Post WW2

• What changes were there for women after WW2?

  - More married women were in work and the percentage of married women in work had increased from 33% to 50%.

  
  

  - Women took over the traditional roles of men and were earning higher wages so felt a new sense of independence, but this was knocked down when men returned and wanted women to return to the roles they had before the war which frustrated women.

  
  

  - Sexism and discrimination against women continued.
• What changes were there for African Americans after WW2?


  - Over 1 million African Americans found jobs in the US army and trained as soldiers.

  
  

  - Black officers could only lead Black squadrons and Black nurses could only treat black soldiers.

  
  

  - African Americans felt they deserved change after the war at home due to their contributions to the war effort, but little did change and racism and discrimination continued everywhere along with segregation in the south.
• What was the American dream after WW2?


  After WW2, America experienced another economic boom and the idea that Americans could enjoy a comfortable standard of living and be successful if they worked hard was becoming a reality again after a whole decade.
• What was consumerism like after WW2?


  - Peacetime goods were produced in the same efficient way that wartime goods were.

  
  

  - Luxury refrigerators, ovens, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, cars and televisions were produced at prices that millions could afford.

  
  

  - The public were so keen to spend on these consumer goods as they had been so rare during the war, and many suffered poverty during the 1930s and felt more empowered from working during the war and earning money again.

  
  

  - Huge advertising industries and 'buy now, pay later' schemes encouraged spending.

  
  

  - Massive shopping centres, known as malls, were built on the outskirts of towns and cities further encouraged spending and provided convenience for customers shopping for goods under one roof.

  
  

  - By 1956, there were 75 million vehicles on the road and vast car parks were built to accommodate the growing number of vehicles.

  
  

  - By the end of the 1950s, 7 out of 10 households had a washing machine, 8 had a car and 9 had a TV.

  
  

  - Europe was devastated by the war and was keen to buy US goods and by 1952, America was supplying the world with 65% of its manufactured goods.
• How did Truman contribute to the economic boom after WW2?


  - Helping veterans from WW2

  
  

  - Creating new housing

  
  

  - The 'Fair Deal
• How did Truman help veterans after WW2?


  - Towards the end of the war in 1944, Truman passed a G.I. Bill of Rights to help veterans of WW2.

  
  

  - By 1950, the federal government had spent $13 billion establishing hospitals and schools and providing housing and business loans.

  
  

  - Between 1944 and 1949, nearly 9 million veterans received around $4 billion from the government.
• How did Truman create new housing after WW2?


  - As part of his 'Fair Deal', Truman cleared large slums to make way for affordable housing.

  
  

  - In 1946, America experienced a 'baby boom' which saw a 40% increase in the population which created a demand for more housing.

  
  

  - Homes were mass produced in new suburbs, known as Levittowns, produced by the Levitt and Sons company.

  
  

  - These homes included a white picket fence, green lawns and modern household appliances and were produced at prices that millions could afford as suburban home ownership became a key feature of the American dream.
• How did women fail to prosper after WW2?


  - Millions of women who had contributed to the war effort went back to their more traditional roles as housewives and nurses.

  
  

  - During WW2, women's wages had risen to 2/3 of the wages that men earned, but after the war, this fell back to 53% of that amount.

  
  

  - By 1950, the average age a woman got married was 20, the youngest since 1890.

  
  

  - Women were often employed in 'female' jobs, such as nursing, teaching and secretarial roles.

  
  

  - Women who attempted to pursue a career were often faced with discrimination and viewed with suspicion.

  
  

  - During the 1950s, it was a widespread view that 'a woman's place was in the home' and she was living the American Dream if she lived in a nice house with all the latest gadgets to help her.

  
  

  - Many women were becoming increasingly frustrated with the limit on their freedom and lives.
• What was the situation regarding poverty in society after WW2?


  - There were large disparities of wealth where the majority of people in areas were desperately poor and living in unsafe housing and going to sub-standard schools.

  
  

  - 25% were living in poverty and people in the South were less well off than people in the North.

  
  

  - There was no national health service to guarantee basic healthcare and no insurance schemes to help when workers were sick or became unemployed.

  
  

  - In 1960, 68% of people over 65 had an income of less than $1000 while average factory earnings were over $4000.
• What was Truman's Fair Deal?


  - President Truman was Roosevelt's vice president and became President in 1945 after Roosevelt's death and was then elected in 1948.

  
  

  - He wanted to use the government to help Americans most in need and create a fairer society and called his plans the 'Fair Deal'. He mainly focused on tackling poverty and developing rights for African Americans.
• What did Truman's Fair Deal achieve?


  - Desegregated the US military in 1948 through the Executive Order 9981.

  
  

  - Raised the minimum wage from 40 cents to 75 cents per hour.

  
  

  - Improved the coverage of social security.

  
  

  - Provided funds for slum clearance which led to the development of low-cost housing.
• What did Truman's Fair Deal fail to achieve?


  - Truman was unable to introduce a national health insurance scheme which was rejected by Republicans in Congress.

  
  

  - Truman failed to pass any civil rights laws for African Americans through Congress because Democrat politicians in the southern states opposed them.
• How did American society change after WW2?


  - Changing expectations in the 1950s

  - Teenagers

  - Rock and roll

  - Television
• How did expectations change in the 1950s?


  - A more prosperous America meant that parents no longer had to rely on their children getting a job at age 14 or 15 to support the family.

  
  

  - Many parents began to insist that their children finished high school and also paid for them to go to college later.

  
  

  - Parents had just gone through a Great Depression and a world war and wanted their children to make the best of their opportunities.

  
  

  - It also tied in with the expectations of the American Dream, which was that the next generation would be more successful than the previous one.
• What was the impact on teenagers after WW2?


  - Before WW2, teenagers had very little freedom.

  
  

  - Young men usually left school at 14 to find a job or join the army and young women would get a traditional 'female' job then get married.

  
  

  - More teenagers began to stay in school as their parents were wealthier and they had more leisure time.

  
  

  - In 1957, the average teenager spent between $10-$15 per week compared to $1-$2 during the 1940s.

  
  

  - Annual spending power increased from $10 billion in 1950 to $25 billion in 1959.

  
  

  - Teenagers spent money on music, cars, fashion and alcohol and businesses often targeted teenagers because they had the most money to spend.

  
  

  - Teenage boys would become 'thrill-seekers' who raced cars, drank heavily and started gangs.

  
  

  - A 'generation gap' developed between teenagers of the 1950s and their parents as the way young people behaved was so different to before.

  
  

  - Teenagers began to develop a reputation for being independent, secretive, rebellious and aggressive.

  
  

  - Figures like James Dean and Marlon Brando in movies such as 'The Wild One' became emblems of teenage rebellion, and stars like Marilyn Monroe were seen as glamourous. Film stars and musicians were very influential to teenagers.
• How did rock and roll change in America after WW2?


  - During the 1950s, rock and roll became very popular, especially amongst young people who looked up to stars like Elvis Presley.

  
  

  - The music had a strong rhythm and was easy to dance to, which appealed to teenagers.

  
  

  - Lyrics and dance moves often contained sexual references and also referred to young people being involved in dangerous activities such as gang culture and drinking which thrilled teenagers because their parents would disapprove.

  
  

  - Older Americans were more conservative and were outraged at the evolution of music after the war, and the unpopularity amongst the older generation made it even more popular amongst teenagers.

  
  

  - Radio stations and TV shows rushed to book the most famous performers and in 1956, 82% of Americans watched a TV performance by Elvis Presley.
• What was the impact of television after WW2?


  - In 1955, 56% of American households owned a TV set but this increased to 87% by 1960.

  
  

  - As the price of televisions fell, they became more affordable, and TV replaced radio as the key source of home entertainment and news.

  
  

  - TV during the 1950s was dominated by commercial sponsors trying to encourage consumerism.

  
  

  - Most programmes were sources of entertainment such as game shows, sitcoms and soap operas but television was also used for news coverage later during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 60s.

  
  

  - Following the baby boom after WW2 which saw a 40% increase in the population, producers used this opportunity to develop programmes for this audience too.
• What was the Red Scare?


  An exaggerated fear about the spread of communism during 1919 and 1920, mostly fuelled by the fear and hatred towards European immigrants in America.
• What was the Second Red Scare?


  The widespread fear of communism within the US between 1947 and 1957.
• What were causes of the Second Red Scare?


  - The Cold War

  - Containment

  - Communist spies
• How did the Cold War cause the Second Red Scare?


  - There was a great fear of the USSR and its power as they were building up their nuclear weapons.

  
  

  - Stalin had put up communist governments all over Eastern Europe and this sparked panic that communism would be spread all over the world, including America.
• How did containment cause the Second Red Scare?


  - Truman had announced the Truman Doctrine in 1947 stating that the USA would come to the aid of any country at risk of falling to communism.

  
  

  - In 1949, China became communist and this created hysteria because the policy of containment did not seem to be working.
• How did communist spies cause the Second Red Scare?


  - Some members of the US government such as Alger Hiss were accused of infiltrating the government as a communist spy for the Soviet Union.

  
  

  - Two Americans, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were accused of spying for the Soviet Union and were executed.

  
  

  - These scandals became headline news and escalated the fear that there were communists infiltrating America.
• What was the HUAC?


  - The HUAC (House of Representatives Un-American Activities Committee) was a government organisation which began searching for communists working in the USA including in the government, in the media and in the movie industry.

  
  

  - In March 1947, Truman introduced a Loyalty Programme which allowed the FBI to investigate all government employees and sack any 'security risks'.

  
  

  - From 1947 to 1950, millions were investigated by the HUAC and the Loyalty Programme.

  
  

  - Despite no one actually being found guilty, many were forced out of their jobs due to the humiliation and disgrace associated with their investigation.

  
  

  - The HUAC's most famous case was against the Hollywood Ten.
• Who were the 'Hollywood Ten'?


  - A group of 10 of Hollywood's best known filmmakers who refused to testify for the HUAC.

  
  

  - They argued that in a democratic country like the USA, they should have freedom over their political beliefs.

  
  

  - They were imprisoned for a year for 'contempt of court' and blacklisted so struggled to find work in the film industry again.
• Who was Joseph McCarthy?


  Joseph McCarthy was a politician who used the fear of communism to further his political career.
• What did McCarthy do?


  - In February 1950, McCarthy claimed he had a list of as many as 200 communists working for the American government.

  
  

  - Many saw McCarthy as a hero because he was strongly anti-communist and everyone was afraid of it.

  
  

  - He was a good ally of the director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover who tried to catch communists during the First Red Scare in 1950s and Hoover kept millions of files on suspected communist sympathisers by using modern surveillance techniques like phone tapping.

  
  

  - For the next 5 years, McCarthy led a campaign of communist witch hunts and claimed people were guilty with little to no proof.

  
  

  - He gained lots of power because anyone who spoke out against him ran the risk of being accused of being communists and blacklisted and even President Eisenhower was reluctant to directly criticise McCarthy.

  
  

  - This became known as McCarthyism.
• Why did McCarthy become unpopular?

  - McCarthy became unpopular in 1954 when he accused 45 army officers of supporting communism.

  
  

  - These hearings were televised and allowed the extent of McCarthy's accusations to be revealed to millions of Americans.

  
  

  - The public were outraged and when he was asked to prove his accusations, he had no evidence which greatly decreased public support for him and people saw him as an irresponsible bully.
• What were the impacts of McCarthyism?


  - People lost their jobs, were jailed and had their reputations ruined for no reason even though they were not guilty.

  
  

  - Many Americans lost faith in their government as it seemed they cared more about fighting communism than protecting people's rights.
• Where did the constitutional idea of 'separate but equal' come from?


  - In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled on a segregation case in the South called Plessy v Ferguson.

  
  

  - It was ruled that segregation laws enforcing segregation were constitutional as long as the services provided to African Americans were of the same standard.

  
  

  - However, this was not the case because African Americans always suffered from the lowest quality of facilities.
• What was life like for African Americans during the 1950s?


  - Many white Americans were prospering after the war and enjoying a higher standard of living but African Americans were not.

  
  

  - In the South, racist Jim Crow laws upheld segregation.

  
  

  - In the North and South, African Americans suffered discrimination and were just poorer in general with less opportunities and lower standards of health and education.

  
  

  - African Americans during the war were exposed to the running of other countries which were not as racist as America and felt that they deserved change for fighting for America despite the horrible treatment they received.
• What was the Civil Rights Movement?


  The Civil Rights Movement was a movement that took place during the 1950s and 60s that used peaceful protests to gain equal protection under the law and a fair chance at success in America, specifically for African Americans.
• What are examples of events held in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s?


  - 1954 Brown vs Board (legal action)

  - 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott (direct action)

  - 1957 Little Rock, Arkansas (legal action)

  - 1957 Civil Rights Act (legal action)
• What was Brown vs Board?


  - In 1954, Oliver Brown and the NAACP brought a case against the Board of Education in Kansas.

  
  

  - Brown's daughter Linda had to walk a long way across a dangerous railway line to get to school because she wasn't allowed to go to the all-white school near her home.

  
  

  - African American children went to segregated schools which were often of much lower quality and standards.

  
  

  - The Supreme Court ruled that segregation in education was unconstitutional and 'separate but equal' was not an acceptable idea in education.

  
  

  - Many towns and cities began to integrate their schools however some states refused. In 1956, six Southern states were still enforcing segregation in schools.
• What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?


  - Montgomery had a local law that African American people were only allowed to sit in the middle and back sections of the bus and should give up their seat if a white person wanted it.

  
  

  - Rosa Parks was a local activist and member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) branch in Montgomery, Alabama.

  
  

  - Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man and was arrested for breaking the laws of segregation on transport.

  
  

  - This led to the local African American people forming the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) led by Martin Luther King and decided that the best way to protest was to boycott the buses and the MIA implemented a carpool system for over a year.

  
  

  - King was arrested throughout the campaign twice and extensive violence was launched at campaigners as churches and homes were set on fire and racially integrated buses were shot at by snipers.

  
  

  - Overall, the boycott was a great success and the bus company lost 65% of its income as 75% of its customers were African American.

  
  

  - A year after Rosa Parks' arrest, the Supreme Court ruled the segregation on public transport as unconstitutional in 1956.

  
  

  - This attracted global media attention and publicity as Martin Luther King became a national figure and it was the first victory for non-violent direct action.
• What was the case regarding Little Rock, Arkansas?

  - Since the Brown v Board ruling, only some states had desegregated their schools and in 1956, six states were still enforcing segregation in education including Arkansas.

  
  

  - Nine African American students in Arkansas who attempted to attend Central High School in Little Rock became known as the Little Rock Nine.

  
  

  - There was a fierce backlash in the local community and on the first day of term, the students were met with huge amounts of abuse, teachers, students and passers-by on their way to school.

  
  

  - The governor of Arkansas even sent National Guard soldiers to Central High to stop the Black students from entering.

  
  

  - President Eisenhower sent soldiers to protect the students on their way to school but the students still suffered bullying and racism inside the school grounds.

  
  

  - Little Rock had finally desegregated their schools and Eisenhower sent a clear message that all states would be forced to integrate their schools.
• What was the 1957 Civil Rights Act?


  - Passed by Eisenhower in 1957 and tried to enforce laws that made it illegal to use methods like literacy tests to stop African Americans from voting.

  
  

  - It was the first time a law was passed in favour of African Americans but many states refused to acknowledge the law.

  
  

  - Only 1-2% of African Americans remained registered to vote.
• What were key organisations in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s?


  - Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

  
  

  - Student Non-Violent Co-ordinating Committee (SNCC)

  
  

  - Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
• What was the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)?


  - Led by Martin Luther King who was a preacher and committed to non-violence.

  
  

  - Its aim was to achieve civil rights for African Americans through non-violence.

  
  

  - They held demonstrations and trained activists to take part in non-violent protests.
• What was the Student Non-Violent Co-ordinating Committee (SNCC) in the Civil Rights Movement?


  - Set up by African American and white students after the organisation of sit-ins.

  
  

  - They led and took part in numerous civil rights campaigns.