The Fair Deal Truman asked Congress for:
national health insurance increased minimum wage full employment guarantee civil rights for African Americans
Republican-controlled Congress blocked his programs, but Truman vetoed their tax cut
Desegregated armed forces by executive order in 1948
Population Growth and Shifts 20 million move from
rural to urban areas By 1970, 76 million in
suburbs, 64 million in cities
Gov’t subsidized: FHA insured builders’
loans & buyers’ mortgages
Veterans got additional benefits
Expressways built
Postwar Economic Boom White-collar workers
outnumber blue-collar workers for first time
Rosie the Riveter went back to being Rosie the Secretary
Television & the Consumer Economy
Postwar marketing used powerful new medium of TV
Business model based on radio Nationwide networks Advertisers sponsors shows to
reach demographic groups Advertisers increasingly
targeted teenagers Increasing disposable income Highly susceptible to emotional
manipulation
Other Postwar Trends Christian revival, but mainline Protestant
churches focus more on soothing middle-class anxieties than preaching the gospel
Consensus & conformity characterize the national mood, but not a return to traditional values
Rev. Norman Vincent Peale
Eisenhower’s Dynamic Conservatism U.S. & Canada agree to jointly develop St.
Lawrence Seaway (1954) 1954 Housing Act supposed to build low-
income housing for those displaced by urban renewal
Atomic Energy Act (1954) allowed private companies to build nuclear power plants
1956 Highway Act spent $31 billion to create 41,000-mile interstate highway system
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