Postwar America at Home
A. Economic Boom
1. US becomes richest nation while others struggled w. aftereffects of war
B. Demographic & Technological Shifts
1. Population Growth
C) Consensus & Conformity
1. Contours of Religious Life- By end of 50s, 95% Ams identified w. some rel denom
D. Origins of the Welfare State
1. Harry S Truman- 1st post-war president, ill prepared for office
E. The Other America
1. Poverty amid Affluence
CONCLUSION: QUALMS AMID AFFLUENCE
1. US during decade & half after WWII stable & secureà business boomed & standard of living reached new heights--> suburban middle-class enjoyed shopping centers, fast food, material life
2. AfrAms & other minority groups seriously disadvantaged, but still believed they could share in Am dream--> resorted to peaceful protest
3. Signs of discontent beneath calm surface= seeds of protest in 1960s: divorce rate increased (1/3 marriages in 1950s broke); Ams used tranquilizers to cope w. problems; some criticized materialism that seemed to undermine efforts in Cold War
1. US becomes richest nation while others struggled w. aftereffects of war
- 60% families=middle-class & per capita income nearly doubled; $140bn in savings during war & 22% rise in purchasing power
- 3/5 households w discretionary income ($ to satisfy wants) aot ¼- by Gt Dep’s end
- Automobiles & interstate highways (stimulated auto production) contributed to econ
- Home-ownership rates rose 9% thanks to 1944 GI Bill- offered low-interest mortgages
- Gov’s active econ role- Cold War--> rise in defense spending; Nat’l Security Act authorized initial $13bn budget; 50% total fed budget went to armed forces--> stimulate aircraft & electronic industries; gov underwrote much of aviation&space research, electricity/electronics work, scientific instrument developmt; close bus-gov ties of WWII grew stronger
- Inflation slowed to 2-3%/yr; Am products sold around world
- Eur/Azn countries suffered greater casualtiesà affluence took longer to arrive
- Gt Brit: cities bombed, rationing due to continued scarcity; factories outdated, lagged behind in developing superhighway to spur industrial developmt; eventually recovered under admin of Labour party & provided advanced socialized med
- Fr: rising birthrate (like US) helped recovery; colonial unrest caused fin instability & undermined econ dev until Fr pulled out
- German miracle: most factories destroyed so new factories built w. newest equipmt; Allied High Commission provided econ aid, scaled down debts, elim industrial controls; West German rate of growth=10%/yr while GNP rose 5-fold
- Jp: Under Gen MacArthur; new dem const; peace treaty 1952; Jp econ grew rapidly, soon ranked 3rd behind US & SU
- SU: reparations from W. Germ & extractns from E Eur promoted recon; dev of atomic bomb; inc in size of collective farms
- More Oligarchy- few firms dominate an industry: Mergers & conglomerates (firms w. holdings in variety of industries)
- Smaller franchise operations, like McDonald’s produced by Ray Kroc, grew
- Large corps moved into foreign markets & build plants overseas for cheap labor
- Corp planng dev rapidly- firms sought managers who could assess info, weigh market trends, make ratnl dec to max profit
- Reversing 150-yr trend, US became less goods-oriented & more service-or; Factory workers down 4% & clerical up 23%
- salaried, middle-class employees rose 61%; White collars paid by salary aot hr; downside= impers & bureaucratic conformity
- Immed postwar- cancelled defense orders laid off workers à 4.6mn went on strike in ‘46 alone- more than ever before
- Late ‘40s- big business recognized basic workers rts: Once a leading firm reached agreemt w. union, other firms in that area adopted similar terms & costs of new contract would be met by general inc in prices
- General Motors offered United Auto Workers contract w cost-of-living adjustmt COLA& 2% annual improvemt factor wage inc to share GM’s productivity gains w. workers; 5yr agreemt- after 5yrs, auto workers won annual wage
- 1955 AFL & CIO merge, led by trade unionist George Meany, rep 90+% union members
- WWII eve- agric supported 1/5 Ams; Now- mechanizatn & consolidatn--> 1/20; 15mn rural jobs disappeared in one gen
- Tech-improved plantg/harvest machines, better fertilizers/pesticidesàRising profitsà agric consolidation- farm size 2xed
- Agribusiness- farms specialized in lucrative cash crop that demanded large-scale investmt
- Farmers left increasingly- MidWs found jobs in offices/factories, but 5mn uprooted AfAms in S migrated N
B. Demographic & Technological Shifts
1. Population Growth
- Baby boom peaked in 1957 (4.3mn born, 1/7sec) & 1950s total growth=29mnà women left jobs to rear children
- Death rate declined- miracle drugs (penicillin, streptomycin), polio vaccine; Life expectancy rose- whites 70yr, aot 55 in ‘20
- 1+mn farmers/yr left farms for new employmt
- WWII war workers streamed to W. cities for ind plants--> Sun Belt cities-Miami, Dallas, Phoenix, LA-expanded greatly
- Returned servicemen could afford to borrow $$ for new homes w. Veterans Admin
- Cold War spending promoted most expansion in West--> CA econ growth > country-->1/5 all growth in CA- LA defeated of Philly as 3rd largest city-->West benefited from boom in service sector- W had most % of service workers
- 14 largest cities lost popn as whites fled inner city to suburban fringes--> 1/3 all Ams lived in suburbs, by end of ‘50s
- Part-time city: Manhattan’s noontime popn=1.5mn; nighttime 2,000
- WWII mass prod--> William Levitt cut const costs by making houses all same; “underscored Am values”: anticommie & seg
- GI Bill (Gov-insured mortgages) & low interest rates fueled housing boom
- By 1960, 3840 shopping centers catered to suburban clientele outside cities
- Rapid expansion encroached on rural areas & increasingly cluttered terrain
- Peter Blake- God’s Own Junkyard- book condemned careless attitudes toward environment, leading to uglification
- Little real consciousness of environ issues, but Ams began to appreciate & protect nature due to longer vacations & shorter workweeksà Nat’l Outdoor Recreation Review Commission = 1st step toward consideratn of environ
- Fed supp for sci activity inc (like during war)à Nat’l Inst of Health, Atomic Energy Comm, Def Dpt funded research labs
- ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator & Calculator) @UPenn- 1st computerà comps allowed for space exploration
- Transistors powered computers, hearing aids, stereophonic high-fidelity systems
- Automation far more widespread, threatening workers & purchasing power
- By 1960, 3/4ths all Am families owned at least 1 TV set--> In ‘55, avg family tuned in 4-5hrs/day
- Installmt plans for new cars while credit cards helped for small purchases (TV)
- 60s end: 50mn credit cards used. Consumer credit- total private debt- inc to $45bn
C) Consensus & Conformity
1. Contours of Religious Life- By end of 50s, 95% Ams identified w. some rel denom
- Evangelical Revivalism- Billy Graham- promoted greater rel involvemt; Pope John XXIII & Catholicism tried to broaden appeal (liturgies translated from Lat); Reform Judaism aot Orthodox - Jews assimilated as former restrictns lifted
- Rel reinf importance of family life & offered acceptable means of escape from anxieties of middle-class executive’s life
- Cong added “under God” to pledge & “In God We Trust” on US currency; Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship
- Beat Generation embraced Buddhism=primary challenge to rel conformity
- Postwar women liked work in mil plants & reluctant to leave--> 25%women (most white, well-educated, midclass) would prefer to be men but by ‘50s, baby boom inc fam size & made decision to remain home easier
- For women, college=chance to find husband; 2/3rds college women dropped outà Betty Friedan The Feminine Mystique
- Pediatrician Benjamin Spock Baby & Child Care advised mothers to stay at home
- 10-% Ams felt that unmarried person could be happy- houses stressed family comfort
- Al Kinsey Sexual Behavior in Human Male- 67% of males who went to college had sex b4 marr, 37% had some kind of overt homo activity; widely sold b/c opened door to subjected previously considered taboo
- Marilyn Monroe & Playboy- reflected interest in sexuality; Doris Day, heroine in many films, showed how to allure men
- 1940- 15% ; 50- 21%; 60- 30% wives employed- more $$ to shop; work<homemaking
- By ’60, 1/3+ Afr Am women held whitecollar jobsà income gap of b&w women in similar jobs dropped from 50% to 30%
- Beat Generation writers challenged apathy/conformity; stressed spontaneity/spirituality; intuition>reason; sneered at materialism, flaunted unconventional sex lives, smoked pot
- Jack Kerouac On the Road- praise of free lifestyle; Allen Ginsberg “Howl”- scathing critique of modern/mechanized culture
- Elvis Presley “King of Rock&Roll- techniques borrowed from black singers; sexually suggestiveness terrified parents
- Jackson Pollock- “NY School” abstract expressionists- unconscious=source of art
- Beats furnished model for rebellion in 1960s & reflected artist’s alienation from world filled w. nuclear threats, computerization, and materialism
D. Origins of the Welfare State
1. Harry S Truman- 1st post-war president, ill prepared for office
- Willing to make quick decisions; Feisty approach to public policy & stated position clearly
- Old-style Dem politician hoping to use authority to benefit midclass & workclass
- 21pt prog- house assist; raise min wage & unemp compens; natl commitmt to full emp
- Keynesian theory: massive spendg needed to raise econ; proved by WWII mil spendg
- 1946 Emp Act: applied Keytheory to preserve econ equil & prevent dep--> supposed to committed gov to maintaining full emp by monitorg econ & taking remedial action in case of decline (tax cuts, spending programs)--> condemned by business groups: gov interventn under-mine free enterprise/promote socialism--> Cong created Council of Economic Advisers but didn’t commit gov to full emp
- Truman support dropped 87% to 32%à Reps won majorities in Cong & governorships
- 80th congress planned to reverse liberal polices & re-est cong authority/weaken execà slashed fed spendg/taxes & struck at Dem labor policies
- Disruptive strikes occurred after WWII-->early Cong passed bill requiring notice for strikes & cooling-off pd, but vetoed-->new Rep Cong passed Taft-Hartley Act 1947 which restricted weapons unions could employ, spelled out unfair labor practices, outlawed closed shop (employee had t join union before getting job)
- Truman vetoed: plan was unworkable, unfair: went on public radio to seek pub approval-->regained some support but Cong passed over veto
- CivRts split Dem: S’ern delegates angered by liberals pressing for comm to Afr rtsà Dixiecrat/States’Rts Party nom J. Strom Thurmond (SC), supp racial segregation
- Progressive Party non Henry A Wallace: moderate pos on Sov-Am affairs, promotn of desegregatn, promise to nationalize RR/major industries; initial support dropped off
- Rep nom Thomas E. Dewey- polls uniformly picked Reps to win
- Truman appealed to ordinary Ams as unpretentious man in uphill fight; won bc able to revive major elems of Dem coalition FDR had constructed; won labor/farm/black votes
- Fair Deal- raised min wage & expanded SocSec prog; house prog did not meet housing needs, farm prog never passed by Cong, deseg mil but other CivRts prog not Cong-supp, Am Med Assoc undermined natl health insurance, Cong rejected fed aid to edu
- Dem nom Adlai Stevenson,liberal IL gov- approached pol issues in intellectual terms
- Rep nom Dwight Eisenhower- demanded more aggressive approach agst communism, criticized Truman scandals, promised to end Kor War;
- Ike unified various wings of party & won 55% pop vote & 41 states
- Easy manner & warm smile made him popular despite lack of formal pol bckgrd; had real ability to get ppl to compromise & work together
- Wanted to restore balance b/w branches of gov but recognized that it was impossible to scale back fed power to 1920s level--> dynamic conservatism=”conservative when it comes to $$, liberal when it comes to human beings”
- Econ concerns priority: DefSec-What is good for our country is good for GM,vice versa
- Red gov econ role: After Reps received $$ support from oil co, new Cong passed 1953 Submerged Lands Act transferring $40bn worth of oil lands from fed gov to states
- Red gov activity in electrical power field: opposed TVA proposal for expansion to provide power to Atomic Energy Comm & authorized private Dixon-Yates syndicate, scandal arose, so agreemt canceled, but preference for private developmt remained
- Reluc to stim econ--> annual rate of econ growth slowed 4.3% to 2.5% & 3 recessions
- Beneath Ike’s casual approach lay real shrewdness- hidden hand presidency unobtrusively orchestrated support for his own ends
- Ratified welfare state: gov took lead in initiating legis & steering bills thru cong about old-age pensions, unemp paymts, min wage
E. The Other America
1. Poverty amid Affluence
- 40mn (1/4 popn) lived either below yearly subsistence level or marginally above it
- 27% residential units substandard
- Socialist Michael Harrington- The Other America- described rural/urban poor
- S’ern blacks moved to S cities where they found better jobs/schooling & freedom from landlords, but most remained poor w. even less of support system than before
- Blacks also migrated to N cities believing N to be a promised land, disillusioned when they could only crowd into packed urban slums- author Claude Brown
- Black ghetto developed- Afr Ams attempting to move elsewhere attacked- corrosive effects of which exposed in James Baldwin’s Nobody Knows My Name
- Nvtl, black comm. remained- Chicago South Side replaced Harlem as black cultural capital: boxing champ Joe Louis, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, Rep Will Dawson
- Black church assisted newcomers in transition to urban setting, provided day-care facilities, Boy/Girl Scout troops, and sponsored social services
- Growth of black urban popn--> businesses catered to Afr Am: black banks, newspapers became more regional, tho Jet maintained nationwide circulation
- Impossible to escape from slums- persistent poverty & 2nd class status fact of life
- Grassroots mvt mobilized by soldiers, Kenyan Mau Mau revolt agst Brit, indep by Afr nations inspired AfrAm leaders
- AfrAms usu confined to Negro leagues, but Jackie Robinson played major in Dodgers
- Ams embarrassed as racial disc contradicted Cold War politics
- Truman appted Committee on Civil Rts- reported that AfrAms 2nd class in every area of life & called for change--> 10-pt civil rts program (st civrts plan since Recon)
- Exec order barring disc in Cong, mil servicesà integrated units in Kor War
- Justice Dpt filed briefs challengg const of restrictns in house/edu/interst transà pressure for change that influenced Sup Ct tho Cong took little action
- Brown v. Board of Edu- NAACP determined to overturn Plessy v. Ferguson (sep but equal). Brown sued school board to allow daughter to attend white school which she passed everyday to go to faraway black school--> Sup Ct decreed“sep facilities inherently unequal”& later declared local school boards should deseg ASAP
- Ike deseg Wash DC schools as model for rest of nation & navy yards/vets’ hospitals
- Little Rock, AK- Gov Faubus declared that deseg of Central HS inimical to orderà Nat’l Guardsmen turned away 9 blacks who tried to enterà Fed ct ordered troops to leaveàblack children still couldn’t enter, belligerently opposed by white students à Ike called out fed troops to protect rts of black children
- Brutal murder of 14-yr-old Emmett Till who offended white woman energized civrts mvt
- Rosa Park arrested for not sitting in black section of busà massive bus boycott which cut bus revenue by 65%à Sup Ct ruled bus seg violated Const
- Sen majority leader Lyndon B. Johnson pushed thru Cong CivRts Act 1957: created CivRts Commission & empowered Justice Dpt sue when blacks denied vote; CivRts Act 1960 set stiffer penalties for ppl who interfered w. vote, but both ineffective
- Unskilled/illiterate; faced similar conditions as blacks in cities
- In poor urban barrios, they preserved sense of comm & close-knit cohesive culture
- Mex Ams- Chicanos- most numerous; during war, braceros brought to US for temporary work & were expected to return to Mex when contract ended, but often stayed
- Oper Wetback: launched in bad recession 1953 to deport illeg entrants; expelled 1.1mn
- S Dems/cons Reps coalition still needed Mex farm laborersà extended Migratory labor Agreemt w. Mex--> 2yrs after deportations 445000 braceros crossed border
- Puerto Ricans had been migrating to NY since 1920s as sugarcane econ became more mechanizedà nearly 40% left homes--> by end of 60s, NYC had more PRans than San Juan
- Chicanos est American GI Forum to protest funeral home that refused to bury MexAm WWII casualty à burial in Arlington Natl Cemetary--> inspired more group action
- Gonzalo Mendez sued to allow children to attend white schoolà other comm. filed suit for integration in schools
- New orgs for equal rts: Comm Service Org to rally Chicanos agst disc, radical Assocn Nacional Mexico-Americana, League of United Latin American Citizens for reform
- LA large Chicano popn-->many confrontations: 1951 police broke into Simon Fuentes home, assaulted; Bloody Christmas officers removed 7 MexAms from jail cells & beat them
- Chicano activism in 1950s fragmented since many considered situation hopeless
- Reservation life lost cohesiveness to consumer culture & alcohol became major problem
- Good jobs not on reservn--> more moved to cities but faced much hostility/couldn’t adjust
- Cong est Indian Claims Commission: tribal suits charging that ancestral ands had been illeg seized could now be filed agst gov in fed ctsà cash, maybe land, reparation
- New Deal supp tribal autonomy, Ike favored termination- settle outstanding claims & eliminate res as legit pol entities; families who left res offered small subsidies
- Earl Old Person, Blackfoot leader conveyed general anger at effort to destroy culture
- Many tribes terminated--> Ind activism increased--> Natl Cong of Am Inds mobilized opposition to fed program & declared that they as Indians did not wish to become white men--> fostered Ind identity & sparked dawning awareness among whites of Inds’ rts to maintain heritageà Ike admin changed policy so that it required tribe’s consent--> continued to have force of law, but implementation ceased.
- 1946- measure supporting wartime law confiscating JpAm property stultified by JpAm Citizens League & later SupCt ruling
- 1952 Immig&Nationality Act aka McCarran-Walter Act eased immig quotas- removed ban on Jp immig, made 1st gen Jp immig eligible for citizenship, est quota of 100immigs/yr from each Azn country=1st step towards ending disc exclusion of past
- 2nd/3rd gen Azns moved into white-collar work, promoted edu for children, became part of growing middle class
CONCLUSION: QUALMS AMID AFFLUENCE
1. US during decade & half after WWII stable & secureà business boomed & standard of living reached new heights--> suburban middle-class enjoyed shopping centers, fast food, material life
2. AfrAms & other minority groups seriously disadvantaged, but still believed they could share in Am dream--> resorted to peaceful protest
3. Signs of discontent beneath calm surface= seeds of protest in 1960s: divorce rate increased (1/3 marriages in 1950s broke); Ams used tranquilizers to cope w. problems; some criticized materialism that seemed to undermine efforts in Cold War