Chapte

r 30

The Affluent Society

Economic

Miracle

Sourc

es

of

Eco

monic

G

row

th

Economy was rapidly

improving Many say it was due to

government and military

spending Auto and real estate industries

especially getting better

because of the spike in

population (10x larger w/ baby

boom) Average income rose $500 to

$1,800 At this point, America had the

highest standard of living in

the world

The R

ise o

f th

e

Modern

West

Up until this point, the West was the

East’s provider, never really an

economic power. Population increased because of the

addition of dams, power stations,

and highways to fulfill population’s

needs. Many Military contracts flowed to

factories in CA and TX

Petroleum and Oil industry

bloomed, giving more jobs

Good weather The UC and UT schools became the

best and largest schools in the

country Population rose over 50% between

1940 and 1960

The N

ew

Eco

nom

ics

The American economic

system was getting cockyThe US’s implementation of

Kynesian economics

was a contributing factor.Lack of limits for

economic growth led to

constant economic growth.

The Explosion of

Science and

Technology

Medic

al

Bre

akt

hro

ugh

Antibacterial drugs Based on discoveries by Louis

Pasteur and Jules Francois

Joubert Produced evidence that harmful

bacteria could be defeated by

more ordinary by ordinary

bacteria 1930, antibiotics used to treat

blood infectioins Penicilin Discovered in 1928 by

Alexander Fleming After finding a method that could

make large, usable quantities of

it, it became widely available in

1948

Medic

al

Bre

akt

hro

ugh (

2)

Immunization also improvedSmallpoc vaccine

invented in 18 th centuryTetanus shots used in

ww2Virus shots didnst start

coming out until 1930’sYellow fever, Polio,

Influenza

Pest

icid

es

Kept Plants free of bugs and bug infectionsUsually used DDT

Saved american solders from insect-carried diseaseApparently DDT had

long lasting harmful effects on people

Post

war

Ele

ctro

nic

Rese

arc

h

1940’s & 1950’s saw dramatic

development in electronic

technology 1940’s- Televisions, which made it

possible to broadcast sounds and

images to the general public

1950’s- Invented color televisions,

but weren’t commercially available

until the 1960’s In 1948, Bell Labs produced the first

transistor, which allowed for the

shrinkage of many devices

Integrated circuitry in the 1950’s

promoted complicated circuitry by

combining what used to be separate

components into a single, relatively

tiny chip.

Post

war

Com

pute

r Te

chnolo

gy

Up until the 1950’s, computers were used

only to perform complicated mathematical

tasks, like breaking military codes.

In 1950, the UNIVAC (Universal Automatic

Computer) was born and designed for the

US bureau of the cencus

It was able to handle alphabetically and

numerically organized information better

than its predecessors

In order to inform the Public of the UNIAC,

they decided to have it predict the

outcome of the upcoming elevtion

(Eisenhower vs Stevenson) on national

television. The public now knew computers existed.

Later, in the mid 1950’s, IBM introduced

the first data processing computers that it

successfully sold to businesses in the US,

making it the leader for years afterwards.

The U

NIV

AC

Bom

bs,

Rock

ets

, and M

issi

les

After the development of the

hydrogen bomb, which was

unlike any other bomb at the

time, US and Soviet Union were

re-inspired to find a way to send

an unmanned explosive from

point “a” to a distant point “b”.

In 1958, the first ICBM (inter

continental ballistic missiles)

were successful because of

alternate fuel supplies and new

generation guidance systems.

These were dubbed “Minute

Men” Also developed nuclear missiles

that could be fired by a

submarine underwater in 1960

The S

pace

Pr

ogra

m

Was originally developed to outdo the

Soviet Union, who released Sputnik into

the Earth’s orbit Launched the Explorer I soon

afterwards in January of 1958

In 1958, NASA proposed manned space

exploration May 5 1961, Alan Shepard- first

American to almost orbit the world.

Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin had

already orbited the earth.

Ebruary 2, 162- John Genn: 1st

American to orbit the earth. Became a

senator for a while, then came back at

the age of 77 to go on a space shuttle

mission. Soon afterwards, Gemini program

started, to carry 2 men at once in a

shuttle.

The S

pace

Pr

ogra

m (

cont)

Apollo program focused on putting man

on the moon After several setbacks, like a fire in 1067,

Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and

Micheal Collins landed on moons.

After 6 more missions, the last one being

in 1972, the government cut funding.

Then focused on near space travel and

further development of the space

shuttle, started in 1982

January 1986- Challenger exploded.

Shuttles were used to place and repair

Hubble Space Telescope into the orbit in

1990 The space program gave American

aeronautics tremendous boost and was

responsible for the development of

technologies that proved valuable in

other areas.

People of

Plenty

The C

onsu

mer

Cult

ure

At the center of middle-class culture

in the 1950s, as it had been for many

decades before, was a growing

absorption with consumer goods.

That was a result of increased

prosperity, of the increasing variety

and availability of products, and of

advertisers’ adeptness in creating a

demand for those products.

Consumers also responded eagerly

to the development of such new

products as dishwashers, garbage

disposals, televisions, hi-fis, stereos,

and automobiles. To a striking degree, the prosperity of

the 1950s and 1960s was consumer

driven (as opposed to investment

driven).

The C

onsu

mer

Cultu

re

The S

uburb

an

Nati

on

By 1960 a third of the nation’s

population was living in

suburbs—part of a demographic shift almost

without precedent in American

history. People moved from the cities

to the suburbs for many

reasons: to escape crowding,

crime, pollution, and high

costs; to find better schools for

their children; and sometimes

to escape racial and ethnic

diversity—to find a more

homogeneous community in

which to live.

“Levi

ttow

n”

“Levittown” consisted of several thousand two-bedroom Cape

Cod-Style houses, with identical interiors and only slightly varied

facades, each perched on its own concrete slab, facing curving,

treeless streets.

Levittown houses sold for under $10,000.

People went to the suburbs to escape the hassles of the city life.

The S

uburb

an

Fam

ily

The S

uburb

an

Fam

ily

For professional men suburban

life generally meant a rigid

division between their working

and personal worlds.

For many middle-class, married

women, it meant an increased

isolation from the workplace.

One of the most influential books

in postwar American life was a

famous guide to child rearing: Dr.

Benjamin Spock’s Baby and Child

Care. (1946). The purpose of motherhood he

taught, was to help children learn

and grow and realize their

potential. Feminism Weakened.

The B

irth

of

the

Tele

visi

on

The growth of televisions

developed rapidly shortly

after World War II. In 1946 there were only

17,000 sets in the country; by 1956, there

were 40 million television sets in use. T.V. > Refrigerators.

T.V. > newspapers

Trave

l, O

utd

oor

Recr

eati

on, and

Envi

ronm

enta

lism

It was not until the post

years that vacation travel

became truly widespread

among middle-income

Americans. Nowhere was this surge in

travel and recreation more

visible than in the nation’s

national parks, which

experienced the beginnings of what became

a permanent surge in

attendance in the 1950s.

Org

aniz

ed

Soci

ety

and Its

D

etr

act

ors

White collar workers came to

outnumber blue-collar

laborers for the first time, and

an increasing proportion of

them worked in corporate

settings with rigid hierarchical structures. The American educational

system responded to the

demands of this increasingly

organized society by

experimenting with changes

in curriculum and philosophy.

The B

eats

and t

he

Rest

less

Cult

ure

of

Youth

The most caustic critics of

bureaucracy were a group of

young poets, writers, and

artists generally known as the

“beats.” Generally wrote harsh

critiques of American life.

The beats were the most

visible evidence of a

widespread restlessness

among young Americans in

the 1950s. Also what was disturbing was

the style to what the youth

culture were developing.

Slicke

d-B

ack

hair

Rock

‘n’ Roll

One of the most powerful

signs of the restiveness of

American youth was the

enormous popularity of rock

’n’ roll. One of the greatest early

rock star was Elvis Presley. The rise of such white rock

musicians as Presley was a

result in part of the limited

willingness of white audiences to accept black

musicians.

Pove

rty

in

Am

eri

ca

1960, 30 million americans

living below poverty line

80% of poverty were

temporarily or recently

20% were Blacks, Hispanics,

and most significantly,

Native Americans Farmer’s national income

decreases “The Other America” by

Michael Harrington highlighted the existence of

poverty in America

Pove

rty

cont.

Significant growth of

inner-city neighborhoods Why did they remain

continually impoverished? Urban Renewal Juvenile crime

Bro

wn v

. B

oard

of

Educa

tion o

f To

peka

Decision of the supreme court made May 17, 1954

“Separate but equal” no longer valid

Combined effort

Thurgood Marshall, William Hastie, and James Narbit

Brown decision helps spark a growing number of popular challenges to segregation

Cause

s of

the

Civ

il R

ights

M

ove

ment WWII Growth of an Urban

black Middle-class Television and other

forms of pop culture

Eis

enhow

er

First Republican administration in 20 years

“What was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa.”-Charles Wilson

Appointed wealthy corporate lawyers and business executives

Limited Federal power and encouraged private enterprise

Eis

enhow

er

cont.

Sustained welfare policies of the New Deal Federal Highway Act

of 1956 $25 billion for a 25 year project 400,000 miles of

interstate highways.

John F

ost

er

Dulle

s Dominant figure in the nation’s foreign policy “Massive retalliation” was

most prominent of his innovations

France

, A

meri

ca, and

Vie

tnam

The war in Korea and

Eisenhower July 27, 1953 negotiators at

Panmunjom sign an agreement to end

hostilities France had been attempting to re-obtain

Vietnam Vietnam hopes to gain

help from U.S. France ends it’s commitment to Vietnam

at an international conference in Geneva

Cold

-War

Cri

sis

U.S. foreign policy:Containment Fidel Castro marches

into Havana, Cuba, January 1, 1959

U.S. isolates itself from Cuba and the Soviet Union steps in

The U

-2 C

risi

s Kruschev renews the

demands of his predecessors U.S. welcomes him

cool and polite

Eis

enhow

er’

s Fa

rew

ell

Adre

ss leaves caution with

both international and domestic affairs

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.