Introducton to American History
Donbonano
1104_AmericanHistoryComb_9e_28.pptxChapter 28: The Culture of the Postwar Era
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Introduction to American History Combined
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Learning Objectives
Discuss the rise of a consumer society after World War II.
Describe the “corporate economy.”
Explain the impact of the Baby Boom on the economy and society.
Explain the “dark side” of American society in the 1950s.
Explain the shift in the economy from manufacturing to the white-collar service-sector economy.
Discuss technological advancements in electronics, chemistry, and agriculture and their impact on economics and society.
Introduction to American History Combined
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Learning Objectives (Continued)
Discuss the rise of a new racial and ethnic consciousness.
Describe the impact of the Brown decision on American society including southern resistance to the court’s ruling.
Discuss the new Civil Rights Movement.
Discuss the new youth culture including the rise of the Beat Generation.
Introduction to American History Combined
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28.1a The Prosperous American
Ordinary citizens were much more prosperous.
The “Average American” was female, white, and married.
Recreation centered on television.
Popularity of spectator sports, such as the NFL, increased.
The automobile culture and tourism increased.
Introduction to American History Combined
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28.1b An Affluent Society
Productivity and prosperity were the dominant social facts in America.
High productivity and economic growth included rising wages and low unemployment.
Prosperity owed much to the GI Bill, which provided a college education and home loans to veterans.
Huge population growth—the Baby Boom—also contributed to economic growth.
Introduction to American History Combined
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28.1c The Toy Boom
Baby boom led to a boom in the manufacture of toys.
Advances in plastic contributed to the toy boom.
Most popular toys were militaristic, but the Hula Hoop, Frisbee, and Barbie also became popular.
Introduction to American History Combined
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28.1d The Corporate Economy
The rapidly expanding economy was highly institutionalized.
1968: Less than three percent of corporations received 80 percent of total corporate income.
Americans businesses expanded into multinational corporations.
Productivity increased with better corporate integration processes.
The housing boom driven by the GI Bill and Federal Housing Administration.
Introduction to American History Combined
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28.1e Rise of the White Collar Class
Fewer and fewer Americans were blue collar workers.
More than half of the married women were employed workers in white-collar jobs.
Productivity on the farms increased, but farm population decreased.
High-tech industry grew in the Silicon Valley.
Advances in chemistry boosted the economy through agricultural products, plastics, and medical breakthroughs, such as the Salk vaccine.
Introduction to American History Combined
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28.1f The Growth of High-Tech Industry
Silicon Valley became a major part of the economy.
William Shockley, who invented the transistor, set up his own firm in Palo Alto.
Military spending continued to drive the economy.
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28.1g A Revolution in Agriculture
Farming experienced a revolution in productivity.
Highly efficient farms produced the great bulk of food and led to the decline of the family farm.
Introduction to American History Combined
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28.1h Advances in Chemistry
Pesticides were developed to wipe out insect infestations, and herbicides were developed to kill weeds.
Artificial fibers began to replace natural fibers.
Plastics were moldable, lightweight, and resistant to corrosion and could be used in many ways.
Jonas Salk developed a polio vaccine in 1954.
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28.2a The Novel
John Hersey, Norman Mailer, Irwin Shaw, Joseph Heller, Saul Bellow, John Updike—all produced popular readings.
African American writers, such as Ralph Ellison and James Baldwin, joined the scene.
Perhaps the most enduring novel of the period was To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.
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28.2b Television and the Movies
Television was a new form of entertainment.
Television provided the most significance source for news and information.
In the 1950’s, variety shows predominated.
Movies declined with the rise of television.
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28.3a Sources of Anxiety
Thousands of Americans died in Korea and Vietnam.
Fear of Communism during Cold War affected many.
Architectural Digest suggested that every home have a bomb shelter.
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28.3a Sources of Anxiety
America’s cities were undergoing important changes.
Two-thirds of all Americans lived in cities.
Movement to suburbs grew rapidly.
Central cities began to decline.
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28.3c A New Ethnic and Racial Self-Consciousness
A greater appreciation of the ethnic and racial diversity of the country developed.
Once-submerged racial and ethnic groups began to emerge into political and economic prominence.
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28.4a The 1954 Decision
A unanimous Supreme Court ruling called for an end to legal segregation (Brown v. Board of Education).
This led to riots and protests in the South.
Little Rock Central High School, 1957: Eisenhower sent in troops to enforce Court ordered desegregation.
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28.4b Southern Resistance
Integration in Little Rock, Arkansas, triggered resistance from whites.
Governor Orville Faubus used state troops to prevent entrance of black students.
Massive resistance—the efforts of Southern legislatures, municipalities, and school districts—tried to resist federally mandated integration.
Violence erupted at the University of Mississippi over the enrollment of James Meredith.
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28.4c A New Civil Rights Movement
African Americans were becoming more assertive about attaining civil and political rights.
The Birmingham Bus Boycott, 1955, included Rosa Parks and M. L. King, Jr.
Voting rights and civil disobedience were centerfold.
Sit-in Movement: 1960-1961
Ella Baker founded the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
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28.5a The Youth Culture
Because of the Baby Boom, young people made up a greater percentage of the population than ever before.
The Port Huron Statement (1962) criticized affluence and injustice of American society.
Lederer and Burdick’s Ugly American depicted poor US behavior abroad.
The Beat Culture developed in the late 1950s.
Allen Ginsberg’s Howl faced an obscenity trial.
Obscenity trial of William Burroughs’ Naked Lunch established that works are not obscene if they have “literary value.”
Jack Kerouac’s On the Road defined the Beat Generation with its longing and unrestrained freedom.
Introduction to American History Combined
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28.5b A Resurgence of Religion
Americans became more religious following World War II.
Protestant denominations, in particular, grew.
Popular ministers, like Billy Graham and Norman Vincent Peale, advocated traditional Christian morality.
“In God We Trust” was added to US currency.
In spite of greater religious participation, the Kinsey reports on human sexuality shocked Americans.
Introduction to American History Combined
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