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US 1940s/50s Flashcards

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1
Q

What had car production risen to by 1955?

A

8 million (compared to two million in 1946)

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2
Q

How many shopping centres were there by 1960?

A

4000 (compared to 8 in 1945)

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3
Q

In the 1950s how many people moved out of cities?

A

18 million

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4
Q

Despite prosperity how many people lived below the poverty line?

A

40 million

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5
Q

What was the FHA and how did it help veterans with mortgages?

A

• Federal Housing Authority
• 90% mortgages to veterans

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6
Q

When was pearl harbour and what happened?

A

• 1941
• Japanese planes destroyed US naval base in Hawaii
• more than 2400 Americans killed

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7
Q

What was lend lease and when was it passed?

A

• 1941
• allowed the government to lend war supplies to any nation vital to US defence

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8
Q

How much of the popular vote did FDR win in 1940?

A

• 54% (gone down since previous elections)

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9
Q

Who opposed US involvement in WW2?

A

• The American First Committee
formed in 1940
• estimated 800,000 members at its height
• Dissolved four days after Pear Harbour

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10
Q

When did FDR endorse war?

A

• 1941 after pearl harbour
• only one member of Congress voted against declaring war

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11
Q

What did the War Powers Act do?

A

• gave president sweeping powers to conduct war
• censorship allowed
• 1941

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12
Q

US resources going into WW2

A

• 60,000 enlisted immediately after Pearl Harbour
• military training facilities overwhelmed, not enough barracks or materials
• Basic training instilled a strong sense of discipline and was designed to build strength and stamina

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13
Q

What was Executive Order 9066?

A

• removed more than 400,000 Japanese Americans from society
• About 2/3 were citizens
• 1942
• in comparison, only 11,000 German Americans were interned, racism

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14
Q

How did Japanese Americans respond to Executive Order 9066?

A

• would put I am American signs on their shop windows
• Nisei (Japanese Americans) forces to sell homes, businesses, property (lost an estimated $2bn
• Interned in camps with horrible conditions (barbed wire enclosures, meagre food budget)

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15
Q

Who were the Tuskegee Airmen?

A

• All black combat unit 1941
• from may 1943-June 1945 they did not lose a single bomber
• given officer status which many southern congressmen did not like
• given better but still not equal treatment

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16
Q

What was the Double V campaign?

A

• 1942
• created by the Pittsburgh Courier, biggest selling black newspaper with sales of 20k nationwide
• promoted patriotism by encouraging people to buy war wonds
• called for victory over our enemies at home and victory over our enemies on the battlefields abroad

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17
Q

Randolph and the Fair employment Act

A

• Randolph - influential African American union leader
• Executive Order 8802 created the Fair Employment Practices Commission which outlawed racial discrimination
• however, black Americans ended up in low paid jobs (40% rise in income compared to 60% for whites)
• Executive Order 9346 strengthened FEPC but it was abandoned by Congress in 1946

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18
Q

Who were the Navajo code talkers?

A

• 420 people used to transmit messages in the Pacific theatre
• code so complex it was never broken
• involving indigenous people in the war effort, but not many

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19
Q

How did the Detroit race riots occur and when?

A

• 1943
• Detroit, Michigan (car industry meant it was racially diverse)
• began at an integrated amusement park, fight between a black and white person - white sailors got involved in, then over 5000 whites joined
• lasted 3 days, FDR sent 6000 troops to occupy the city
• occupation lasted 6 months

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20
Q

Where did riots break out after the Detroit riots?

A

• Harlem, NYC 1943 - riots stopped by troops
• LA 1943 - conflicts between sailors on leave and Mexican Americans
• LA therefore made off limits to servicemen by military

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21
Q

What did the Office of War Information do and when was it established?

A

• 1942
• Controlled propoganda
• set up the Bureau of Motion Pictures and Bureau of Censorship to oversee Hollywood (1942)

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22
Q

How was radio used for propoganda in WW2

A

•Programmes like ‘Speaking of Liberty’ and ‘You can’t do business with Hitler’ (1941)
• imperative for up to date news with war correspondents

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23
Q

How was Hollywood important?

A

• Actors were exempt from combat duty but many joined anyway e.g James Stewert
• Actors sold and promoted war bonds
• Actors entertained servicemen in war zones e.g Marlene Dietrich

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24
Q

How was Disney important?

A

• during the war Disney were overtaken by the military and 90% of its workers were involved in making training films (Walt happy with this)
• 32 short films made, 68 hours of footage
• used its characters for propaganda, character merchandise with military insignia

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25
Q

How successful was Disney in the war?

A

• helped Hollywood achieve its highest figures ever
• Donald Duck in Der Fuhrer’s Face won best animation in 1943 Oscars

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26
Q

What other industries promoted patriotism in Hollywood?

A

• Warner Bros produced 262 films
• Dr Seuss creator produced films and received legion of merit
• other morale boosting films like Casablanca 1942

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27
Q

How was music crucial in boosting morale?

A

• age of swing and jazz e.g Glenn Miller and his band
• War became a theme - e.g 1941 Remember Pearl Harbour song by Sammy Kaye
• Frank Sinatra became a superstar
• reflected emotions of loss

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28
Q

How did the WPA boost morale during WW2? (Foundations established during new deal)

A

• employed 6,600 people made up of everyday professional people and famous writers
• launched Federal Writers Project which collected oral histories of African Americans and immigrants
• 1939-43 Federal Music Project and WPA music project have support to unemployed musicians

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29
Q

How did union membership increase by 1943?

A

• membership was 14.3m people, mostly part of American Federation of Labour
• resulted in wage increase by end of WW2
• United Mine Workers of America wanted higher wages - 500,000 people called out on strike 4 times
• reflects that morale wasn’t all high - hard working at home

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30
Q

What new industries emerged during WW2?

A

• Manhattan Project developed the atomic bomb, cost $2bn
• Aircraft production the largest single section of the war economy - $45bn
• Millions of jobs in textiles, chemicals, aluminium

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31
Q

What were liberty ships?

A

• Cargo ships that were prefabricated, by 1943 three entered service daily
• 5777 were built at a cost of $13bn
• led to development of electronics, radio, construction, weapons and close relationship between defence industries and American gov.

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32
Q

What did the War Production board do?

A

• ensured that the military had the resources it needed
• directed industrial output
• organised scrap drives(collecting cooking fats for glycerin, paper, iron, aluminium)

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33
Q

How did the American economy suffer during the war?

A

• US spent more than $321bn
• National debt increased by 600%
• Americans had to pay increased income tax
• by 1946 $185bn were sold

34
Q

Employment figures during WW2

A

• by 1945 unemployment fell to 1.9%
• federal civilian employment more than tripled

35
Q

US economic superpower post WW2

A

by 1947 the US was producing:
• 57% of the world’s steel
• 43% of world’s electricity
• 62% of world’s oil
US govt also helped create IMF (led the way in international finance)

36
Q

How did income, wealth and industrial production increase between 1941 and 1945?

A

• income rose by 30%
• wealth and industrial production more than doubled
•GNP rose from $99.7bn to $211bn

37
Q

What did the Office of Price Administration do?

A

• designed to limit wartime inflation
• established ‘ceiling prices for many goods’
• introduced rationing (stopped at end of war)
• dissolved 1947

38
Q

What was rationed during WW2?

A

• meat, butter, sugar, coffee, shoes, petrol
• black market emerged

39
Q

What were victory gardens and how many were there?

A

• nearly 20m started gardens (urged by govt to)
• more than 9m tons of produce made

40
Q

Migration: Geographic shifts in the economy

A

• by 1950 42% of the population lived in urban areas (used the war to escape rural poverty)
• 120,000 black Americans moved to LA, population grew by 2m
• South saw great prosperity but many still migrated - result of racial inequality?

41
Q

Women in the War effort stats

A

• 6m women entered the workforce for the first time
• by the end of the war 18m women had helped the USA win the war
• 350,000 served in the war, thousands were nurses
• 37,000 women died in the war

42
Q

How many women served in the Women’s Army Corps?

A

• 100,000
• women participated in non combat duties

43
Q

What was the WAVEs?

A

• Women Accepted for Voluntary Service
• Navy programme similar to WACs
• Nurses, clerical work, communications jobs

44
Q

What were the WASPs?

A

• Women Airforce Service Pilots
• performed noncombat flight duties

45
Q

Were there women in the workforce?

A

• 1944 - average wage for a woman $31.21 a week compared to $54.64 per week for a man
• FEPC helped black American women go get wartime work

46
Q

How did young people help the war effort?

A

• 20m became members of American Red Cross - produced toys, clothes and furniture
• Civil Defence volunteers took part in coast watxhung and watching enemy aircraft

47
Q

Who was Jackie Robinson?

A

• young black army lieutenant
• 1944 - refused to sit at the back of the bus and was prevented from serving overseas
• then went on to integrate Major League football

48
Q

How much did advertising expenditure increase by at the end of the 50s?

A

1000% (golden age of advertising)

49
Q

What was the knowledge revolution in the USA?

A

• number of jobs in professional and technological work grew enormously
• number of salaried middle-class workers rose 61% between 1947 and 1957

50
Q

What was the military-industrial complex?

A

• where business and military worked together
• federal funding provided money for scientific research e.g into plastics
• this funding increased by 600% during the 1950s

51
Q

How did the GI bill give veterans educational opportunities?

A

• over half of the 7.8 million returning servicemen attended colleges and technical schools through grants given under the bill

52
Q

How did veterans actually lack support?

A

• only given $20 a week
• less than 20% if the money set aside for veterans was actually distributed as there weren’t enough jobs

53
Q

Trade unions in the 1950s

A

• In 1945, 35.5% of the US workforce were in unions
• Republicans introduced the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act to limited union rights (e.g right to call a strike)

54
Q

US car industry globally

A

By 1950 the US produced 2/3 of all the worlds cars and trucks

55
Q

How did short term credit increase between 1945 and 1958?

A

• 1946 - $8.4 billion
• 1958 - $45.6billon
• Fuelled by introduction of credit cards
• 1950 Diner’s club card, then 1951 Amex

56
Q

How were roads developed in the 1950s?

A

• federal spending on highways went from $79 million in 1946 to $2.6 billion by 1960

57
Q

How did the car industry change in the 50s?

A

• different models of cars released annually - ‘built in obsolescence’

58
Q

How did the number of marriages increase post WW2?

A

• Number of marriages doubled

59
Q

TV ownership between 1948 and 1955

A

• 1948 - 2.9% of Americans own a TV
• 1955 76% own a TV

60
Q

How did cinema attendance decline between 1946 and 1956?

A

• 1946 - 90m
• 1956 - 47m

61
Q

How did the TV industry develop?

A

• 1946 - Federal Communications Commission gave 6 licenses to TV stations
• more choice, more competition, increased advertising

62
Q

How did TV shows change family life?

A

• people living more comfortably and conveniently - TV dinner packs, sitting at the sofa rather than table

63
Q

TV programmes reflecting ideals 1950s

A

• Father Knows Best - reflected growing views of affluence, father head of family unit
• I love Lucy - biggest sitcom of the time, Lucille (main character) was a loyal housewife
• black Americans not given big roles in TV until 1965 (Bill Cosby)

64
Q

Teen culture

A

• by 1950, 9-13 year olds watched 27 hours of TV a week
• Changing culture reflected in Hollywood - 1953 The Wild One starring Marlon Brando and 1955 Rebel Without A Cause starring James Dean
• 95% of American male teenagers had been sexually active by 15

65
Q

What were levittowns?

A

• Created by Levitt and Sons in 1947
• flat packed houses, pre fabricated, identical (all had a white picket fence) and affordable
• Sold for $7,900
• A house could be built in 1 day if 36 men worked on it

66
Q

How much did the average family in suburbia earn compared to the rest of the country?

A

• $6500
• 70% higher than the rest of the country

67
Q

How did disposable income increase between 1946 and 1955?

A

Increased by $115.3 bn

68
Q

How did home ownership increase between 1950 and 1960?

A

• 1950 - 55%
• 1960 - 62%
(Increased by 7%)

69
Q

When was McDonalds created?

A

• 1954
• $15 a burger
• Only drive thru, reflected more people wanting to eat out

70
Q

What was Truman’s response to the Cold War/ Red Scare

A

• Executive Order 9835 - The Loyalty Order
• Established the Federal Employees Loyalty and Security Program
• Checked if any employees had communist sympathies
• Between 1947 and 1951 nearly 3000 federal employees resigned and 300 were dismissed
• distrust

71
Q

What did Senator Joseph McCarthyism do to raise fear?

A

• In 1950 he states that the State Department was full of communists and sympathisers with no evidence
• attacked government departments and organisations like the American Medical Association and teaching - as a result 61% of people said that teachers should be dismissed - fear mongering working

72
Q

What was the HUAC and when was it established?

A

• 1938
• Congressional committee that sought to find communists in the US
• Dennis vs United States 1941 the Supreme Court upheld the Smith Act 1940 which allowed the arrest and detention of Communists - led to the conviction of top 11 communists

73
Q

What was the response to the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)

A

• attacks severely weakened morale amongst government workers
• heavily criticised by Truman and the Democrats as well as pressure groups like the American Civil Liberties Union

74
Q

What was the 1950 McCarran Act?

A

• Senator McCarran initiated the Internal Security Act, which required all 60,000 communists to register with the Subversive Activities Control Board
• allowed federal government to investigate any suspect group and arrest anyone in a time of national emergency

75
Q

What act did Senator McCarran initiate in 1952?

A

• Immigration and Nationality Act
• strict quotas on immigration and strict screening progress
• immigrants not able to settle, no chance of finding homes, screening based on ideology

76
Q

HUAC attacks Hollywood

A

• 1947 the House of Un-American Activities Committee began to investigate communism in Hollywood
• If witnesses didn’t go along and name names they would be blacklisted from Hollywood by the Motion Picture Association of America
• Blacklisted Charlie Chaplin, ended many careers

77
Q

Play reflecting the Red Scare of the time

A

• 1953 The Crucible by Arthur Miller
• about Salem witch hunts

78
Q

Who were the Hollywood 10?

A

• refused to cooperate with the HUAC
• charged with contempt of Congress (lying to Congress) - $1000 fine and 1year in prison
• 1951 one of the ten - Edward Dymytryk decided to cooperate and give the names of 20 communists
• reflected ruthlessness and
manipulation of government
• film made about it called ‘Trumbo’ 2015

79
Q

Who were the Rosenbergs?

A

• arrested on mostly circumstantial evidence accusing them of giving atomic bomb secrets to the Soviets after being implicated by Klaus Fuchs
• both former members of the communist party and Jewish
• appealed to Supreme Court seven times but were executed in 1953 - Julius was guilty but Ethel was innocent

80
Q

The end of McCarthy

A

• people turned against McCarthy after he was exposed in the ‘See it Now’ episode by journalist Ed Murrow
• Questioned by the senate for 35 days for accusing the army of being communist despite helping the Republicans return to power
• up to 20m people watched on TV

81
Q

What was the impact of McCarthyism?

A

• made it so leftists/ ultra liberals were marginalised in politics
• intensified a period of paranoia
• persecuted and invaded peoples privacy

82
Q

What did the Hirabayashi vs United States case show?

A

• 1943
• Supreme Court ruled that the internment of Japanese Americans was lawful - damaging and demonstrates racial prejudice in government

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