America 1940s-50s

Impact of WW2 on Farming

USA began to export food to it’s allies.

After 20 years of depressed prices and economic crisis, they began to enjoy better lives.

Farmers prospered because they supplied food to the military.

Impact of WW2 on Wages and Spending Power

Buying power of American workers stimulated new industries to meet their demands.

Roosevelt could effectively raise taxes and spent money at any level he wanted in order to win the war.

Wages increased with demand for workers.

Similar to the boom, but with less extravagant spending. (as they had already experienced a bust)

Many Americans invested money into bonds.

Lent money to the government by paying war bonds, with a promise that they would be paid back after the War.

Americans contributed $129 billion to the war effort by buying bonds.

Gave the government money to spend on wartime production which continued to boost the economy.

Impact of WW2 on Employment

People who had found it impossible to find a job in the Depression now found it easy to find work.

In 1939, there were 9.5 million unemployed Americans - around 17% of the potential workforce. By 1944 employment was only 670,000.

By 1941, around 4 million had jobs building fighter planes, battle ships, and tanks. There were 14 million workers in the factories.

California saw an influx of nearly 1.5 million new workers.

The traditional industries of coal, steel, iron and oil were all boosted by the demands of the War.

War Production Board (WPB) (WW2 Impact)

In Jan 1942, the WPB was created to convert industries from peacetime work to war work.

Within weeks car companies began to build tanks and fighter planes.

Factories that made silk ribbons now produced parachutes, and typewriter companies now produced machine guns.

The WPB made sure that all the factories received all the materials they needed to produce the most war goods in the shortest time. In 1943, US factories produced 86,000 planes, and 96,000 in 1944. FDR’s target of 50,000 had been smashed.

Impact of WW2 on Women

• During the war, 300,000 women joined the armed forces and another 7 million joined the workforce.

• As millions of men joined the war, women began to fill their places in factories, railways and shipyards. Between 1940 and 1945, the number of women in work rose from nearly 12 million to 19 million.

• Before the war broke out, women had worked in traditional female jobs like nursing or teaching, however in the war women were given awkward welding jobs as they were smaller and more flexible.

• Women now occupied a third of all American jobs

• 60% of plant managers said that women were their best workers. Many were earning higher wages than ever and would not be willing to go back to their old life.

• When the men returned, they took the jobs back and tensions rose. Many men still had prejudices against women working in well-paid jobs, and expected life to return to how it was pre-war.

• Increased the drive for feminism

Impact of WW2 on African Americans

• Early in the war, a prominent African-American civil rights campaigner planned to march to Washington D.C. to protest the treatment of African-American workers.

• To prevent the march, FDR made the FEPC (Fair Employment Practice Committee)

• In their army units, there will still a lot of segregation.

• In Europe, however, there was no segregation, so African-American soldiers were allowed in society. This caused white American soldiers to set off, such as the Battle of Bamber Bridge when white soldiers rioted in a pub.

• The lack of segregation in Europe caused African-Americans to question the racism and segregation back in the US, and caused a greater push for the civil rights movement.

Legacy of WW2 for America

Before the War, the US spent about 1% of it’s GNP on the military. During the war this increased - but when the war ended the government decided to directly and permanently increase the % spent. Since 1945 the US has been spending between 8-20% of it’s GNP on armed forces.

Another legacy was the renewed fight for civil rights for African Americans because of the FEPC’s work. There was a political legacy too. There was an increased belief that the government would actually solve big issues, like economic depression and conflict. During the War, the government had taken strict control of things, and now many Americans were more accepting of this.

Why did America experience a post-war boom? (5 reasons)

• Growth of consumerism and it’s impacts

• The Cold War

• Help for Veterans

• Truman’s Fair Deal

• Impact of Eisenhower’s presidency

Growth of consumerism as a reason for the post-war boom

Peacetime goods were produced in the same efficient way that wartime goods were. Luxury refrigerators and ovens, vacuum cleaners, cars and televisions were produced at prices millions could afford.

A huge advertising industry and ‘buy now, pay later’ scheme influenced people to buy commercial goods. Shopping malls were built on the outskirts of towns and cities, and town and city centres went into decline as people travelled away to malls.

By the end of the 1950s, 9 out of every 10 US household had a TV, eight had a car and telephone, and seven had a washing machine.

Europe, after being devastated by War, was keen to buy American goods. Despite only having 6% of the world’s population, America was supplying the world with 65% of it’s manufactured goods.

A baby boom also saw a 40% increase in the population.

The Cold War as a reason for the post-war boom

In 1949, the USA learnt that the USSR had developed an atomic bomb, so lots of government spending went into developing a hydrogen bomb.

As the USSR and USA continued to compete, they developed greater and more destructive weapons, which involved huge government spending, contributing to the economy of post-war spending.

Help for Veterans as a reason for the post-war boom

Towards the end of the war, a GI bill was passed to help veterans of the conflict.

It established hospitals, made cheap home loans available and offered grants to pay for ex-soldiers to attend college or trade schools. From 1944-1949, nearly 9 million veterans received around $4 billion from the government.

Truman’s Fair Deal as a reason for the post-war boom

Like FDR, Truman wanted to help Americans most in need.

The 2 main issues he hoped to tackle were poverty and the rights of African-Americans. Truman raised the minimum hourly wage from 40 cents to 75 cents, and cleared large slums to make way for affordable housing.

Not everybody agreed with his ideas - a proposal to introduce national health insurance was blocked by Republicans, and an attempt to improve the rights of African-Americans was halted when many Southern politicians voted against it.

Impact of Eisenhower’s Presidency as a reason for the post-war boom

In 1952, Dwight Eisenhower became president. He was a Republican who brought lots of business people into the government to keep the economy booming. They succeeded, and throughout Eisenhower’s presidency, the living standards of millions of Americans improved as wages kept rising.

Unrest of women after WW2

After WW2, men took women’s jobs back and they were left in the traditional industries such as sewing. By 1950, the average age a woman got married at was 20 - the lowest since 1890. Men thought that a woman’s place was “in the home”, and a woman was living the American Dream if she had the gadgets to help her. However, a growing number of women in the late 1950s (mainly middle class women) were becoming increasingly frustrated with their limited lives.

American Dream

An idea that if you work hard, you will have decent housing and healthcare. Everyone can attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone.

Causes of the 1950s Red Scare

• Korean War: American War in South-East Asia was to challenge and prevent the spread of communism.

• Spy Scandals: In 1950, a government employee was accused of spying for the USSR. In 1953, two Americans were executed for spying. The public became increasingly nervous.

• Cold War: The USSR became a rival superpower to America. Tensions grew worse after the USSR began testing nuclear weapons in 1949.

• Communism spreads: America adopted a policy known as containment, aiming to stop the spread of communism. Communist advanced in Eastern Europe and China, showing that containment was failing.

HUAC

The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was set up in 1938 to investigate claims of disloyalty and trouble-making against people and organisations with suspected links to communism.

In 1945, the HUAC became a permanent committee and it’s role was expanded to allow it to investigate influential people suspected of being communists.

Between 1947-1950, millions of Americans were investigated for communist sympathies. None of them were ever convicted, but simply being investigated could cost them their jobs.

Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism

• In 1950, senator Joseph McCarthy claimed that he had the names of over 200 communist spies employed by the government. This caused a sensation and, in a country terrified of communism, McCarthy became a hero.

• Between 1950-1955, McCarthy led an increasingly frantic series of investigations to root out supposed communists. He rarely had any real evidence for his claims. Anyone who opposed his claims was accused of being a communist supporter. McCarthy made it clear that the only way you could prove you had abandoned ‘left-wing-views’ was by naming other members of the party.

• His searches became known as Witch Trials.

• His researchers investigated libraries and discovered 30,000 books that they thought were ‘communist’. These books were removed from library shelves.

Effects of McCarthyism on society

• Left-wing groups began to disappear as their ideas became associated with communism. Many left-wing people left America, causing an imbalance in American politics.

• Politicians were afraid to oppose McCarthy because their careers would be harmed if they were suspected of being communist. Even President Eisenhower was afraid of working with McCarthy’s enemies.

• Some filmmakers and writers who did not want to answer questions about their political beliefs were jailed, and didn’t work in Hollywood again. This meant that others became reluctant to deal with controversial social or political issues.

• In the name of protecting America from communists, the government attacked individual rights and started to control organisations that had been independent.

McCarthy’s Downfall

• Eventually, McCarthy’s investigations went too far. He accused 45 army officers of being communists. He was asked to provide proof and failed to do so.

• At the same time, army officials fed anti-McCarthy stories to the press. Public support for McCarthy fell quickly and many people disapproved of his methods.

• People started to use the term ‘McCarthyism’ to describe the act of making accusations without evidence, and the term is still used today.

Rock and Roll Generation - Teenagers

• The word teenagers was introduced in the 1950s to describe the new group of young people who had more spare cash - and more free time to spend it - than previous generations. This reflected the increased prosperity in society as well as changes in social attitudes.

• Teenagers spent their money on clothes, records, eating out, entertainment, and increasingly, alcohol. American businesses soon realised that teenagers had more money to spend, so they started targeting more products and advertising at young people.

• In 1940, the average 15 year old had $1-2 per week to spend. By the late 1950s, this had risen to around $15.

Rock and Roll Generation - Generation Gap

• The popular culture aimed at and consumed by teenagers meant that they soon dressed, spoke, and behaved differently to their parents. They listened to different music and enjoyed doing different things. Parents often struggled to understand their children and a generation gap developed.

• Many older Americans thought that teenagers were rude, rebellious, and disrespectful. Film stars like James Dean became symbols of teenage rebellion.

Rock and Roll Generation - Rock and Roll

• Rock and Roll was a new style of music that became popular in the 1950s. It developed from blues and jazz, but was made for a largely white audience, who had more money to spend.

• It’s strong rhythm made it easy to dance to, and the lyrics often referred to young people doing things like staying out late and drinking. Many older Americans thought rock and roll was immoral and dangerous - which only made teenagers like it more.

Rock and Roll Generation - Television

• In 1950, about 3 million families had a television. Ten years later, this had risen to 55 million. The price of a television set dropped from $500 to $200.

• Television presented an ‘ideal’ family life from an almost entirely white point of view. It showed adverts that encouraged people to buy products to be like the people they saw on TV, and influenced every aspect of culture.

Acts influenced by McCarthyism

• 1940 Smith Act made it illegal for anyone to aid, teach or advocate the overthrow of the government. All alien residents had to register their political beliefs.

• 1947 Federal Employment Loyalty Program was set up. Of the 6 million government employees who were checked, 14,000 had further FBI checks and 2,000 were dismissed. The government’s actions made other organisations - universities, churches, political groups and local governments - start their own investigations to root out communists.

• 1950 McCarren Internal Security Act required members of communist organisations to register with the government and it prohibited their employment and travel.

• Alger Hiss - a former state department official, was found guilty of perjury after two years of investigations by Nixon, the HUAC, and McCarthy, found that he had passed classified documents to a communist.

Life for teenagers before WW2

• A young man leaving school would be expected to find a job or join the armed services to earn money for his family.

• A young woman leaving school would get a traditional “woman’s job” (such as a secretary, teacher, or factory machine operator), before getting married and having children.

• Graduating high school then going to college/university was not particularly common

• Young people had little influence and limited freedom as important decisions were usually made by the older generation.

Changes in the expectations of teenagers after WW2

• With a booming economy, parents could help their children to achieve more.

• This tied in with the American Dream - each generation becoming more successful. A more prosperous America meant children no longer had to support the family by getting a job at 14 or 15

• Many families insisted that their children finish high school and then paid for them to go to college afterwards

• Many parents had gone through a Great Depression and a War, so they were keen that their children made the most of their opportunities.

Birth of the teenager after WW2

• Teenagers had more leisure time and spending power than previous generations. It was estimated that the average teenager spent $10-15 a week in 1957 compared to $1-2 in the 1940s.

• Teenager’s annual spending power raised from $10 billion in 1950 to $25 billion in 1959

• They spent their money on music, cars, fashion and alcohol. Some boys because “thrill-seekers” who raced cars, drank heavily and formed gangs.

• Teenagers soon got a reputation for being independent, rebellious, secretive and aggressive.

• A generation gap grew.

• Figures like James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando became emblems of teenage rebellion.

• American businesses soon realised they could sell all kinds of products to teenagers, and targeted advertising towards them.

Changes experienced by teens in the R&R generation

• They had expendable income

• Music became completely portable

• Black artists created R&B

• Rock and Roll was born from R&B

• Movies were produced targeted to teenagers

• New celebrities such as Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe

• Celebrities became younger

• Disposable income for clothes

Problems faced by African Americans in the 1950s

• Segregation

• Discrimination

• Lack of opportunity

• Below the poverty line

• Persecution

• Inequality

• Emmett Till (a young A.A boy) was kidnapped and brutally beaten to death, but the murderers were unanimously voted as Not Guilty and let free, showing the racial injustice still prevalent in the Southern states.

Progress made in racial equality by 1950

• In 1937, a trade union for African-American workers won improved pay and conditions.

• A law stated that there ‘shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defence industries and in government because of race, creed, colour or national origin’ was passed in 1941.

• In 1941-45, a mixed-race politician successfully campaigned to allow African-American journalists into the press rooms in Congress and African-American students into the US Naval Academy

• President Truman created the President’s Committee on Civil Rights, which recommended the ‘elimination of segregation, based on race, colour, creed or national origin, from American life’

S.P.E.N.D for the Brown Vs. Board case

• Many black children in Topeka, Kansas, had to pass their local ‘white’ school and travel further to the nearest ‘black’ school.

• In 1951, the Browns and 12 other parents went to court to fight for their children’s right to go to their nearest school, which was ‘white’. They lost the case.

• In 1952, the NAACP bundled all five school desegregation cases together and took them to Court as Brown v the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. They argued that the 14th amendment was being broken.

• By December 1952, the Supreme Court judges had not made a ruling. Before the trial began, a pro-segregation judge died. His replacement was not pro-segregation and became Chief Justice (which meant he led the group)

• On May 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that life had changed. A good education was vital to progress. Segregated education made black children feel inferior, so was unconstitutional. ‘Separate but equal’ had no place in education and schools had to desegregate.

Significance of Brown Vs. Board

• People were putting their whole reputation at risk

• Wouldn’t have impacted the deep South as Kansas is not in it.

• By the end of 1957 school year, 723 school districts had desegregated.

• Sparked many more desegregation campaigns

• In the deep South, the children who integrated into “white schools” were targets of threats and violence.

• KKK membership grew and attacks were focused on civil rights supporters

• Public schools that tried to desegregate were closed in Virginia

• Paved the way for desegregation in other areas of life

• Integration would mean the loss of black teachers and schools that provided a good, supportive education for black pupils

• Many local groups were set up to fight school desegregation, often started by parents

• Increased levels of racism

• Black children in desegregated schools had no role models

• Black teachers either lost their jobs or were discriminated against and couldn’t find jobs in other places.

S.P.E.N.D of Montgomery Bus Boycott

• Rosa Parks was the sixth woman in Montgomery to be arrested for refusing to move on a segregated bus in 1955 alone.

• Parks was arrested on December 1st for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus to a white man, leaving him standing.

• The WPC (Women’s Political Council - set up in 1946) called for a one-day boycott of the buses in protest of Parks’ arrest.

• 90% of black people who usually rode on buses boycotted them. Civil rights activists realised they could use the situation to get publicity for their cause and make real changes in Montgomery - the boycott was a success.

• The MIA (Montgomery Improvement Association) was set up in December 1955 and MLK was appointed leader. They decided to continue the bus boycott until their demands were met.

• Many African Americans who relied on buses lost their jobs and faced violence on the streets. Local church groups set up car pools to share car journeys, causing boycotts to have even more publicity.

• The NAACP saw the publicity and brought a case to desegregate Montgomery buses. In June 1956, the Supreme Court stated that buses should be desegregated. After several failed attempts from the bus company to over-turn the ruling, buses were desegregated on the 21st December 1956.

Significance of the Montgomery Bus Boycott

• Showed that African Americans could organise mass resistance and that civil rights campaigns could attract widespread support if they were well organised and well publicised.

• Brought MLK into the spotlight.

• Showed the importance of publicity in the fight for civil rights.

• Sparked other boycotts, such as in Tallahassee, Florida.

• Rules of non-violent direct action were first clearly laid out.

• Showed how black actions set off a negative white response. Helped the civil rights cause as it showed the problems black Americans faced.

• Civil rights activists later exploited this, holding mass protests where an extreme reaction from white people was likely.

• White backlash continued

• Shots were fired at black people riding buses

• No further desegregation in Montgomery for many years

• Black people lost their jobs and faced violence

• Bus companies lost a lot of money

• Improved solidarity between black people who boycotted together.

• White people wanted to keep their authority, so resisted the boycott.

S.P.E.N.D of Little Rock Nine

• In Little Rock Arkansas, parks, libraries, and buses had already been desegregated. A plan was made for gradual school desegregation. About 75 black students applied to the school, and 25 were admitted to enrol. Opponents threatened black families with the loss of their jobs and violence.

• At the start of the 1957 school year, only 9 of students were willing to go, known as the Little Rock Nine.

• Orval Faubus, governor of Arkansas sent 250 state troops to surround the school to ‘keep the peace’, stopping black students from going in. The state troops turned a back student back towards an angry mod of white people.

• Many students integrating into schools faced similar problems. On 4th September, over 250 reporters gathered outside of Little Rock School alerted by the events of the previous day.

• President Eisenhower was forced to act. He ordered Faubus to remove the state troops from Little Rock. Rioting still continued outside of the school.

• On the 24th September, Eisenhower signed a Presidential order sending over 1000 federal troops to Little Rock to support the students.

• The troops stayed until the end of term to make sure the Nine got to and from school safely. However, they could not stop the threats from students and teachers.

• Faubus tried to close the school to stop integration, but was forced to reopen them in 1959 due to pressure from white parents.

Significance of the Little Rock Nine

• More global awareness of African-American problems thanks to media publicity.

• Took away desegregation and white authority.

• International awareness of problems.

• Taking away state power.

• Federal government challenged State Government

• Southern States wouldn’t have liked this.

• On 24th February 1956, senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia demanded massive resistance to desegregation. He said he would close public schools in his state that tried to desegregate.

• Many schools put black and white schools within the same school, but segregated within the school.

• Used examples of violent resistance, such as mobs and riots outside of schools as a reason to exclude black students.

• Desegregated one or two schools in each area, but left the rest segregated.

Significance of MLK

• King became important in the civil rights movement because of his education, non-violent approach, passionate speeches, devotion to civil rights and emphasis on Christian values. He had widespread appeal among black and white people. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was his first significant civil rights protest.

• He played an important part in keeping the boycotters going, raising funds for the MIA and getting publicity for the boycott.

• People such as Jo Ann Robinson, E. D. Nixon and Ralph David Abernathy were also important for organising the boycott.

• While King was protesting, his home was bombed.

• King then stood on his bombed porch with the white officials and did not shout at them or get angry. He asked the crowd not to react violently, but to go home peacefully and remember they were believers in non-violence. They went.

1957 Civil Rights Act

• The 1957 Civil Rights Act, signed on September 9th, allowed federal courts to prosecute state violations of voting rights. However, these prosecutions would be tried in the state by a jury. An all-white jury in the South was unlikely to do anything but dismiss such a prosecution.

• As a result, it was a positive step forward in showing that the federal government supported civil rights.

• But, it also showed the power of Southern opposition to civil rights legislation, in its ability to slow it down and block its enforcement.

• Eisenhower himself didn’t support the Civil Rights Act, as he believed real change came from changing the way people think, not forcing them to do something.

• Dixiecrats in Congress fiercely opposed any bill supporting the civil rights of black Americans.

Significance of Greensboro Sit-Ins

• Existing civil rights groups helped the sit-ins to spread rapidly, but it was mainly a reaction to the first protest.

• Some white southerners joined CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) and SNCC (Student Non-violent Co-ordinating Committee), even when segregationists (those who supported segregation) threatened them.

• Sit-ins attracted significant numbers of protesters (about 50,000 by mid-April 1960).

• Visible form of protest that was hard to ignore.

• Everything about a sit-in was open to the media.

• Other people, such as college professors began to take part in sit-ins. By the end of the year, the number of white people joining the protests meant the organisers could use mixed race groups in their protests.

• Showed the importance of publicity. When the sit-ins spread, the media saw it as a newsworthy mass movement, and the coverage was mainly supportive.

• Favourable news coverage produced support from black and white people in both the North and South. There were demonstrations across the USA, at local branches of nationwide department stores that segregated their facilities.