TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Section 2 Postwar Rebuilding and Growth

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Throughout this period, industrialized democracies grew in prosperity and went through many social changes. The United States was the world’s wealthiest nation during the Cold War, but Japan and Western Europe rivaled it by the end of the era. How did the United States, Western Europe, and Japan achieve economic prosperity and strengthen democracy during the Cold War years?

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. The United States prospered during the Cold War and played a central role in global politics. American business expanded into markets around the world. The long postwar peace spread an economic boom. The headquarters of the United Nations was built in the United States, as were those of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Recessions were brief and more Americans became affluent. Population centers shifted through suburbanization and migration to the Sunbelt. Government programs made buying a house easier. American movies, music, and television became popular around the world. The United States enjoyed boom times in the 1950s and 1960s.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. The American economy depended on oil from the Middle East. A political crisis there in the 1970s led to a drop in production and higher prices. This led to a serious recession in the United States beginning in As the world economy became more integrated, some problems arose.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. The promise of opportunity and equality was not the reality for all Americans. African Americans in particular faced discrimination. After World War II, President Truman ended segregation in the armed forces. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that segregated schooling was unconstitutional.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., emerged as a leader of the movement in the 1950s. He organized peaceful boycotts and marches. Congress passed laws in the 1960s to end segregation, protect voting rights, and outlaw discrimination in housing and jobs. The civil rights movement inspired women, Latinos, and other groups to seek greater equality. The civil rights movement sought to end segregation and ensure equal rights.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. In the 1960s, Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson supported new social programs to help the poor and elderly. In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan called for cutbacks in taxes and government spending. However, the rise in military spending at the same time increased the national budget deficit. The role of the U.S. federal government grew.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. After World War II ended, Western Europe faced the task of rebuilding. Germany was divided into two countries, democratic West Germany and communist East Germany. Under chancellor Konrad Adenauer, West Germany built a modern industrial base. When communism declined, the two Germanys reunited in 1990.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Europe underwent many changes after World War II. Britain’s economy was slow to recover, even with money from the United States through the Marshall Plan. Britain, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands all granted independence to many of their former colonies overseas. Much of Europe experienced an economic boom in the 1950s and 1960s.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Some worked to extend the welfare state, in which the government increases its responsibility for the needs of its people. However, this system led to higher taxes. During the 1980s and 1990s, most European nations moved to limit social welfare benefits. Six nations formed the European Community in 1957 to establish free trade among members. It later expanded to include other nations. European nations expanded social benefits and moved toward greater economic cooperation.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. A new constitution created a parliamentary democracy. The education system was opened to all people, including women. Land was given to small farmers and funds from the United States were used to rebuild cities. The American occupation ended in Japan lay in ruins at the end of World War II, but American occupation brought change.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Japan experienced an economic boom in the 1950s. Its gross domestic product (GDP) grew year after year, as Japan focused on producing goods to export. The nation built modern factories very quickly and didn’t spend much money on its military. The country had a disciplined and educated workforce. This created a trade surplus for Japan.