The Industrialized Democracies

p. 512

• Post-World War II saw the economic explosion of capitalist democracies (3)

• Large American businesses spread worldwide after World War II.– US construction and transportation businesses

• carry out the massive reconstruction projects in Europe and Asia.

• Increased US military bases around the world brought billions as well.

– American businesses were so profitable that international investors put billions into them

Post-WW II Economics

That Business Cycle• The growth of the economy shown on a graph

– Trough, recovery (boom), peak, recession…..• Recession:• economic slowdown.

– Businesses lose sales, • they cut costs (jobs, production).

• For 20 years after WW II, recessions in America were mild and short.

• Two hard recessions would happen in the mid 1970s – and from 2008…..

• On the average, more Americans had access to– better jobs – personal credit

Suburbanization:• Many urban Americans saw new, cheaper

communities being built by developers away from the cities.

• Now easy to live far away and still work in the city. – Highways, – freeways

• President Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway Act, – commuter rail lines

1925 much suburbanization after World War I.

• Railroad developed, • the river is being controlled

partially. • Still no freeway;

–the main route is San Fernando Road.

Looking toward downtown from Elysian Park (I-5 freeway below).

• This area becomes “old” part of Los Angeles as people move farther into the

Valley.

Contemporary view over Studio City.

• Verdugo Hills and Burbank are far off in the foothills to the right…..

• many of the houses here and apartment and business buildings in the Valley below were erected between the 1940s and 1970s.

Suburbs of suburbs…..

• Later, by the 1980s, suburbs began to spread – west to Simi and Santa Clarita Valleys, – North to Palmdale, – South to Orange County,– far east to San Bernardino.

Americans Face Hard Fights for Opportunities

• Bring better life for later generations in democracies. What groups? (4)– Ethnic minorities – Women– Handicapped– Lower income

Segregation:• Legal separation of minorities from

majority population in – education, – housing, – public locations– marriage

Discrimination:

• Unequal treatment or barriers against minorities and women in jobs and voting.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

• One of the significant leaders of the American civil rights movement in the 1950s and 60s. – EC: Used ____ rather than militant violence.– civil disobedience.– EC: His role model was ____, who used the

technique in India.– Mohandas Gandhi

• Struggled for equal rights for African-Americans and, – later, spoke for other Americans suffering from

discrimination and injustice.

EC: Women became especially active in US politics in the 1970s: (4)

–Equal pay–End of gender-discrimination in jobs

(traditional jobs)–Protection against sexual

harassment in the workplace.–Gender-equity in the workplace.

Western Europe Recovers, Thrives, and Cooperates

• Germany:– Late 1940s to 60s—support Germans in

quickly and profitably rebuilding a state-of-the-art economy.• Marshall Plan money and • cheap, Turkish immigrant labor

• Konrad Adenauer:– German Chancellor whose leadership made

Germany successful, democratically and economically.

Britain:– Two wars had weakened the

economy…..• Marshall Plan money was not as effective.

– King George VI passed away• EC: _____ was crowned in 1953• Queen Elizabeth II

Welfare State:• A mixed-economy nation with high use of social

programs to help, and perhaps solve, all social problems in a country.

– Positive: (7)– Made living standard better for more people

» Unemployment insurance» Old-age pensions» Product safety» Affordable prices on basic goods and services» Supervision of risky business practices.» National healthcare

– Negative: (4)– Increased taxes on working, middle, and wealthy classes.

» Regulated businesses, reducing their profits» Nationalization of key businesses to prevent risky business

practices and keep prices down.» (banks, transportation, utilities)

France:– EC: Resisted losing its colonies in ____ and ____ (2)– Indochina– Algeria

• resulting in vicious revolts and wars.• French President _______ ended both conflicts by pulling

French troops out.• Charles de Gaulle

– Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea, and Algeria won independence by the late 1950s.

– Economy socialized in the 1970s– Returned to conservatism in the 2000s as welfare

burden became too expensive.

more conservative governments took control in Western Europe in the 1990s.

• EC: This reaction to liberalism resulted in (3)– Cutting of social programs– Deregulation of businesses and banks– Privatization to cut government costs of

running such services.• None have cut the social programs to a level of the

United States, however.

decolonization

• Other Western European nations, gave up their colonies as well: Who? (3)–The Netherlands, –Belgium, –Portugal

European Community (EC)

• 1957. Began as the European Economic Community (EEC) by West Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. – EC: Goal was for member countries to

improve business profits by: (2)• Ending tariffs• Allowing workers and capital to move freely

across international borders– Britain and other nations joined later.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP):

• Total number of goods and services produced in a nation in a one-year period– Japan’s GDP grew rapidly from 1950-1970, – Japan enjoyed economic strength until a

recession in the 1990s that continues today.– Japan is still the second wealthiest nation in

the World per capita (comparing GDP to population)

• China actually earns more, but must divide it by over a billion people.

“economic miracles”

• Economic recoveries and growth in Germany and Japan were rapid after WW II.

• EC: Reasons for Japan’s economic success and power: (3)– Old economic assets totally destroyed by war– Excellent workforce:– Government protection from foreign

competition and support of home industries

EC Review• Why were so many American men wealthier

after WW II? (2)– Savings from wartime jobs– GI Bill

• Who were the superpowers?– United States and the Soviet Union

• Why was Nikita Khruschev both popular and disliked? (3)– Allowed criticism– Peaceful coexistence– Backed down during the Cuban Missile Crisis

Image, p. 513

• Why might suburbs such as this attract families from cities?

• Because of the additional living space and the opportunity to own land.

US Poverty• large numbers of poor still lived in inner-

cities, – By the late 1950s they were becoming

depressed, crime-ridden slums. • the millions in rural areas, where poverty

grew among – sharecropping families – segregated African-Americans.

• Many social problems would erupt in the 1960s and 70s.

Materialism• More consumer products and services came into being

– Americans made them part of daily life.• EC: American materialist lifestyle was romanticized

before international audiences in (7)– Popular magazines – Newspapers – Music, Records – Radio – Movies – Television (a new, quickly spreading medium)

Petroleum• American oil companies saved money by getting petroleum from

foreign sources, – rather than US sources.

• By the 1970s, almost all petroleum was foreign, – Mostly from _____nations in the Persian Gulf.– Arab (Muslim)

• EC: Because the US and allies supported _____ against Muslim nations in the October War of the early 1970s, the Muslim oil nations embargoed sales of petroleum to them.

• Israel• Oil Supplies fell quickly• Prices rose rapidly

– Business and consumer uses fell, causing a severe inflation and recession• It also brought America closer to Muslim nations.

• The global economy got more complicated and expensive after that – recessions are more disruptive for the wealthy nations partly because of

oil costs.

Standards Check, p. 514

• How was the U.S. Economy linked to the broader global economy during the cold war?

• The US economy relied on overseas markets

• It depended on overseas petroleum

significant early changes,

• EC; President ____ desegregated the US military.

• Truman– caused racist Democrats to stop supporting him, – has not hurt the military.

• EC: 1954, US Supreme Court declares segregation laws (sometimes affecting Latinos as well) harmful to citizen’s civil rights – Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka,

• and unconstitutional (illegal)…..– forced segregated states to open up.

– Racist resistance causes the Federal government to use martial enforcement.

Biography, p. 515

• How did King’s actions show courage?• He continually put his life and freedom at

risk for his beliefs.

Standards Check, p. 516

• Over time, how did the U.S. government expand opportunities for Americans?

• US government stepped in to end legal segregation and discrimination

• To improve life for veterans, the elderly, and the poor

• To expand transportation and housing opportunities.

Germany:

• recovery– With high taxes,

• Germans have a very socially secure population.

– As the Cold War died out in the late 1980s, East and West Germany made moves to reunify.

– 1989, the ______ fell…..no Communist troops or police stopped it.

– Berlin Wall• 1990, all Germans voted for reunification.

Primary Source, p. 516:

• What challenges would residents of a city face after such heavy destruction?

• Loss of electricity• Possible homelessness• Uncertainty about cleaning up and

rebuilding

EC: Toward European Unity

• Another example of European economic cooperation was the ECSC:

• European Coal and Steel Community.• Cooperation began in 1952, in the resource-producing

nations of (6)– West Germany, – France, – Italy, – Luxembourg, – Belgium, – the Netherlands.

• Cooperation brought cheaper cost and higher profits for all members.

The EU

• EC: This led to the present ____, in the late 1990s; still operating today…..

• European Union– Borders no longer exist between member

states• Though cultures are preserved

– Common currency: Euro-dollar (“Euro”)• Now more powerful than the U.S. dollar.

• Talks to unite governments into one “European nation” have not been as successful.

Image, p. 517

• Why might East Germany have built a fortified border such as this?

• To keep people living in East Germany from escaping and to intimidate their people and the West.

Standards Check, p. 519:

Advantages• Expanded social benefits• Unemployment insurance

Disadvantages• Higher taxes• Government deregulation

or control of industry

Japan:• Japan was occupied and supervised by the United States

from 1945 to 1952:– Gen. _________ personally oversaw the transition to democratic

government:– Douglas MacArthur

• Emperor declared powerless, – only a symbol of the Japanese people.

• MacArthur imposed a democratic constitution:– Parliamentary government, ______, established– Diet

» Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has dominated government, but other parties exist, some threaten its power.

» LDP members are in factions, competing for control of the party.– Other reforms (3)– public education system for all– legal equality for women– land reform: much land taken from large landowners and given to

landless farmers

Image, p. 519: • How would ownership of land benefit farmers?• By giving them a source of capital (wealth)

• Japan has been in a recession for almost 20 years• The recent tsunami, and the nuclear reactor disaster was

another set back• Japan is still an economic power globally and

domestically.– Not without its social issues– Modern Japan (mostly cities and tourist spots: most rebuilt since

WW II)

Standards Check, p. 520:

• Japan's economic success—– US military protection/spending – Rebuilt modern industries after war– Educated and skilled labor force– Strong export market (many countries buy Japanese

products)– Government regulation of industry and exports

Quick Write

• How did West Germany and Japan recover so quickly after the end of WWII? Explain.

Journal

• Select the U.S., Japan, Britain, or West Germany and write a journal entry from a citizen after the war. Reflect on the changes made during this period and their effect on the nation.