APUSH AMSCO Unit 8.4

explain the causes of economic growth in years after WWII + explain causes and effects of the migrations of various groups of Americans after 1945

Harry S. Truman

thrust into the presidency after FDR’s death in April 1945

Employment Act of 1946

watered-down version of Truman’s employment bill; introduced the Council of Economic Advisors to advise the president and Congress on means of promoting national economic welfare

GI Bill of Rights/GI Bill

provided support during the transition of 15 million veterans to a peacetime economy; 2 million GIs attended college, 8 million received other training, and $16 billion in low-interest, government-backed loans to buy homes, farms, or to start businesses.

baby boom

50 million babies between 1945 and 1960; a sign of confidence among young people

Levittown

a project of 17,000 mass-produced, low-priced family homes on Long Island, New York

Sun Belt

warmer climate, lower taxes, and economic opportunities in defense-related industries attracted GIs and their families

22nd Amendment

limited a president to a maximum of two full terms in office

Taft-Hartley Act

outlawed the closed shop (requiring workers to join a union before being hired), permitted states to pass right to work laws outlawing the union shop (requiring workers to join a union after being hired), outlawed secondary boycotts (unions supporting a striking union by boycotting a company’s products), and allowed the president to invoke an 80-day cooling-off period before a strike endangering national safety could be called

Fair Deal

Truman hoped to accomplish reforms but most bills were defeated due to Truman’s political conflicts with Congress or the pressing foreign policy concerns of the Cold War

Dwight D. Eisenhower

former general who led Allied forces in Europe in WWII

Department of Health, Ed., and Welfare

consolidated welfare program that extended Social Security to 10 million more people, raised the minimum wage, and built public housing

Modern Republicanism

the balanced and modern approach of Eisenhower

Highway Act

authorized the construction of 42,000 miles of interstate highways linking all of the nation’s major cities

New Frontier

JFK called for aid to education, federal support of healthcare, urban renewal, and civil rights

Trade Expansion Act

authorized tariff reductions with the new European Economic Community of Western European nations

New Federalism/revenue sharing

Congress gave local governments $30 billion in block grants over five years to address local needs

stagflation

combination of an economic slowdown and high inflation