Chapter%2020%20SOCIETY%20AFTER%20WORLD%20WAR%20II

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Chapter 20SOCIETY AFTER WORLD WAR II

• Section 1 The Challenges of Peace
• Section 2 The Affluent Society
• Section 3 Voices of Dissent

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Objectives
Section 1 The Challenges of Peace

• How did the U.S. economy and American workers
  fare after World War II?
• What were the most important issues of the 1948
  election?
• What were the major goals of President Trumans
  Fair Deal, and were they accomplished?

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The American economy and American workers after
WWII
Section 1 The Challenges of Peace

• The economy remained fairly strong, despite fears
  of depression.
• Workers problems included antiunion legislation,
  high inflation, and job loss.

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Issues in 1948
Section 1 The Challenges of Peace

• civil rights
• labor unrest
• high inflation
• broader social security benefits
• federal aid for agriculture, education, and
  housing

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The Fair Deal
Section 1 The Challenges of Peace

• sought full employment and a higher minimum wage
• called for a national health insurance program
• wanted affordable housing
• tried to increase aid to farmers and expand
  welfare benefits
• had limited success

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Objectives
Section 2 The Affluent Society

• How did President Eisenhower try to manage the
  nations problems?
• How did the workforce change in the 1950s?
• What was suburban life like during the 1950s?
• What was early television programming like?
• How did trends in popular culture reflect larger
  social changes among teenagers in the 1950s?

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Eisenhowers management
Section 2 The Affluent Society

• attempted to be conservative in regard to money
  and liberal in regard to people
• expanded some programs and cut others

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Workforce changes in the 1950s
Section 2 The Affluent Society

• Automation increased productivity but reduced
  manufacturing jobs.
• Service positions expanded, creating more
  pink-collar jobs.
• Corruption caused support for unions to decrease.
• Corporate mergers created new white-collar jobs.

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Suburban life during the 1950s
Section 2 The Affluent Society

• many identical communities
• centered around the family
• consumerism
• conformity

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Early television programming
Section 2 The Affluent Society

• corporate-sponsored
• dramas
• quiz shows
• situation comedies
• sports
• variety shows

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Popular culture and social changes
Section 2 The Affluent Society

• Satire in magazines and comic books and rebel
  characters in fiction expressed confusion and
  anger.
• Rock n roll foreshadowed civil rights
  challenges.

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Objectives
Section 3 Voices of Dissent

• How did the Brown decision affect school
  segregation and expose conflict over segregation?
• How was the Montgomery bus boycott a major
  turning point in the civil rights movement?
• What challenges did Hispanics, Asian Americans,
  and American Indians face in the 1950s?
• How did writers and scholars criticize 1950s
  society?
• What problems did poor Americans face in the
  1950s?

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The Brown decision
Section 3 Voices of Dissent

• banned racial segregation in public schools
• precipitated violence when integration was
  attempted in Little Rock, Arkansas

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The Montgomery bus boycott
Section 3 Voices of Dissent

• struck a blow against segregation
• established Martin Luther King, Jr. as a major
  civil rights leader
• helped people believe they could stand up to power

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Challenges faced by Hispanics
Section 3 Voices of Dissent

• discrimination
• segregation, especially in public schools
• nativism

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Problems of Asian Americans
Section 3 Voices of Dissent

• discrimination
• beliefs that they did not fit the American ideal

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Challenges faced by American Indians
Section 3 Voices of Dissent

• relocation and termination policies
• government pressure to assimilate

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Criticism expressed by writers and scholars
Section 3 Voices of Dissent

• conformity
• racism
• poverty
• lack of creativity

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Problems of poor Americans
Section 3 Voices of Dissent

• falling farm prices
• high cost of farm equipment
• few farm jobs
• increasingly poor urban populations
• discrimination
• poor housing