Truman and Eisenhower – Domestic (1945 – 1960)

Chapter 13

Postwar Confidence and Anxiety

11.8 - Students analyze the economic boom and social transformation of post–World War II America.

11.8.1 - Trace the growth of service sector, white collar, and professional sector jobs in business and government.

11.8.2 - Describe the significance of Mexican immigration and its relationship to the agricultural economy, especially in California.

11.8.3 - Examine Truman’s labor policy and congressional reaction to it.

11.8.4 - Analyze new federal government spending on defense, welfare, interest on the national debt, and federal and state spending on education, including the California Master Plan.

11.8.5 - Describe the increased powers of the presidency in response to the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War.

11.8.6 - Discuss the diverse environmental regions of North America, their relationship to local economies, and the origins and prospects of environmental problems in those regions.

11.8.7 - Describe the effects on society and the economy of technological developments since 1945, including the computer revolution, changes in communication, advances in medicine, and improvements in agricultural technology.

11.8.8 - Discuss forms of popular culture, with emphasis on their origins and geographic diffusion (e.g., jazz and other forms of popular music, professional sports, architectural and artistic styles).

Postwar Confidence and Anxiety

Chapter 13-1: An Economic Boom

• You have learned• That Americans in the

1920s made mistakes that led to the Great Depression.

• That World War II gave enough of an economic push to the country’s economy that the unemployment rate fell from 25% to 1%.

• Now you will learn• How the United States

changed economically, socially, and politically, following the Second World War.

Build Background Knowledge

• How might providing a free education to millions of men change their lives and society?

• How might millions of new babies change society?

• What guarantees were there that after the war the Great Depression would not return?

Cornell Notes

• CSS – 11.:

• CSS – 11.:

• Essential Question:

Postwar Confidence and Anxiety

An Economic Boom

The Nation Recovers From WarThe GI Bill and Returning Vets

• Demobilization• Discharging members

of the military so they can go home

• Now what do I do?

• GI Bill of Rights• Financial Aid

• Schooling• Housing• Businesses

A Baby Boom• Soldiers returned home

• Got married• Had kids• AND bought lots of stuff• Spending increased –

jobs created• 1957 – one baby every

7 seconds

The Nation Recovers From WarWartime to Peacetime Economy

• During the war• People made and saved

money• After the war

• People spent lots of money

• Created inflation• 18% in 1946 alone

• Factories• Tanks to automobiles

U.S. Dominates the World’s Economy

• Europe and Asia in ruins• The U.S. becomes the

world’s factory• Other countries buy

from us until they get back on their feet

• New Technologies• Computers, atomic

energy• Increased worker

productivity

What do these pictures represent?

An Economic Boom

Truman Overcomes Huge Obstacles

Congress and Labor• Inflation had been

18%• Prices going up

• Workers threatening strikes for higher pay

• Taft-Hartley Act• Outlaw the closed shop

• Only union members can work

• Truman vetoed• Congress overrode veto

Angering Segregationists & the Election of 1948

• Truman desegregated the military

• Election of 1948• Truman upset challenger

Dewey

• Proposes “Fair Deal”• National Health

Insurance• Congress would not pass

An Economic Boom

Postwar Confidence and Anxiety

Chapter 13-2: A Society on the Move

• You have learned

• How President Truman attempted to deal with economic problems following the end of the Second World War.

• Now you will learn

• How economic changes affected business, government, and everyday life.

Build Background Knowledge

• Why do some Americans prefer to live in the suburbs vs. the country or city?

• What is so “cool” about owning a car?

• What is the difference between a road and freeway?

• What does it mean to provide someone a “service”?

Cornell Notes

• CSS – 11.:

• CSS – 11.:

• Essential Question:

Postwar Confidence and Anxiety

A Society on the Move

Americans Move to the SuburbsSuburbs Attract Young Americans

• Shortage of urban housing

• William Levitt• Levitt Town New York

• Bring the assembly line to the land

• Cookie cutter homes

• GI Bill• FHA (Federal Housing

Administration)

The Car Culture• Suburbs

• Caused dependence on cars

• Drive-in• Movies• Restaurants

• Shopping malls• Status symbols

The 1950s Automobile

A Society on the Move