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The Postwar Boom in Part 1

The Postwar Boom in Part 1

Assessment

Presentation

Social Studies

9th - 12th Grade

Practice Problem

Medium

Created by

C Y

Used 6+ times

FREE Resource

25 Slides • 12 Questions

1

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THE POSTWAR

BOOM

THE AMERICAN DREAM

IN THE 1950S

2

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GI Bill- Serviceman’s
Readjustment Act

After demobilization WWII

vets worried about lack of
housing and unemployment

provided 1 year

unemployment payments to
vets unable to find work

Financial aid for college

Low interest loans for

homes or to start
businesses

3

Multiple Choice

What did the GI Bill NOT do?

1

Provide unemployment payments for a year

2

Provide low interest loans to buy a home or start a business

3

Provide financial aid for college

4

Provide free college tuition

4

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THE BABY BOOM


During the late
1940s and through
the early 1960s the
birthrate in the U.S.
soared


At its height in 1957,
a baby was born in
America every 7
seconds (over 4.3
million babies in ’57
alone)


Baby boomers
represent the largest
generation in the
nation’s history

5

Multiple Choice

Baby Boomers are those who were born during what years?

1

Late 1950s- early 1970s

2

Late 1930s- early 1950s

3

Late 1940s- early 1960s

4

Late 1960s- early 1980s

6

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WHY SO MANY BABIES?

Why did the baby boom

occur when it did?


Husbands returning from
war


Decreasing marriage age


Desirability of large
families (conformity)


Confidence in economy


Advances in medicine

7

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IMPACT OF BABY BOOM


As a result of the baby
boom 10 million
students entered
elementary schools in
the 1950s


California built a new
school every 7 days in
the late ’50s


Toy sales reached an
all-time high in 1958
when $1.25 billion in
toys were sold

8

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WHAT IT WILL MEAN TO YOU

Your generation will be supporting an increasingly

aging American population

9

Multiple Choice

How old are Baby Boomers today?

1

In their early 60s- late 70s

2

In their late 40s- early 60s

3

In their late 50s- early 70s

4

In their early 70s- late 80s

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REMARKABLE
ECONOMIC
RECOVERY


Immediately following WWII, we experienced
inflation.


Experts who predicted a postwar depression were
proved wrong as they failed to consider the $135
billion in savings Americans had accumulated from
defense work, service pay, and investments in war
bonds


Americans were ready to buy consumer goods

11

Multiple Choice

The economy was surprisingly doing well after WWII

1

True

2

False

12

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THE AMERICAN DREAM IN THE

FIFTIES


After WWII ended, Americans
turned their attention to their
families and jobs


New businesses and improved
productivity due to new
technology created
opportunities for many


By the end of the 1950s,
Americans were enjoying the
highest standard of living in
the world


Military spending due to the
Cold War also boosted the
economy.

Ozzie and Harriet reflected
the perfect American family

13

Open Ended

Why do you think the 1950s is considered to be the golden age of America?

14

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AMERICANS MIGRATE

TO THE SUNBELT


Many moved to the
sunbelt states (South and
West)

Warm climate (and the

development of air
conditioning made this
possible)

Booming industrial

market and growing
cities

Growth of aerospace

and electronics
industries

15

Multiple Choice

What state would be considered a part of the Sunbelt?

1

Oregon

2

Montana

3

Arizona

4

New York

16

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CHANGES IN LABOR FORCE

Women in the

workforce
increased,
although most
worked part time
and all were
underpaid.

Most often jobs,

not careers.

17

Multiple Choice

Women had jobs but not careers

1

True

2

False

18

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THE ORGANIZATION AND THE

ORGANIZATION MAN


During the 1950s,
businesses expanded
rapidly


More and more people
held “white-collar” jobs -
clerical, management, or
professional jobs


The fields of sales,
advertising, insurance
and communications
exploded

White Collar jobs expanded

greatly in the 1950s

19

Multiple Choice

What are "white-collar" jobs?

1

Jobs that involve manual labor

2

Jobs that are in the tourism and restaurant industry.

3

Clerical, management, or professional jobs

4

Jobs that involve customer service

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FRANCHISES EMERGE

Another strategy for

business expansion
was franchising

A franchise is a

company that offers
similar services in
many locations

Fast food restaurants

developed the first
franchises in America

McDonald’s is one of
the leading franchises

in the world

21

Multiple Choice

What is an example of a franchise?

1

McDonald's

2

IBM

3

SRP

4

Wells-Fargo

22

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CONGLOMERATES EMERGE

Conglomerates, major corporations that

include a number of smaller companies
in unrelated fields, emerged in the
1950s

One conglomerate, International

Telephone and Telegraph (ITT), bought
rental car companies and hotel chains

23

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MULTI-NATIONAL

CORPORATIONS EMERGE

Companies that produced and sold their

goods and services all over the world
and established branches abroad.

ie. Coca Cola sold soda worldwide

Hollywood had movie audiences worldwide

24

Multiple Choice

Hollywood is considered a multi-national corporation

1

True

2

False

25

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SOCIAL CONFORMITY


American workers found
themselves becoming
standardized


Called the “Organization
Man,” the modern worker
struggled with a loss of
individualism


Businesses did not want
creative thinkers, rebels
or anyone that would
“rock the boat

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SOCIAL UNREST

PERSISTS


African Americans felt
they deserved equal
rights, especially after
hundreds of thousands
served in WWII


Truman took action in
1948 by desegregating
the armed forces


Additionally, Truman
ordered an end to
discrimination in the
hiring of governmental
employees

27

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MASS CULTURE OF THE 1950S

28

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POSTWAR AMERICA


After WWII, returning
vets faced a severe
housing shortage


In response to the crisis,
developers used
assembly-line methods to
mass-produce houses


Developer William Levitt
bragged that his
company could build a
home in 16 minutes for
$7,000


Suburbs were born


Film clips from "A City is
Born" - YouTube

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THE SUBURBAN LIFESTYLE


Most Americans worked
in cities, but fewer and
fewer of them lived there


New highways and the
affordability of cars and
gasoline made
commuting possible


Of the 13 million homes
built in the 1950s, 85%
were built in suburbs


For many, the suburbs
were the American
Dream

The American Dream complete with

a white picket fence

30

Open Ended

What are suburbs?

31

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THE AUTOMOBILE

CULTURE

After the rationing of WWII,

inexpensive and plentiful fuel and easy
credit led many to buy cars

By 1960, over 60 million Americans

owned autos

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INTERSTATE HIGHWAY

ACT 1956


In 1956 Ike
authorized
a
nationwide
highway
network –
41,000
miles of
road linking
America

33

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THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY

SYSTEM

Automania” spurred

the construction of
roads linking major
cities while
connecting schools,
shopping centers and
workplaces to
residential suburbs

34

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IMPACT OF THE

HIGHWAY

The Interstate

Highway system
resulted in:

More trucking

Less railroad

More suburbs,

further away

Trucking is the #1 means of
moving cargo in the United

States today

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HIGHWAYS

“HOMOGENIZE” AMERICA


Another effect of the
highway system was
that the scenery of
America began to
look the same


Restaurants, motels,
highway billboards,
gas stations, etc. all
began to look similar


The nation had
become
“homogenized”

Anytown, USA

36

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DOWNSIDE
TO MOBILITY


While the car industry boom stimulated
production, jobs, shopping centers, and the
restaurant industry, it also had

negative effects


Noise


Pollution


Accidents


Traffic Jams


Stress


Decline of public
transportation

37

Open Ended

What was the impact of car culture in America? Explain at least one impact.

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THE POSTWAR

BOOM

THE AMERICAN DREAM

IN THE 1950S

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