THE 1950’s

THE POSTWAR YEARS

AT HOME

Eisenhower and the 1950’s

The Postwar Economy

• People were eager to get the things that they had been missing since the Depression

• Per capita income: average income per person doubled in the 1950’s

• Conglomerates: large corporation that owns many smaller companies– Grew out of fear learned during the Depression– If one area of the economy failed, investments in

another area would be safe

Economy of the 1950’s

Business Changes• Franchise: right to open a restaurant using a

parent company’s name and system– McDonald’s was the first franchise– Allowed an individual to begin a business with a

small cash investment and enjoy the support of a huge parent corporation

• Television: raised money to broadcast by selling advertising time– Companies benefited by persuading viewers to

buy their products– In 1955, the average American family watched 4-

5 hours per day

Technology

• Computers: developed out of war technology; advanced by the invention of the transistor– Made computers smaller– Government purchased 1 of the first to tally the

Census in 1950

• Nuclear Power: developed out of research for the atomic bomb– In 1957, the first commercial nuclear power plant

opened using nuclear energy for a peaceful purpose

1950’s Suburbia

Highways Change Life• New services: drive-in restaurants and movies,

hotels & more gas stations

• Move to the suburbs– GI Bill provided low interest mortgages to soldiers – Levittown: pre-cut & pre-assembled houses that

were almost identical

• Interstate Highway Act: government built an interstate highway system– Provided a network of new roads for evacuation

from a nuclear attack

1950’s Politics

• Conversion to peacetime economy– Prices soared 25% when restrictions were lifted.– Strikes affected nearly everyone.

• Taft-Hawley Act: workers must return to work while government investigated strikes in major industries

• Fair Deal: Truman’s proposals to improve conditions for all– Continuation of New Deal Programs– Most programs were rejected by the Congress

Election of 1952

• Although he did not have strong support, Truman won re-election in 1948.

• He chose not to run again in 1952.• Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower easily

won.– K1C2 was the Republican slogan for the

problems facing America: Korea, Communism & Corruption

– Richard Nixon became Vice President

President Eisenhower• Modern Republicanism: conservative when it came

to money, liberal when it came to human beings• Favored big business• Suffered 3 recessions during his terms• However, maintained a mood of stability• National Defense Education Act: improved

science and math education to improve US technology– Provided millions of dollars in low cost loans to college

students – Granted millions to states for building science and foreign

language facilities

Minority Rights

Demands for Civil Rights• Brown v. Board of Education: ruled that separate

but equal can never be equal.– Outlawed segregation in public schools– Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson

• Montgomery Bus Boycott: African Americans refused to use the busses – Introduced nonviolent protest practices– Produced a new generation of leaders

• Little Rock Integration: conflict erupted when Central High School was integrated in 1957– State government refused to follow Court ruling– Eisenhower called in National Guard to carry out order