1939-1973: The Rise and Expansion of the “Affluent Society” Study Guide

WWII Isolation

• Millions will die in WWII just like WWI because of new technology and deadlier weapons

• Huge drain on the U.S. economy and resources: depression just happened and the U.S. is not fully recovered – U.S. will have to spend great sums of money that the U.S. does not have

• The U.S. is not prepared to go to war because of the economy: nothing is made, no weapons/ factories producing weapons; would need to draft

• Too much risk of the U.S. being attached to foreign powers: could put U.S. territory at risk and form new enemies

WWII Intervention

• Could be the economy boost that the U.S. needs to finally bounce back from the Great Depression

• U.S. can spread democracy throughout Europe

• Jumpstart the U.S. economy and return it to its full strength – more production of goods that can be sold in Europe/ around the world, more job opportunities

• Boost the U.S. military → more jobs from possible draft

  • America will be better protected if its military is already built up; U.S. will not be vulnerable

• European interests = American interests

• Pearl Harbor served as the spark that involved the U.S. – Proved that the U.S. was in danger

Japanese Immigration/ Immigration Restrictions

• In 1860, 250,000+ Japanese immigrants concentrated on West Coast

  • Started with restrictions

    • Gentlemen’s Agreement 1907 - Japanese would not allow further emigration to the U.S., U.S. would not impose restrictions on Japanese immigrants in the U.S.

    • Immigration Act of 1924 - restricted immigration to Northern Europeans

• Pearl Harbor attack - December 7, 1941; response: internment

  • Fear of 5th column - sleeper agents who attack domestically

Life in internment camps

• Japanese forced off of their property into fenced in internment camps in the middle of nowhere, camps had barracks with little to no privacy; could not leave camps, limited food, no showers, 

• Strict rules – If one did not take a loyalty oath, they were sent away w/ criminal punishments for not following rules

Draft resistance (Question 27, will you agree to be drafted into the U.S. military)

• For resisting the draft, average punishment was 3 years in jail

  • Around 300 charged - they were pardoned by Truman in 1947

Swearing unequivocal allegiance to the United States (Question 28)

• Question 28 was changed to “Will you swear to abide by the laws of the United States and take no action which would in any way interfere with the war effort of the United States?

  • Those who answered no to Questions 27 and 28 (about 9,000) were sent to Tule Lake Segregation Camp

Aftermath of Japanese internment

• 1983 - Personal Justice Denied: Government report concluded the concentration camps were a product of racism, recommended the gov’t pay reparations

• 1988 - Civil Liberties Act - Admitted gov’t actions were from “race prejudice, war hysteria, failure of political leadership + authorized a payment of $20,000 (about $49,000 today) for each former detainee that was still alive (43 years after WWII ended)

Rosie the Riveter:

• Made for Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, displayed from Feb 15 - Feb 28, 1943

  • Virtually unknown before the mid 80s

  • In the well known image, woman in the image is beautified

Reinforcement of pre-war gender norms

• Women are treated as different in the workplace - sexist hiring characteristics that favor young married women – seen as more delicate therefore: special breaks, can’t be yelled at

• Women received 40% of pay compared to men, avg weekly earnings for women post-war dropped by $13, majority earned under $40 per week

• Jobs for women were temporary, therefore women could not advance in the workplace (post-war women worked clerical jobs)

• Some women complained they wanted to go back to domestic duties; women still had to perform all of these domestic duties while having a job

  • President Hoover stated that women’s roles were to be mothers

• Daycares opened but were rarely used because moms still took care of the kids

Challenge of pre-war gender norms

• First time that women are not in a domestic role (especially for middle class)

  • “First time I’ve used my hands”

• Women pushed into male dominated industries

• More freedom for women as they were able to earn their own wages

The decision to drop the Atomic Bomb was

Justified

• Indefinite whether the Japanese would surrender or not

• Saved both American lives and Japanese lives

  • Japanese civilians were starving because of the blockade; if the Japanese did not surrender, the blockade continued

• Japanese civilians were warned by the U.S. to evacuate (leaflets), it was the Japanese gov’t that prevented them from leaving

• Morale was low in Japan and U.S. had been fighting for a while, but Japan refused to give up

  • Bomb was the only thing that could end the war

• Japanese soldiers were raping women

• Japanese had backstabbed the U.S. and deserved it

The decision to drop the Atomic Bomb was Unjustified

• U.S. could have clarified the terms of surrender/ made adjustments

  • Unclear what “unconditional surrender” meant

  • Japanese really wanted to keep their emperor and U.S. let them after the war

• Other alternatives that would kill fewer Japanese civilians

• Russia was going to declare war on Japan on August 15

• U.S. did not want Russia to be able to negotiate terms of surrender, so they dropped the bomb to prevent Russian involvement, not because it was necessary

• U.S. wanted to scare Russia at the expense of Japanese civilians

• The effects of the atomic bomb were brutal; birth defects affected the next generation; cancer and radiation poisoning caused slow, painful deaths

• Truman should have waited to drop the second bomb

The House Un-American Committee 1947

• a special committee to be composed of seven members for the purpose of conducting an investigation of

  • (1) the extent, character, and object of un-American propaganda activities in the United States, 

  • (2) the diffusion within the United States of subversives and un-American propaganda that is instigated from foreign countries or of a domestic origin and attacks the principle of the form of government as guaranteed by the Constitution, and

  • (3) all other questions in relation thereto that would aid Congress in any necessary remedial legislation.”

Outcomes from trials by HUAC

• Hollywood ten charged with contempt of Congress and served six months to a year in prison

• Hollywood studios blacklisted over 200 people (exact # unknown) + many of them prominent officials

McCarthyism

• campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy in the period 1950–54

  • Many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs, although most did not in fact belong to the Communist Party

Lavender Scare

• Washington D.C. was progressive and there was a large LGBTQ+ community there; several LGBTQ+ people worked in the U.S. gov’t

  • Fear that the USSR could blackmail gov officials who were part of the LGBTQ+ community

Escalation (or cooling) of Cold War Tensions- foreign policy (1945 U.S. policy/actions)

• U.S. is dominant superpower in military + nuclear, soviet attitudes of fear of “world domination” of U.S. imperialism 

• Argument for incitation of cold war: U.S. military growth w/ soviet response to security threats OR U.S. military growth is RESPONSE to soviet aggression 

Truman Doctrine 1947:

• USSR violated Yalta agreement

  • Containment, aid, weapons to capitalist countries in Europe ($400M to greek + turkish anticommunist forces) 

    • Make allies of U.S. and restrict soviet access to straits + port

Berlin Airlift 1948-1949:

soviets try to control city by cutting off Berlin from West → U.S. airlifts supplies + $2M tons of food – Soviets abandon plan

NATO

escalating or cooling tensions? – defensive treaty to deter USSR attack on small European nations

USSR atomic bomb 1949

• aggression or reasonable given US military superiority?

  • Hydrogen bomb by US (more power) 1953, later USSR

Warsaw pact

• (USSR version of NATO) – response to NATO? 

  • USSR invasion of hungary restores communist gov’t

Korean war

communism more popular, but U.S. and UN aid SK (capitalistic side) and USSR aid NK w/weapons

Berlin wall 1961 “Brain drain”

Symbol of cold war + communist oppression of East – escalation?

Cuban missile crisis 1962:

• 1959 communist rev in Cuba – in Bay of Pigs U.S. unsuccessfully tries to overthrow gov’t 

  • USSR (Cuban ally) builds nuclear launch sites in Cuba w/U.S. in range 

  • Cuba: protection, USSR: pressure to U.S. seen as escalation → blockade: U.S. will attack any ship otw to Cuba

  • USSR angry, responds by asserting freedom of seas

  • End: U.S. removes Turkey warheads, USSR removes Cuba missiles and base (kept a secret to make it seem like U.S. won)

Home deeds:

• contracts tied to property – racially restrictive/segregating

  • 1948 discriminatory deeds illegal but approval boards created to deny POC/LGBTQ

Public housing:

• originally for middle class – cause of housing shortages after WW2 and GD (more integrated at first bc of job nature) 

• PW ⇒ public housing must be white or black designated 

  • Becomes directed to poor, away from middle class in 50’s

• 50’s residents can pay for market price of housing → creating upper limits of income so only poor can stay → decrease in budget + residents cannot offset cash 

Red Lining:

determining difficulty lvl to get loan based on social + racial class: still present today

Abuses of Power:

highways, dumps, etc built in POC neighborhoods over white ones

State Sanctioned Violence

• Intimidation/harassment of blacks in white towns 

  • Gov’t lets it happen, sometimes joins in – bombing, firebombing, vandalism, etc

De Jure v.s. De Facto Segregation:

• de jure is by law, de facto is natural segregation by private + socioeconomic situation 

• currently , we are more segregated than late 20th century 

• 1968 fair housing act: cannot discriminate in housing practices 

  • Hasn’t done enough? House prices up, wages stagnant, avg black wealth < white

Suburbanization Good

• Representation of social class and freedom, sense of community through common values, consumerism increases standard of living and expected “image” of a family 

• White middle class women can balance having jobs (light) with being happy housewife, have community involvement, able to keep busy with kids + errands, can live off husband’s salary, high degree of social freedom

Suburbanization Bad

• monotonous, similar houses → uniformity in people, no diversity, no sense of community, no recreational/public facilities, friendship only based on needs + social relations based on personal gain

• White middle class women have boring daily routines centered around husband and idea that fulfillment should be centered around household + chores ⇒ women felt entrapped + alone → feminine mystique

Second Wave Feminism

Fighting for individual freedom, sexual expression, and reproductive choice

Feminine Mystique

• 1963 written by Betty Friedan

  • “The problem that has no name” - women longing to do more

NOW (National Organization for Women)

• Founded in 1966 with Friedan as president

  • Demanded- equality in jobs, opportunity, political participation

Miss America 1968

• At the Jersey Shore - huge protest to stop the objectification of women

  • Freedom Trash Can to throw away symbols of oppression

Reproductive rights

• The pill 1960 - birth control rights

• Roe V Wade 1973 - abortion access

Title IX

1972 (Nixon Administration) Banned gender discrimination in any education program that receives federal funding

Successes of 2nd Wave feminism

• 1963: “equal pay for equal work” – Expanded in 1972 to salespeople, executives, administrators, etc.

• 1970: Schultz v Wheaton Glass: makes it illegal for a company to change a job’s title so that they could pay women who held the position less than male workers.

• 1974: Equal Credit Opportunity Act: Women no longer need a man to cosign a bank account

• 1978: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act

Failures of 2nd Wave feminism

• “Family Values”

• ERA – Congress had approved the ERA and sent it to the states for ratification

  • Phyllis Schlafley, a conservative not believe women needed to be “liberated” from their homes and families

  • Polls show most Americans favored the ERA but well organized conservative movement stopped it

• Abortion: “Right to Life”; March for Life

Civil Rights Movement

South follows desegregation order very slowly (think segregation is integral to peace) → battles over integration

Montgomery Bus boycott 1955:

direct action, successful – Rosa parks led, prompts sit ins at legally segregated places where blacks get arrested but violence was committed by whites

Bussing

• unenforced by Kennedy who wants South. Democrat support

Freedom Riders: blacks on segregated buses → huge backlash

Direct action v.s. Voter registration

JFK forced to enforce ruling, ends busing segregation, shows effectiveness of DA

Start of LBJ

Civil Rights Act 1964: equal rights regardless of race – result of MLK + protesters

Freedom Summer

• mvmt of voter registration + fear of white dentalization of mvmt

  • Outpour of violence, voter registration did not increase significantly

MFDP

as true democratic party of Mississippi – rejected

Events (Civil Rights Movement)

• Harlem Riot 1964 

• Malcolm X v.s. Huey Newton

• 1966 Chicago Freedom mvmt

• 1968 Memphis Sanitation strike – King Assassinated

Bloody sunday

Selma to Montgomery march

MLK v.s. Malcolm X

Violence v.s. Nonviolence

1965 voting rights act

2013 reversal

1965 Watts Riot LA

• overhousing

  • Blacks confined to ghettos bc of redlining 

Long hot summer ‘67: violence explodes, liberals think mvmt is out of control and off track // evidence for conservatives of evils of Civil Rights movement

1968 Fair housing act

prohibited discrimination in gender, race, etc in sales of housing

Lavender Scare 1950’s

• no one open about sexuality

  • Portrayed gays as perverts and morally weak, high profile crimes incite fear, blackmail of gays for gov’t secrets 

  • Fear of gay representation in gov’t + military officials forced to resign

  • LGBTQ moving to cities – disorganized mvmt but saw forming of communities

Stonewall Riots and Gay Pride 1960’s - 1970’s:

• arrests and raids on gay bars

  • Homosexuality = mental disorder → cure by castration/lobotomy 

  • Many fired for sexuality

AIDS 1980’s:

• mostly contracted through gay sex “gay disease” 

  • Public + doctors called AIDS a joke; made fun of gay men 

  • Crisis spread to all people, not just gay men, who called on gov’t to take action 

    • Death rate skyrockets, “coming out” becomes more normalized

1990’s - 2010

• Social violence to openly gay people, however, states started legalizing gay marriage 

• 2009 Obama Hate Crimes Prevention Act 

• Clinton: each state can determine policy on same sex marriage 

• “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – LGBTQ can serve in military but must remain closeted 

• Undermines economic benefits of marriage

2010 - present

• “Don’t Say Gay” bills bar education of sexual identity in florida, similar bills in other states

• Obergefell: federal SC legalization of gay marriage

LBJ wins election in 1964

• he initiated the largest general welfare plan since the New Deal

  • Because of economic growth, LBJ and democrats believed that the gov’t could use the money to fund gov’t programs to improve quality of life

  • Through the creation of new programs, LBJ expanded government power dramatically

Equality Great Society

• Civil Rights Act of 1964 - outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, sex, etc.

• Voter registration increased; no more literacy tests/ previous restrictions

• Forced integration of schools and hospitals to get gov’t funding

Health Care Great Society

• Medicare - provided health services to the elderly (similar to social security, those 65+ had access to these services

• Medicaid - provided health services to the poor

  • To get access to gov’t funding for healthcare, hospitals had to be desegregated → caused hospitals in the South to rapidly desegregate

  • More/accessible healthcare → increased life expectancy

Education Great Society

• Head Start - program that allowed for preschools and education development for those under 5

• Special Education legislation helped millions of children with learning disabilities

• Federal financial aid for education

New Offices/ agencies Great Society

• Departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Endowments for the Humanities and for the Arts, National public broadcasting network