1950s America

Ch 14

Monday, May 14, 2012

• Daily goal: • Understand how the GI Bill, Levittown,

Federal Highway Act and Baby Boom changed American Society.

Baby Boom

• During the War many young couples had put off starting a family, after the war the American population exploded.

• Between 1945-1964 more than 72 million American babies were born.

Think About it…

• What do growing families need?

GI Bill

• The GI Bill gave generous loans to veterans to help them buy homes, start businesses and go to College.

Interstate Highway System

I-80? I-880? I-680?

Federal Highway Act

• President Eisenhower passed the Federal Highway Act which constructed 40,000 miles of highways that linked America.

Levittown

• Planned communities of mass produced homes created at a low cost.

Who do you have more respect for?

White Collar America

• In the 1950s white collar workers (who worked in non-labor industries like sales and management) outnumbered blue collar workers (laborers) for the first time.

Franchises

• Franchise business grew in popularity in the 1950s because businesses believed that consumers liked dependability and familiarity.

Think About it…

• Franchises are owned and run by an individual, but the business is part of a large chain or corporation which sets the rules and usually distributes the products.

• McDonalds anyone?• Do you prefer franchises over small

businesses?