chapter 26 us history

What caused “momism”

Women were encouraged to treat their role as a serious career, diligently studying the advice of experts like psychiatrists and Dr. Spock. This created immense pressure to perform motherhood perfectly, balancing the dual fears of not being devoted enough (if they had a career) or being too devoted

The contradiction of teenage rebellion during this time was ___

That much of the teenage discontent and rebellion against 1950s conformity was itself channeled through the consumer market. Advertisers learned to sell products that symbolized rebellion, just as they sold any other household good, commercializing the very act of non-conformity—— it's like the modern day equivalent of white, conservative, rich kids being “punk”

Beyond the teenage rock n roll rebellion, the ___

Beat Generation offered a more profound intellectual and spiritual rejection of the Affluent Society. They were disillusioned with capitalism and traditional paths, seeking deeper meaning through travel, Eastern religions, and experimentation with drugs and art.

Suburbanization

The massive post-war population shift from cities to suburbs— was fueled by government programs and the desire for single family homes

The baby boom wasn't just about soldiers returning home but ___

driven by newfound economic security that allowed families to afford bigger family's, younger marriages, and a cultural ideal that celebrated the large, insular family as a bulwark against Cold War anxieties

Despite Eisenhower's popularity, his moderate "middle way" agenda was ___

often defeated in Congress. This was due to a powerful, bipartisan alliance: conservative Republicans who thought his policies were too liberal, and liberal Democrats who thought they weren't liberal enough, resulting in legislative gridlock.

Long before the Stonewall riots, groups ____

like the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis were forming in the 1950s (walked so stonewall could run)—- a great need for secrecy, as they operated as underground support networks providing legal aid and literature, all while members risked arrest and abuse if discovered

Redlining

A racist ass thing that banks and new deal agencies like the HOLC/FHA refused loans and insurance to people in predominantly minority neighborhoods—— this systematically enforcing segregation and limiting wealth creation for African Americans

Separate but equal

The constitutional principle established by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) —— this was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which declared that segregated facilities are inherently unequal.

Ayn Rand was not just as a popular novelist____

But as a key figure who translated complex libertarian ideas about "rational self-interest" and the "virtue of selfishness" into a compelling philosophy for everyday suburbanites, providing the ethical building blocks for a new political identity.

The Corporate and Intellectual Crusade for Free Markets _____

Was a post war effort for groups like the National Association of Manufacturers and libertarian intellectuals (like those in the Mont Pelerin Society) to evangelize for free-market capitalism. They created an "ideological factory" to challenge the prevailing Keynesian consensus and lay the groundwork for a new conservative movement

Consumer economy was a post war ____

Economic system driven by high demand for consumer goods (appliances, cars, TVs) and facilitated by rising wages, installment plans, and the introduction of credit cards

Home Owners Loan Corporation HOLC

A New Deal agency that introduced the long-term, amortized mortgage, helping stabilize home ownership but also creating the discriminatory "redlining" maps

Federal Housing Administration FHA

A government agency that insured mortgages, making home ownership more accessible for many Americans, but often only for whites by adopting redlining policies

GI BILL/Servicemen's Readjustment Act)

A 1944 law that provided WWII veterans with benefits like low-cost mortgages, tuition stipends, and business loans, massively expanding the middle class but often inaccessible to Black veterans

William Levitt

The real estate developer who used mass-production techniques to build Levittown and other suburban communities, becoming a symbol of the post-war housing boom.

Thurgoid Marshall

The lead NAACP lawyer who argued Brown v. Board of Education; he later became the first African American Supreme Court Justice

Earl Warren

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who delivered the unanimous 9-0 ruling in the Brown v. Board of Education case

Kenneth and Mamie Clark

Social psychologists who conducted the "doll experiments," providing key evidence for the NAACP in Brown v. Board that segregation psychologically harmed Black children

Rachel Carson

Author of Silent Spring (1962), whose work on the environmental dangers of pesticides helped launch the modern environmental movement

The Post War Economic Boom

A period of massive, sustained economic growth after WWII, characterized by rising wages, increased consumer spending, and a dramatic expansion of the middle class.

The rise of the suburbs

A social and construction boom driven by government policies (shit like HOLC, FHA, G.I. Bill) and developers like Levitt, which reshaped American living patterns but also increased segregation and environmental concerns

Shelley v. Kraemer (1948)

A Supreme Court case that ruled racially restrictive covenants (clauses in property deeds barring sales to minorities) were unenforceable in court

Brown v . Board of Education 1954

The landmark Supreme Court case that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional, overturning "separate but equal."

1944

The year the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, or G.I. Bill, was passed, offering veterans low-interest home loans, college tuition, and business loans

1946

The year William Levitt built the first Levittown in Long Island, New York, becoming the prototype for post-war suburban development.

1948

The year the Supreme Court ruled in Shelley v. Kraemer that racially restrictive housing covenants were legally unenforceable

1962

The year Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, a book that galvanized the environmental movement by denouncing pesticide overuse

Dr. Benjamin Spock in 1946 published____

Baby and Child Care and Leonard Read founded the libertarian Foundation for Economic Education (FEE).

Mont Pelerin Society was founded in ____

1947 by Friedrich Hayek, bringing together libertarian intellectuals to challenge Keynesian economics.

Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected in ___

1952, leading a Republican sweep of Congress

In 1955, the film Rebel Without a Cause was released

highlighting teenage restlessness and rebellion in the Affluent Society

Baby Boom

The unprecedented spike in births from 1946 to 1964, fueled by postwar prosperity, younger marriages, and a cultural celebration of the family.

Consumer culture

A post-war culture where identity and experience were increasingly shaped by the purchase of goods and services, often marketed through new media like television.

Cult of Domesticity / Professional Homemaking

The post-war ideal that elevated the role of the housewife to a professional career, emphasizing expert advice on child-rearing and household management

Libertarianism

A political ideology that promotes individual liberty, property rights, and a free-market economy with minimal government regulation. It gained influence in the 1950s.

Keynesian economics

The dominant post-war economic theory that advocated for government fiscal and monetary policy to manage the economy, which was challenged by libertarian thinkers

Massive retaliation was President Eisenhower’s ____

foreign policy doctrine of threatening nuclear force to check communist expansion, avoiding direct American military involvement

The Nuclear Family was ____

An idealized family unit of a breadwinner father, homemaker mother, and their children, heavily promoted in 1950s television and culture— a “return to normalcy”

Reproductive Consensus was a post-war social expectation ____

that encouraged couples to marry young and have multiple children, forming large, insular families

Elvis Presley

The rock 'n' roll star whose music and sexually suggestive performances ignited a youth culture of rebellion and became a symbol of a new way of being American.

Beat generation

A group of writers and artists who rejected 1950s conformity, experimenting with drugs, Eastern religions, and art to find deeper meaning in life

Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman

Influential free-market economists. Hayek founded the Mont Pelerin Society, and Friedman (Chicago School) helped legitimize libertarian ideas in academia

Ayn Rabd

Author of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Her philosophy of "rational self-interest" and individualism popularized libertarian ideas for a mass audience.

Robert Taft

A conservative Republican senator who represented the party's anti-New Deal wing, challenging the more moderate "liberals" like Thomas Dewey

The Rise of television

The rapid adoption of TV in the 1950s, which became a central source of family entertainment and reinforced ideals of the nuclear family and consumer culture

The "Organization Man" and Suburban Conformity

The social pressure to conform to corporate and community norms in the new suburban landscapes, which was both reinforced by and reacted against in 1950s culture.

A cultural movement of youth rebellion ___

where American youth, feeling restless and dissatisfied, embraced rebellious rock 'n' roll music and styles as an outlet.

Early gay rights movement

The formation of secretive support and advocacy groups like the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis, which laid the groundwork for the later gay liberation movement.

The resurgence of conservatism

The post-war intellectual and political movement that championed free-market libertarianism, anti-communism, and social conservatism, setting the stage for the 1960s

Eisenhower “Middle Way” stood for his___

moderate political stance that accepted the New Deal but avoided further major reforms, often leading to legislative gridlock.

Levittown was the ___

The prototypical suburban community, built by William Levitt on Long Island, New York, in 1946. It became the model for post-war suburban development across the United States.

Mass-Production Techniques: Levitt used large-scale, efficient construction methods, purchasing large plots of land, subdividing lots, and using crews to build countless nearly identical homes.

· Affordability

· Exclusionary Policy—-only for white people.

· became a national Model