1. Unit 9 – The Cold War – Section 2
A Time of Prosperity
Unit 9 – The Cold War – Section 2

2. Show Life in Suburbs video Clip
How did life change in America?

3. Women Gain more/more important roles in the labor force
Traditional “housewife” stereotype still exists
In 1950 women comprised 29% of the work force
Women over 35 = 50% of working women
40% of married women with small children were employed.
In the second half of the decade 70% of all employed women were working in clerical positions, on factory assembly lines or in the service industry.
Less than 15% of women were employed in a professional capacity and the number of women in management was even far less, topping out at 6%.
Industries were also segregated based on race with white women dominating the clerical, service, and sales positions. African-American women were mostly relegated to working as domestic servants and often performed physically demanding work for very low wages.
The widespread availability of appliances in the home left many domestic service workers found unemployed and forced to seek work in the commercial sector.

4. Benefits for Veterans
G.I. Bill – gives money to WWII vets for education and housing
Because of this MANY new suburbs are created as all of these young men have accessibility to buy new homes

5. Desegregation of Armed Forces
Executive Order 9981:
July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed this order establishing the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, committing the government to integrating the military (desegregate) into one

6. Labor Unions
Became more powerful and popular

7. Working Conditions
Workers gained higher wages and better working environment

8. Show Air conditioning video clip
Who does this advertisement appeal to?

9. Consumerism Bought more items based around home and family life.
Air Conditioning invented!
Purchased MORE labor saving devices
By million air conditioning units were sold

10. Consumer Goods Conversion from war materials to consumer goods (again)
TV becomes standard in homes
by 1960, nearly 90% of households had a TV

11. Credit Large purchases are (once again) purchased by borrowing money
In 1949, Frank X. McNamara thought of a way for customers to have just one credit card that they could use at multiple stores. The first Diners Club credit cards were given out in to 200 people and accepted by 14 restaurants in New York.
By the end of 1950, 20,000 had one
The Diners Club credit card is
considered the first modern credit card.

12. What does this music say about the 50s?
Show Elvis video Clip
What does this music say about the 50s?

13. Show McDonald’s Video Clip
How did McDonald’s change life for working families?

14. Ray Kroc Entrepreneur – founder and creator of McDonalds
The idea of fast food as a modern convenience grew! Drive-thru dining became the way of life with automobiles and the working family.
He was a distributor for the “Multimixer” (a six-prong mixer to blend six milkshakes at once.)
Once he heard the McDonald brothers in California had 8 of these he visited them in1954.
In two days, he had an arrangement to open more McDonalds in the U.S. and in 1961 he bought out the brothers for $2.7 million.

15. Show Sputnik video Clip
What fears are there for America?

16. Sputnik
World’s first man-made satellite. Launched by Soviet Union in 1957.

17. Space Program
In response to Sputnik, US creates NASA to launch its own space missions

18. Show rocky & bullwinkle video clip
What parallels are there to the Cold War?

19. Education
US created the National Defense Education Act to produce more scientists and teachers.

20. Highways
Interstate system was created for travel and transportation, as well as ease of military movement (if ever needed - in case of attack)

21. McCarthyism
Senator Joseph McCarthy “exposed” communists without having evidence (similar to Salem Witch Trials – but the modern version)
Created the House Un-American Activities Committee
Blacklisted (fired) journalists, actors, politicians who were THOUGHT to be communist.
Finally banned from US media due to false claims against the US Army (yes, this idiot called out high ranking Army officers as communists )

22. Domino Theory
If one country fell to the Communists, it was thought that neighboring countries would follow

23. Peaceful Coexistence
Thought that both the US and Soviets should be able to live in peace & leave the other side alone
In 1955 new Soviet leader Khrushchev said that ‘there are different roads to communism’.
At the Twentieth Party Congress in
1956, Khrushchev denounced Stalin
Khrushchev began to ‘de-Stalinize’ Russia.
Khrushchev said that he wanted
‘peaceful co-existence’ with the West.