Chapter 19 Section 4 The Other America MAIN IDEA: Amidst the prosperity of the 1950’s, millions of Americans lived in poverty.

The Urban Poor ► 1962, nearly 1 out of every 4 Americans was living below poverty level ► Many were elderly, single women, and minorities ► 1950’s millions of middle class Americans left the cities for suburbs ► Rural poor migrated to the inner cities

“White Flight” ► Cities lost people and business ► Cities could no longer afford to maintain or improve schools, public transportation, and police and fire departments ► Suburban Americans were unaware of decay in the inner city

“The Other America” ► Book written by Michael Harrington- issue of poverty in the United States ► Most African Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos lived in crowded, dirty slums ► URBAN RENEWAL- The National Housing Act of 1949 was passed to provide a “decent home and suitable living environment for every American family”  Called to tear down neighborhoods

Poverty Leads to Activism ► African American Civil Rights movement was inspired to make a change ► 1942-Mexican Americans through a program called braceros (hired hands) were allowed into the U.S. to harvest crops ► Many braceros were expected to leave the U.S. after their work was done but many stayed illegally to escape Mexico

Native Americans Continue their Struggle ► Continued to fight for rights and identity ► 1924 Snyder Act granted citizenship to Native Americans but they still remain 2 nd class citizens ► 1944 established National Congress of American Indians to ensure civil rights that whites had

The Termination Policy ► Termination Policy- eliminated federal economic support, discontinued the reservation system, and distributed tribal lands among individual native Americans ► Termination policy was failure ► Native Americans were left without medical care and jobs