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AMH2020Week11-TheGoldenAge.pptxWeek 11: The Golden Age of Capitalism
AMH 2020: US History Since 1877
Dr. Glenn Dyer
Capitalism’s “Golden Age”
1945-1973: economic expansion, stable prices, low unemployment, and rising standard of living
Government programs heavily tax wealthy, reinvesting that wealth into infrastructures, social programs, & military bases & production
Real wages for manufacturing workers doubled! Lower incomes in particular rose; most Americans lived better than their parents & grand parents did (materially)
Economy starts to shift towards white collar work and away from industry but slowly, and US production remains high
A Consumers Republic
One historian argues that the free consumer becomes the key figure of America
Mass consumption objects become available to most people, including televisions, cars, dishwashers, indoor plumbing, etc. etc.
By 1960 80% of American families had one car, only 14% had more than one; End of 1950s, 90% of homes had a TV
Mass consumption becomes equated with freedom and is a weapon in Cold War; US standard of living vs. Soviet standard
Suburbanization
Suburbanization becomes key engine of economic growth postwar & by 1960 suburbs outnumber urban and rural areas
Government backs long-term, low interest loans which were uncommon before WWII
Homes are mass-produced by often non-union developers, in some cases thousands at a time; heavy population shift towards West
Home-ownership becomes the representation of the American Dream; William Levitt: “No man who owns his own home can be a communist.”
Interstate highway system (1956) creates 41,000 miles of roads connecting suburbs to cities
Race, Class, and Housing
New Deal programs (HOLC & FHA) use racial, class & economic criteria to rate neighborhood desirability; their maps inform banking and lending decisions
Won’t lend to racially mixed areas or to black areas, creating white-only suburbs; notes often comment on undesirable ethnic groups and even politics
“Redlining” areas cuts them off from banks & business
Urban Renewal: areas could be condemned in the name of public “good” for the construction of highways, businesses, etc.
Racial Segregation Increases
Race and property value connected negatively, until 1968 fair housing act, giving economic incentive to remain segregated
From 1950-1960: 7 million whites left cities for suburbs while at the same time some 3 million black people moved North to cities
Result, major demographic inversion of cities, and increased segregation
As economy becomes more white collar, urban areas decline (deindustrialization) thus blacks are confined to economically declining cities
The Suburban Woman
Post-WWII women leave industrial sector & baby boom saw massive population growth
The new suburban life revolved around the nuclear family; Wife equated with home maker who enjoyed domestic responsibility
Many women worked part-time to support family
Labor in the Golden Age
Labor unions reach their peak strength in 1950s, with 1/3 of workers in unions
Industrial democracy is a declining focus, with more focus on higher wages, pensions, healthcare, retirement, vacation, etc.
Unions still advocate politically, such as increased minimum wage, high employment programs, and some civil rights
Employers still attack working people, often moving factories out of high union areas to more politically friendly places like the South or West
Mass Society
Some prominent thinkers criticized nature of American freedom for its uniformity & that real control lay in the hands of corporate elites, politicians, and military leaders
Boredom and monotony of work criticized, question of fulfillment raised
Forcing people into social roles: should women just be housewives? Should workers just be workers?
Even though society was doing better, many saw their lives slipping away from their control
Youth and Cultural Rebellion
Growing number of young people because of baby boom
Youth market develops alongside new products like rock and roll and new clothing styles; “juvenile delinquency”
Early counter culture of late 50s is anti-conformity, anti-materialism
Beginning of Civil Rights
Long-term challenges by civil rights grouped bore fruit amidst the Cold War
Brown vs. Board of Education 1954 rules segregation unconstitutional
Legal decision gives further strength to ongoing struggle for black rights
Montgomery Bus Boycott 1956 breaks out after years of discussions and refusals, but Rosa Parks’ action sparks movement
Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference rise to prominence in 1956
Cold War and Third World
Decolonization movements saw independence for places like India, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria
Third World: unaligned governments during Cold War, mostly Africa and Asia
Some Third World countries become socialist while others admire US and want its support
Containment policy led US to oppose non-communists governments who threatened corporate interests, like in Iran & Guatemala
US provides money for France to maintain Vietnam, and increasingly intervenes against communist leaders who have popular support
