
• Companies did not cut production enough so goods piled up in warehouses.
• By 1927, unemployment was rising and consequently employers cut wages and hours.

Question 15

What did the government do to help the failing economy in the lates 1920s?

Answer 15

• The government did nothing as they were still firm believers in Laissez-faire policies.
• They believed that like during the Post-war Depression, the economy would eventually right itself.
• They did not consider that, unlike in the earlier Depression, many more people, businesses and banks were in debt and the stock market was dangerously overheated.
• The FRBs earlier attempts to control the boom by tightening the money supply made the Depression worse.

Question 16

What was the impact of the Great Depression?

Answer 16

• Businesses and banks went bankrupt, unemployment shot up.
• Many people loss their jobs and those who could not keep up payments on mortgages lost their homes too.
• As people stopped buying, prices dropped and more businesses failed.
• The outcome was homelessness and poverty for many people.

Question 17

What was the Hoover governments reaction to the Great Depression?

Answer 17

• At first, the government did nothing.
• When President Hoover tried to push for federal action, the mainly Republican Congress was unwilling to agree. Some measures were put in place but nowhere near sufficient.
• Hoover lost the 1932 elections to Roosevelt’s New Deal promises.

Question 18

How did Roosevelt enact economic recovery?

Answer 18

• Roosevelt’s first action as president was to close all banks and have FED officials inspect them and only reopen the ‘healthy’ banks.
• Roosevelt also used federal agencies to create employment and help those in trouble with loans which began to restore confidence.

Question 19

What was the impact of NaturalDisasters on economic recovery?

Answer 19

• Natural disasters hampered recovery.
• Droughts in the early 1930s made the Great Plains a dust bowl.
• Many farmers lost their farms and became migrant workers.

Question 20

What was the impact of the New Deal on economic recovery?

Answer 20

• Roosevelt ran up huge government debts funding the New Deal.
• Recovery was slow and bumpy with an economic decline in 1938-1939. However confidence held.
• The second Agricultural Adjustment Act provided subsidies for farmers to produce less.
• Despite all this, recovery still wasn’t certain in 1940 and there were still more unemployed and homeless people than federal agencies could help.

Question 21

What was the 1937 Wagner-Stegall National Housing Act?

Answer 21

• Set up the Federal Housing Administration to oversee slum clearance and the building of housing for low-income families.

Question 22

What was the impact of the Second World War on economic recovery?

Answer 22

• Roosevelt didnt take America into the war straight away and instead moved to war production in an effort to help the allies.
• The USA joining the war in 1941 created employment in both factories and the military.

Question 23

How did a demand for consumer good fuel the post WW2 boom?

Answer 23

• People had gone without during the war making the move from wartime industries to civilian ones easier.
• Production increased from $213 billion-worth of goods to $284 billion worth in 1940 which helped keep unemployment low.

Question 24

How did business fuel the post WW2 boom?

Answer 24

• The business boom encouraged employers to expand their workforces and to raise wages, thus encouraging even more spending.

Question 25

How did the Government’s reaction to strikes fuel the post WW2 boom?

Answer 25

• The government came down hard on strikes for higher wages as prices rose.
• When coal miners went on strike, Truman took control of the mines.
• Truman took over the railways. When rail workers walked out, he asked Congress to draft strikers into the army. The strikers backed down and there were very few strikes after this.
• By Truman taking control of the mines and railways it invalidates the purpose of striking and gives power back to the government, not the strikers.

Question 26

How did the Baby Boom fuel the post WW2 boom?

Answer 26

• Post war baby boom meant there was a growing demand for child-centred goods and foodstuffs.
• Toy manufacturers made $1.6 billion in 1959 and by 1961 their profits had risen to $2 billion.
• More babies meant more toddlers and teenagers to come. They would create a need for more schools and colleges, and would eventually become consumers themselves.

Question 27

How many live births were in the USA in the years 1940, 1950 and 1955?

Answer 27

• In 1940 there were 2,559,000.
• In 1950 there were 3,632,000.
• In 1955 there were 4,104,000.
• It stayed at the 4 million mark until 1965.

Question 28

How was farming impacted by post WW2 boom?

Answer 28

• Some farms managed to do well due to the continued farm subsidies and demand for farm produce at home and abroad.

Question 29

What was the impact of inflation over the post WW2 economy?

Answer 29

• Prices were rising, sometimes faster than wages.
• The government’s Office of Price Administration had controlled prices during the war. However, when it shut down in 1946, farmers and businesses wanted to exploit the demand for goods and food.
• Prices jumped 25% within two weeks.
• However, after the initial jump prices settled to a steadier rise.
• The government was careful to keep taxes low.
• The FRB put controls on the money supply to keep inflation low.

Question 30

When did Truman pass the Employment Act?

Answer 30

• 1946.

Question 31

What did the 1946 Employment Act set up?

Answer 31

• Set up a Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) to advise the president on managing the economy.
• Also said that the President had to give a strategy report to a Joint Economic Committee of the House of Representatives and the Senate after each federal budget.

Question 32

What was the significance of growing prosperity from 1941-1969?

Answer 32

The ‘baby boom’ was fuelled by men returning from the war, fewer women working and the buoyant economy.

• The economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s made people confident about the ‘American Way’ as opposed to the communist ideas of their Cold War opponents.
• Consumerism was considered patriotic.
• However, it was not all steady growth. Sometimes unemployment and inflation increased sharply for a year or so and not everyone experienced the rising affluence.

Question 33

What was the significance of the suburbs?

Answer 33

• Factories, colleges and universities moved outside cities, where there was more land.
• The government funded the building of roads and homes.
• The boom economy meant that builders were willing to invest in building suburbs and running the necessary facilities.

Question 34

What did the 1956 Highways Act do?

Answer 34

• Allowed for 41,000 miles of interstate highways.

Question 35

What was the significance of The Levitt Company?

Answer 35

• Specialised in mass produced, prefabricated houses.
• They were quick and cheap to build and led to an explosion of ‘Levittowns’ in the North East.
• A Long Island development had 17,000 homes for 82,000 residents. The cheapest home was just under $7000.
• Cheaper homes added to the fact that people could afford cars and could get mortgages easier making buying a home more accessible if they moved to the suburbs.
• Levitt refused to sell to black Americans leading to the building of black suburbs.

Question 36

Why was there a shift in industry from the North and East towards the South and West (the Sunbelt)?

Answer 36

• Much of the shift was due to wartime investment for the war production industry.
• The move was made because land, goods and services were cheaper in the South and West.
• Post war, the military bases stayed and the new factories began producing peacetime goods.
• The development of good air-conditioning made the area more attractive and more people retired there.
• The population shift towards the sunbelt contributed to the emptying of the inner cities and to the problems that developed in them.

Question 37

What was pre WW2 economic thinking and why did it change post war?

Answer 37

• Previous economic thinking was that high government spending, even if it created a budget deficit, would keep the economy stable and prices down.
• After the war this didn’t work.
• The government wanted to keep interest rates low, so increased the money supply thinking this would hold inflation down.

Question 38

How much money was in circulation in 1952 and 1960?

Answer 38

• In 1952 there was $169.7 billion.

- In 1960 there was $215.8 billion.

Question 39

What was the economic climate like in the 1960s?

Answer 39

• USA finally lost its place as the world’s most important exporter.
• The Vietnam War was draining government finances, as were social welfare payments.
• The government was still increasing the money supply, but inflation was still rising.
• The amount of gold held by the government, kept falling, so the balance between gold reserves and paper money was increasingly out of balance.
• In 1966, it slowed (but did not stop) increasing the money supply.
• There was an almost immediate downturn in the economy and inflation kept rising.
• The government wanted to control prices, rather than letting business have its head, so increased the money supply more, slowing inflation but creating future problems.

Question 40

Why was the government increasing the money supply in the 1960s?

Answer 40

• Increasing the money supply helped the government meet increased welfare costs and other bills.
• In the short term, also helped the economy.

Question 41

What was the 1944 Bretton Woods agreement?

Answer 41

• Made the dollar the currency to be backed by a gold reserve.
• Other currencies were then valued against the dollar.

Question 42

What were the challenges of the 1970s?

Answer 42

• The economy moved into ‘stagflation’.
• Normally, when businesses stopped expanding, wages stopped rising or even fell. In the 1970s, prices didn’t fall. Instead, inflation carried on and people came to see rising prices as normal.
• Those who could afford to carried on spending. Some workers were less well off, but managed.
• Some workers had their wages linked to the Consumer Price Index which kept their wages in line with inflation.
• However, the rising number of unemployed, and those on a fixed income found their money could buy less and less.

Question 43

Why was there stagflation?

Answer 43

• The shift in the position of the USA in the world economy was a significant factor in business stagnation.
• In the early 20th century, the USA had led the world in developing technology but by the 1950s some other countries had overtaken the USA.
• Meanwhile, business taxes were rising.
• Costs of raw materials rose with inflation, so businesses had less to invest in improving technology.
• Falling productivity was also becoming a significant problem.
• Falling businesses meant cutbacks and a rise in unemployment.

Question 44

What was the USA’s share of the world’s export of manufactured goods in 1953?

Answer 44

• 29%.

Question 45

What was the USA’s share of the world’s export of manufactured goods in 1963?

Answer 45

• 17%.

Question 46

What was the USA’s share of the world’s export of manufactured goods in 1973?

Answer 46

• 13%.

Question 47

What were the actions of the Government to try and alleviate the issues that arose from stagflation?

Answer 47

• The government couldn’t cope with the economic problems of the 70s.
• The 1970s saw three economic crises caused by rising food and fuel prices.
• When the government tried to control the economy, it was too nervous of public reaction. When the public reacted badly to increases in inflation, or a sharp rise in unemployment, the government didn’t leave control of the money supply in place.

Question 48

What happened to the money supply in 1979?

Answer 48

• The money supply was contained by the Federal Reserve Board, not the government.

Question 49

Why was federal spending driven up in the 1970s?

Answer 49

• Federal spending was very high.
• It was driven up by linking social security payments and some pensions to the Consumer Price Index in 1972 and 1974.
• Linking wages, pensions and benefits to inflation helped those people it affected, but put the government deeper in debt.

Question 50

How were the people coping with the economic situation in the 1970s?

Answer 50

• Many more people were either falling deeper into debt or cutting back on their standards of living to cope with inflation.
• Some people failed to cope with credit payments, their homes were repossessed and they became homeless and dependent on government welfare.

Question 51

What was the outcome of the ending of the Vietnam War on the economic situation in the 1970s?

Answer 51

• The ending of the Vietnam War saved money.

- However, returning soldiers added to the unemployment and the drain on social and medical benefits.

Question 52

What was the 1973 fuel crisis?

Answer 52

• In the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) supported Palestine.
• OPEC put up prices by 70% and then embargoed oil exports to the USA and other countries that supported Israel.
• It kept prices high even after the war ended.
• By January 1974, world oil prices were 4x higher than before the crisis.
• Fuel prices never returned to earlier levels.

Question 53

What was the 1979 fuel crisis?

Answer 53

• In 1979, there was another fuel shortage from May to July.
• Shortages were as bad as in 1973.
• Although, due to the fact it only lasted three months, there was no fuel rationing.
• However, there were worries about a heating fuel shortage that winter.

Question 54

What was the impact of the two fuel crises?

Answer 54

• The lack of immediate access to cheap fuel was horrifying to car-dependent Americans.
• People as young as 15 years old could learn to drive (years before they child drink alcohol or vote).
• Both crises created high levels of discontent with the government, which people felt had made the 1979 shortages worse by ordering stockpiling at the start.
• People began to feel that the government was not only failing to deal with the economic crisis - it was making matters worse.
• A signifiant number of people;e changed their cut-buying habits, changing from big American cars, to smaller Japanese and European cars that used less fuel.

Question 55

What was the 1970s confidence crisis?

Answer 55

• Soaring fuel prices set inflation rising sharply and a significant depression set in.
• People and businesses were scared to spend.
• July 1979, Carter addressed the nation and discussed the crisis they were facing, calling it a crisis of confidence.

Question 56

What were unemployment levels in 1978?

Answer 56

• 5.8% of the workforce was unemployed.

Question 57

What were unemployment levels in 1979?

Answer 57

• 7.1% of the workforce was unemployed.

Question 58

How did Carter try to deal with the Confidence crisis?

Answer 58

• Carter tried to inspire confidence in the same way that Roosevelt did through the fireside chats but was unsuccessful.
• He didn’t have Roosevelt’s way with the public and had a history of failing to cope with the economy.
• Americans had very little confidence that the austerity of the measures Carter proposed would work, so they were unlikely to support him when he asked them to cut a standard of living that thy felt ad already dropped considerably.
• The rising homelessness and unemployment reminded people of the Great Depression and consequently led to people voting Republican in the 1980 election.

Question 59

What was the average life expectancy for a white and a non-white man in 1915?

Answer 59

• White men had an average life expectancy of 48 years.

- Non-white men had an average life expectancy of 33 years.

Question 60

What was the average life expectancy for a white and a non-white man in 1980?

Answer 60

• White men had an average life expectancy of 74.4 years.

- Non-white men had an average life expectancy of 69.5 years.

Question 61

What was the average wage for a white and a non-white man in 1939?

Answer 61

• The average wage for a white man was $1234.41.

- The average wage for a non-white man $537.45.

Question 62

What was the average wage for a white and a non-white man in 1979?

Answer 62

• The average wage for a white man was $28,894.69.
• The average wage for a non-white man was $19,417.03.
• These figures suggest that many more white men were in higher-earning jobs.

Question 63

What was the number of people who owned their own homes in 1920 and 1940?

Answer 63

• In 1920 6.7 million people owned their homes.

- In 1940 15.2 million people owned their homes.

Question 64

What did the 1940 census include that the 1920 census did not?

Answer 64

• The 1940 census also listed other facilities of homes.

- This suggests that these things were now seen as important by 1940.

Question 65

What was the number of people who rented homes in 1920 and 1940?

Answer 65

• In 1920 12.9 million people rented homes.

- In 1940 19.6 million people rented homes.

Question 66

What percentage of homes in 1940 had running water?

Answer 66

• 69.9%.

Question 67

What percentage of homes in 1940 had a bath or shower?

Answer 67

• 56.2%.

Question 68

What percentage of homes in 1940 had electric light?

Answer 68

• 78.7%.
• 20.2% still relied on oil lamps.
• The rest used gas, candles or nothing at all.

Question 69

What percentage of homes in 1940 cooked on gas and what percentage cooked on electricity?

Answer 69

• 48.8% of homes cooked by gas.
• 5.4% of homes cooked by electricity.
• There were still 0.4% of homes with no way of cooking at all.

Question 70

What percentage of homes had central heating in 1940?

Answer 70

• 42%.

- 11.3% of homes had no heating at all.

Question 71

What percentage of people had an electric fridge in 1940?

Answer 71

• 44.1%.

- However 27.4% did not even have an icebox to keep things cool.

Question 72

In 1940, what percentage of homes had a radio?

Answer 72

• 82.8%.

Question 73

By 1929, what percentage of all goods in the USA were sold in retail chains?

Answer 73

• 21.9%.

Question 74

What percentage of people’s income was spent on food in 1930, 1933 and 1940?

Answer 74

• 1930= 23.9%.
• 1933= 25.9%.
• 1940= 21.1%.

Question 75

When was the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) setup and what was the significance of this?

Answer 75

• Roosevelt set up the REA in 1935.

- The establishment of this would get electricity (and so, radio to spread his message) to rural areas.

Question 76

In 1939, how many miles of new power lines were put up by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA)?

Answer 76

• the REA ran over 100,000 of new power lines.

Question 77

In 1940 how many homes with electricity had an iron and a radio?

Answer 77

• Over 80%.

Question 78

In 1940 how many homes with electricity had a washing machine, a fridge and a toaster?

Answer 78

• Over 50%.

Question 79

How could one tell that the nations health was improving 1917-1941?

Answer 79

• The death rates for diphtheria, smallpox, tuberculosis, whooping cough and polio all dropped steadily.
• However, there was a rise in the early 1930s, when people couldn’t afford to pay medical bills.
• The government invested more in providing free healthcare for those who could not afford it - making them more likely to go to the doctor.

Question 80

How much did the government spend on healthcare in 1917, 1930 and 1940?

Answer 80

• In 1917 they spent $3.1 million.
• In 1930 they spent $11 million.
• In 1940 they spent $32.7 million.

Question 81

What percentage of children aged 14-17 were going to school in 1917, 1929 and 1940?

Answer 81

• In 1917 27.1% of all children were attending school.
• In 1929 51.5% of all children were attending school.
• In 1940 73% of all children were attending school.

Question 82

Why was the rise in children attending school an indication of a higher standard of living?

Answer 82

• By 1940 many more children were being sent to school than being sent out to work ASAP in order to start contributing to the family income.

Question 83

What percentage of all children under the age 15 were working in 1920?

Answer 83

• 8.5%.

Question 84

When was it made illegal for children under the age 14 to work in most non-agricultural jobs?

Answer 84

• The census data after that did not include children under 14 in the labour force.
• Thus suggesting that there were very few of them.
• However, farming was probably an exception as children in farming families worked while also being registered for school.

Question 85

What was the average monthly earnings of a farmer in 1928 and 1941?

Answer 85

• In 1928 it was $35.75.
• In 1941 it $26.88 (1/4 of the average wage of a white American).
• This suggests that the standard of living varied widely.

Question 86

What was the impact of WW2 on the growth of the consumer society?

Answer 86

• The war reduced consumer spending, and it became patriotic to scrimp and save.
• Once the war ended, industry returned to peacetime production and thus Americans began consuming again.
• The post-war economic led to a burst of consumerism.
• Manufacturers offered consumers an ever-widening range of goods and they realised that constantly updating their goods made people buy more often.
• They also introduced built-in obsolescence to encourage regular buying through ‘new’ and ‘improved’ products.
• They also targeted certain groups through specified television adverts.

Question 87

What was the impact of television?

Answer 87

• Television brought entertainment into the home and meant that families went out less.
• Many buyers lived in the suburbs.
• Staying in saved finding a babysitter and saved car journeys.
• As more and more people stayed in ‘TV dinners’ were developed.

Question 88

How many homes had a television in 1950, 1955 and 1960?

Answer 88

• 1950: 9% of homes had a TV.
• 1955: 65% of homes had a TV.
• 1960: 85% of homes had a TV.

Question 89

How many broadcasting stations were there in 1948 and 1954?

Answer 89

• 1948: there were 16 broadcasting stations.

- 1954: there were 354 broadcasting stations.

Question 90

What was the significance of targeting children as consumers?

Answer 90

• Products aimed at children were advertised around children’s programmes on TV and radio.
• Children were targeted for their ‘pester power’ with their parents, not the parents themselves.
• In 1955, Davy Crockett was a TV hero. In just 5 months, the company making Davy Crockett outfits made $100 million from sales of just the racoon-skin caps of the outfit.

Question 91

What was the significance of targeting women as consumers?

Answer 91

• Women were also targeted for their ‘pester-power’ in major purchases.
• Women, especially working women, were tags for ‘labour saving devices’.
• Women were also targets for everyday domestic shopping. Throughout the 1950s they bought more food, drink and domestic supplies than ever before.

Question 92

What was the significance of health and nutrition post WW2?

Answer 92

• During WW2, food was rationed. After the war people ate and drank more than before.
• They craved the foods they had been deprived of during the war and also ate much more synthetic food.

Question 93

How much were teenagers spending a year after a survey conducted in 1959?

Answer 93

• $10 billion.

Question 94

What percentage of teenage spending was on transportation by 1959?

Answer 94

• 38%.

Question 95

In 1959, how many teenagers had cars?

Answer 95

• 1.5 million.
• This was helped by the growing number of families trading in the family car for a newer model every few years.
• There were more second-hand cars for the teenage market.

Question 96

What percentage of teenage spending was on clothing and sports by 1959?

Answer 96

• 24%.
• Teenage girls consumed more clothing and cosmetics than boys ($20 million on lipsticks alone).
• Boys spent more on sporting equipment and trips to sporting events.

Question 97

What percentage of teenage spending was on food and drink by 1959?

Answer 97

• 22% (teenagers ate 20% more than adults).

- They ate huge amounts of ice cream and drank a lot of milk, giving a huge boost to the dairy industry.

Question 98

What percentage of teenage spending was on entertainment by 1959?

Answer 98

• 16%.
• Teenagers spent $75 million on records.
• From the 1950s, movie makers began to target teen audiences with high school films and a range of cheap horror and sci-fi moves.

Question 99

In 1949 and in 1956, what percentage of the USA’s wealth was owned by the top 1%?

Answer 99

• In 1949 it was 20.8%.

- In 1956 it was 26%.

Question 100

In 1968 and in 1978, what did production workers earn per year?

Answer 100

• In 1968 production workers earned $6,370.

- In 1978 production workers earned $12,962.

Question 101

In 1968 and in 1978, what did chief executives earn per year?

Answer 101

• In 1968 chief executives earned $157,000.

- In 1978 chief executives earned $373,000.

Question 102

What was the average income of a white family and black family in 1960?

Answer 102

• The average income of a white family in 1960 was $5,835.

- The average income of a black family in 1960 was $3,230.

Question 103

What were the problems facing non-while Americans between 1961-1980?

Answer 103

• It was harder for non-white Americans to get hired and, if they were hired, they were automatically paid less than a white colleague doing the same job.
• Affirmative action proposed by presidents was sow coming and often caused resentment. Many non-Americans found it unhelpful.
• Many non-Americans felt they were chosen for their race, to their abilities.

Question 104

What percentage of the black middle class made up the black workers in 1970?

Answer 104

• 27%.

Question 105

In 1966 what percentage of white Americans were living below the poverty line?

Answer 105

• 12% of white Americans.

Question 106

In 1966 what percentage of white Americans were living below the poverty line?

Answer 106

• 41% of non-white Americans.

Question 107

What was the government definition of living below the poverty line?

Answer 107

• A family of four living on $3000 a year.

Question 108

What was the issue with inner city living conditions?

Answer 108

• When large amounts of better-off whites moved to the suburbs in the 50s, non-white Americans moved to the cities.
• Much of the inner-city housing was subdivided and rented out and some landlords, as rents fell, began to fail to repair their properties and even burned them down to claim the insurance or simply left them to rot.
• Some residents turned to crime, drugs or even both. By the 1970s, some inner-city areas were locked in a hopeless downward spiral.

Question 109

What was the significance of the South Bronx in New York?

Answer 109

• Hispanic ghetto.
• In the 1970s, well over half the families there were on welfare.
• Between 1960 and 1974, the number of deliberate fires tripled.

Question 110

What was planned shrinkage?

Answer 110

• Policy set out by the Housing Commissioner, Roger Starr.
• ‘Planned shrinkage’ would close subway stations, police stations, fire stations, hospitals and schools in deprived areas.
• Left people even worse off.

Question 111

What were Kennedy’s anti-poverty policies?

Answer 111

• He outlined anti-poverty polices (New Frontier).

- However, these were not carried out before his assassination.

Question 112

What were Johnson’s anti-poverty polices?

Answer 112

• His ‘Great Society’ policies aimed to fight the ‘war on poverty’.
• He set up an independent agency with more than 130 staff and a budget of $960 million. Agency ran policies and reported directly to him.
• Johnson held the belief that poverty was the enemy, not the poor.
• Community Action Programmes (CAPs) set up by government, collected data on big local problems and presented projects to solve them.

Question 113

What were the limitations to Johnson’s anti-poverty policies?

Answer 113

• Congress did not pass all the welfare bills suggested by Johnson.
• Poverty was a huge scale problem so despite large funding, it was not enough.
• CAP schemes sometimes failed and competition to get funding increased racial tensions and caused violence (Particularly between blacks and Hispanics in LA).
• A criticism of Johnson’s Great Society was that it was encouraging people to stay on welfare.

Question 114

What were Nixon’s anti-poverty polices?

Answer 114

• Focussed on aid given to the working poor, elderly, children and disabled people.
• He began dismantling the office of economic opportunity in his first years in office (a long progress).
• Passed anti-poverty legislation, made government enlarge and administer food stamps programme.
• Linked social security benefits to inflation.
• Emphasised ‘workfare’ not welfare.
• Set up Earned income tax credit which gave working poor with children up to $400 a year.
• Also set up family planning advice and resources for the poor (relieved on people having smaller families and using contraception).
• Growing public support for reducing welfare payments.
• Tried to replicate Great Society with work-focused welfare programme.

Question 115

What were Carter’s anti-poverty policies?

Answer 115

• 1978 National Consumer Cooperative Bank gave interest loans to cooperate organisations. This lent money to small local groups who would otherwise struggle to get enough money to either buy homes or start a business.
• Helped working poor to improve their position (this didn’t help the poorest)
• Bank began work in 1980 with a $184 million budget.
• Rural Development loan set up before his defeat.