America 1920 - 1973

• Consumerism


  Buying/ consuming lots of goods, helps the economy
• American Dream


  Money, success, happy families, opportunities
• More Money: Plenty of jobs, wages higher, Baby boom, as young couples got married and had children
• By 1952, America was supplying the world with 65% of its manufactured goods
• Biggest growth in televisions, plastics, jet engines and cars
• Government told people it was their duty to spend money, to support the economy and returning soldiers
• TV shows had sponsors and used product placement to encourage people to buy new goods
• But 25% of people still lived below the poverty line
• The American Dream


  • The perfect life was a house in the suburbs, steady job, being married and having children
  • If you worked hard, you could achieve anything
• Veterans

  • The G.I Bill in 1944 helped veterans from the war
  • Set up hospitals, provided low interest mortgages and grants for tuition at college and trade schools
  • Helped 9m veterans
• Jobs and wages were higher
• There was a Baby boom, as young couples got married and had children
• Biggest growth in

  • televisions
  • plastics
  • jet engines
  • cars
• The government told people it was their duty to spend money, to support the economy and returning soldiers
• 25% of people still lived below the poverty line
• Consumerism


  Buying/consuming lots of goods, helps the economy
• The perfect life was a house in the suburbs, steady job, being married and having children
• If you worked hard, you could achieve anything
• What the G.I Bill in 1944 helped veterans from the war with

  • Set up hospitals
  • Provided low interest mortgages
  • Grants for tuition at college and trade schools
• The G.I Bill helped 9m veterans
• Some of the new houses built, advertised themselves as victory homes for soldiers returning from the war
• 1950s adverts showed women as housewives, with domestic gadgets to make their lives easier
• In reality, many women had to work, to help support their families
• Many women wanted to work, and earn their own money, like they had during the war
• Husbands still saw themselves as breadwinners
• McCarthyism


  Making accusations without proper evidence
• Communism


  All property owned by the community. Everyone contributes what they can and gets what they need
• Cold War


  Tension between the eastern bloc (Russia and allies) and countries in the west (America and their allies). Not an actual war
• McCarthy was an American Senator who was worried about Communism spreading
• There were 75,000 members of the Communist Party in America
• McCarthy said there were 200 Communists in the American government
• This led to over 100 investigations
• People working in schools, the army and entertainment industry were also targeted
• Hundreds were imprisoned and 10,000 lost their jobs
• Cartoons like the Flintstones and Top Cat were aimed at adults as well as children
• Comedies like the Addams Family and I Love Lucy
• Most television programs were now in colour
• Televisions were still a luxury but by the early 1960s most families had one
• People didn't have to leave their homes to be entertained
• Rock and Roll


  New style of music and dancing that appealed to teenagers - songs about love and being young