8.4 & 8.5: After the World Wars
8.4: Explain the causes of economic growth in the years after World War II.
8.5: Explain how mass culture has been maintained or challenged over time.
In the last set of notes, we talked about the Cold War and now, we’re going to be talking about society in the United States after the World Wars. So let’s get started!
G.I Bill and Suburban Growth
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, or the G.I. Bill, was passed in 1944 and this was an act that provided a lot of support to returning World War II veterans. For example, it provided them with billions in federal aid and many used this money to continue their education and attend college. Many also used this aid to buy homes, buy farms, help start a family, and start businesses.
After the war, the American economy was thriving and so as a result, there were a lot of younger marriages and larger families being created during this time. From 1945-1960, 50 million babies were born and the birth rate peaked at 4 children per woman, creating the Baby Boomers generation.
The Taft-Hartley Act
But not everything was prosperous during this period. In 1947, the Taft-Hartley Act was passed to reduce the power of unions. This act protected employees from restraint and coercion by unions. It also outlawed many union practices, such as secondary boycotts, jurisdictional strikes, political strikes, and unions giving monetary donations to political campaigns.
In a continuation of FDR’s New Deal, President Truman launched the Fair Deal program. This program provided national health care insurance, federal aid to education, and civil rights legislation. However, a lot of the legislation in this program was blocked by Congress.
Culture
Now let’s talk about American culture in the postwar period! After World War II, televisions started spreading all across America. By the 1950s, they were in almost American home, allowing Americans to watch shows, sports, and news regularly. Television also led to the rise in advertising and consumerism. During this time, the number of advertisements a person saw daily increased. Many shopping centers and malls were also built during the 1950s so people could shop anywhere they wanted. Plastic credit cards were also created to allow people to spend more money and pay it back later.
Modern Republicanism
During the presidency of Eisenhower after the Election of 1952, he believed that the nation’s main goal should be to balance the budget after years of deficit spending from the New Deal and World War II. As a result, he continued many of the old New Deal programs in a system called Modern Republicanism. In this system, he extended social security to more than ten million citizens; raised the minimum wage; built additional public housing; created the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; and opposed federal healthcare insurance and federal aid to education. In 1956, the Highway Construction Act was passed, authorizing the construction of 42,000 miles of interstate highways to connect all of the United States’ major cities. This created new jobs, rapidly increased suburban growth, promoted the trucking industry, and helped connect the country together.
After World War II, the baby boom and the return of veterans from overseas led to an increase in the demand for housing, leading to a construction boom. William J. Levitt played a leading role in building many suburban communities, such as Levittown, a housing project consisting of 17,000 low-cost homes on Long Island. Americans also began migrating to different regions during this period. Many migrated to suburban areas, leaving behind the urban and congested life of the city. This led to increased wealth inequality and racial divisions in cities because most of the people who moved to suburban neighborhoods were white and middle-class, leaving behind many poor individuals and minorities in the cities. Many people also moved to the Sunbelt states in the South due to the invention of air conditioning, lower taxes, and new industries in the region. This shifted political power and industry from northern and midwestern states to southern and western states.
Advertising, consumer culture, and then the invention of vinyl records led to the rise of popular music across the country. Television was used to advertise record albums to people all across the United States. This allowed people to have access to new genres of music, and causing different regions of the United States to have different music tastes. The rock-and-roll genre took off in the 1950s and artists such as Elvis Presley became very famous with millions of teenagers and young adults listening to music.
After World War II, thousands of new churches and synagogues were built. Additionally, Christian religions shifted to focus more on having a personal relationship with Jesus. Throughout the 1950s, many new “non-denominational” churches and “community faith centers” were created. Some conservative Christians, such as Southern Baptists, got involved in politics, becoming known as the “religious right”. Religious leaders such as Reverend Billy Graham began appearing on television to spread their messages. He hosted annual evangelistic campaigns called “Crusades” on television.
In the United States, many continued to support the idea that women were supposed to stay home and raise children. Dr. Benjamin Spock published a best-selling book for mothers titled Baby and Child Care. However, an increasing amount of women began joining the workforce and making their own money. Despite this, they still often faced lower wages compared to men and faced discrimination.
