ALL THE SAME??? APUSH Unit Module 2: Social and Cultural Change

The Long Economic Boom – based on Defense Spending  What did this look like?  50% of America in the Middle Class This hasn’t been seen before or since in Modern Times  Suburbs  Car (or 2)  Women in the workforce – though problems

The Long Economic Boom  Why/How did this happen?  America wasn’t damaged by the war  America built up industry during the war when everyone else was getting blown up  Defense Spending Korea Cold War Vietnam  Cheap energy…this wouldn’t last Increased Productivity through increased energy  Increased education  Move out of agriculture and into industry Fertilizers Continued government subsidies and price supports By the 1950’s, 1 farmer could produce food for 50 people as compared to 1 farmer making food for 15 people in 1940s; Farmers only 2% of the population by 1990s

Stop at 22:30 Watch Movie Clip on Conformity in the 1950’s

CAUSES OF CONFORMITY IN THE 1950’S

Migrations in America: The Sunbelt  During the 30’s and 40’s people moved west to initially escape the Dust Bowl and then find work in war factories  This region received a larger load of defense spending  California had 1 out of 8 people by 1990s  Pitted North against South and West; this time the North and Midwest lost  All presidents since 1964 came from the Sunbelt  Until Obama!!!

Suburbs  Migration from cities to the suburbs  Started by the Veteran’s Administration giving home loans and tax incentives to WWII Veterans  Construction boom  Levittown – one of the first giant suburbs in Long Island, NY standardized housing plans; like assembly line for homes  By % of Americans were living in the suburbs; by the end of the century 50% were living in suburbs

$7,990 or $60/month with no down payment. Suburbs lead to increased homogenization 1949  William Levitt produced 150 houses per week. Levittown, Long Island: “The American Dream” Levittowns were built in NY, PA, and NJ

Suburban Living: The New “American Dream” 1 story high 12’x19’ living room 2 bedrooms tiled bathroom garage small backyard front lawn

SHIFTS IN POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, Central Cities 31.6% 32.3%32.6% 32.0% Suburbs 19.5% 23.8%30.7% 41.6% Rural Areas/ 48.9% 43.9%36.7% 26.4% Small Towns U. S. Bureau of the Census. Americans Move to the Suburbs

The Donna Reed Show Leave It to Beaver Father Knows Best The Ozzie & Harriet Show Suburban Living in Popular Culture: The Typical TV Suburban Families

The Culture of the Car  Families with 2 cars doubled from  1956 – Interstate Highway Act  Largest public works project in US history - $32 billion; built 41,000 miles of new highways  Car culture led to increased homogenization 1958 Pink Cadillac First McDonald’s (1955) Drive-In Movies Howard Johnson’s

TheBaby Boom  During Great Depression – decrease in children born  Not so after WWII! Marriage and babies  50 million babies added to the population by 1950s  Population growth slowed by 1957  Caused a bubble that is still moving through America – Baby Boomers are retiring now

When exactly was the Baby Boom?  There are some debates about this…  Belief of the Giant Baby Boom:  Approximately  Belief of two generations during the Baby Boom:  Baby Boomers: (these kids were teens in the 60’s)  Generation Jones: (teens in the 70’s)

It seems to me that every other young housewife I see is pregnant. -- British visitor to America,  1 baby born every 7 seconds Baby Boom

A Changing Workplace  Automation led to:  From factory workers decreased by 4.3% - eliminating 1.5 million blue collar jobs  Computers: Mark 1 (1944), 1 st IBM Mainframe (1951)  White collar jobs increase – by 1956 more than blue collar  Corporate Consolidation:  By 1960  600 corporations (.5% of all U. S. companies) accounted for 53% of total corporate income.  Caused by Cold War military buildup.

New Technology  Computers became a major industry  First invented in 1940’s  Miniaturiza- tion allowed them to eventually (80’s) fit in the home

Women in the Workforce  Assumption of Conformity:  Revived Cult of Domesticity Women “should” be in the home Reinforced by popular culture like TV  Women did work though:  Pink Collar Ghetto Newly created service industries, often poorly paid, were usually filled by women Secretaries were especially needed with the increasing number of businessmen Women had problems moving up the corporate ladder

Youth Culture  The 1950’s are when teenagers become an important part of America’s Consumer Culture  Automobiles led to independence Drive in’s, dating, etc  Teens become consumers: Music Movies Food Clothes

Popular Culture  Television  New form of advertising  Homogenization of America through popular culture  Televangelists  Sports  Moving west  Rock and Roll  Elvis Presley  Playboy (1955)  Marilyn Monroe

ANTI-CONFORMITY

Urban America  White flight – white families moving to suburbs; blacks moved into inner cities (in major urban/suburban areas)  Created shopping malls…  Prompted by FHA refusing to make loans to minorities  Neighborhood segregation also happened – white neighborhoods vs. black neighborhoods  Urban Renewal  Tearing out old urban neighborhoods to create new ones  Often not successful and when coupled with white flight, this could lead to racially homogenous and economically impoverished areas  Cabrini-Green housing project in Chicago (above)

If 50% of the country is in the Middle Class – where is everyone else?  As the middle class became more well off, those who were poor were left further behind  The Affluent Society (1958) said 1:13 families earned less than $1000 a year ($7500 today)  The Other America (1962) said 1/4-1/3 of the country was poorly paid, educated, and housed  Led to Johnson’s War on Poverty

Were Women Happy?  Betty Friedan: Feminine Mystique  Spoke about the problems faced by housewives feeling unfulfilled – Reading What biases does this book have?  Started NOW – National Organization of Women

Counter Culture – Beat Movement  Against middle-class consumerism  Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac  Focused in NYC and SF

Literature  Less realism more questioning of psyche and/or society  Miller: Death of a Salesman (1949) and The Crucible (1953)  Salinger: Catcher in the Rye (1951)  Updike: Rabbit Run (1960)  Baldwin: The Fire Next Time (1963)  Plath: Bell Jar (1963)