Triumph of the Middle Class (1945-1963)

I. Postwar Prosperity and the Affluent Society

1. U.S. was only major industrial nation not physically devastated by WWII
a) Set up for postwar boom
b) Expanding internal market, investment in r&d, collective bargaining, $ to military &
domestic programs boosted economy
B. Economy: From Recovery to Dominance
1. Pax Americana (30 yr growth) allowed by Bretton Woods system, GATT
a) Conference @ B.W., NH in 44 created: World Bank (provided loans to Euro & 3rd
World), Intl. Monetary Fund (stabilize currencies w/benchmarks)
b) General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade: intl framework for trade rules/practices
c) Both Bretton Woods & GATT favored U.S. @ expense of 3rd World
2. Economic growth depended on military-industrial complex, defense sector (WWII)
a) Ike warned against complexs influence
b) Defense Department () did so much business w/related industries that they became
reliant on its $ & were basically divisions of the dept.
c) CW competition encouraged funding of scientific industry
(1) National Defense Education Act (58 encouraged by S.U.s launch of Sputnik)
3. Consolidation of large corps led to white-collar army & drew criticism
a) By 1970 top 4 firms in a given industry produced >70% of those goods
b) 50s: exports doubled
c) The Lonely Crowd and The Corporation Take-Over criticized white-collar
managerial obedience
d) Investment programs relied on automation - manufacturing jobs were lost
4. Postwar economy was record-setting
a) GDP $213 bil 45 to >$1 tril 70 with increased income & low inflation
b) Income inequality dropped, poverty persisted (The Affluent Society by Galbraith)
C. A Nation of Consumers
1. Consumption became viewed as a civic duty, unlike during 20s
2. GI Bill 44 created worlds best-educated workforce, increased home ownership
a) Veterans were able to attend college on gov $
(1) Led to uni growth & higher earning power
b) Veterans Administration helped veterans purchase homes
3. Collective bargaining became recognized, unions gained strength & won battles
(represented most major american industries)
a) Strikes led to acceptance of collective bargaining & rising income
b) In place of welfare state, union contracts provided health insurance, pensions, etc.
c) However: domestic markets = fragile, unorganized workers couldnt access,
employers were antiunion
4. Americans consumed houses, cars, & products for children
a) Planned obsolescence perpetuated consumption
b) Baby boomers/children encouraged advertising/consumption
5. Television promoted advertising & the nuclear family
 a) Increased contact w/consumers led to innovations in advertising
b) Lost diversity, focused on middle-class lifestyle & values
D. Youth Culture
1. Hollywood & advertisers targeted/exploited/promoted teenage culture
a) Capture spending money & exert influence over the family thru teens
b) Action films catered to teens w/rebellion
2. Rock n roll found its influence in Elvis Presley, adults denounced new music
a) Based on AA music, marketed for whites
3. Artists were disenchanted w/status quo, created as such
a) Postwar AA jazz featured improvisation (bebop) & individualism
b) Beats were young white writers in NY & SF who dismissed materialism & glorified
drug use, spontaneity, sexual freedom, etc
E. Religion and the Middle Class
1. Nuclear & communist threat led to revival of evangelical Protestant Church
a) Billy Graham, Norman Peale, Robert Schuller laid foundation
(1) Morality & positive thinking earned material blessings
(2) Under god & in god we trust added in 50s
II. The American Family in the Era of Containment
1. Increased value on female domesticity, companionship in marriage, paternalism
a) C.W. politicized the family
B. The Baby Boom
1. Birthrate increased, marriages stabilized, marriage age dropped
a) More babies born b/w 48-53 than previous 30 yrs
b) Reproduction was a citizens responsibility
c) 3.2 births/woman
d) Impacted labor market in 70s, their own birthrate jumped, S.S. & Medicare struggle
w/retirees
2. Major advancements in medicine benefited boomers
a) Penicillin (43), streptomycin (45), cortisone (46), polio vaccine (54) by Dr. Salk
3. Postwar middle-class parents valued education, approved gov spending
a) School expenditures in 70 = 7.2% gross national product
b) Increased college enrollments, state unis grew
4. Dr. Benjamin Spocks common sense approach 2 childrearing = part of contradictory
expectations of women
a) Women began to question messages & may be inspired by feminist 60s
C. Women, Work, and Family
1. Womens roles in employment & the family shaped by domestic ideal & job market
a) Career-oriented women were abnormal
(1) Mostly womens jobs available (teaching, nursing) w/o advancement
opportunities
(2) Women were paid 60% of men
b) Womens employment rose & contributed to families journey 2 middle class
(1) Still expected to work for family full-time
 D. Challenging Middle-Class Morality
1. 1945-65 = period of cultural conservatism/domesticity
a) Going steady in hs preceded marriage
b) Marrying young
c) Birth control wasnt widely accessible - ruled privacy right in Griswold v. CT
2. Americans struggled to blend new freedoms w/moral tradition esp. w/sex
a) Zoologist Alfred Kinsey published Sexual Behavior in the Human Male & Female
b) Broke taboos (cheating, homosexuality) by speaking scientifically
c) Sexual revolution had begun by early 50s
d) Encouraged more open conversation, even if stats were inaccurate
3. Kinsey report brought attention/encouragement to homophiles
a) Homophiles sought equal rights for lesbians/gays
b) Homosexuality defined as mental illness in 52, gay relations/activity = illegal
c) Built on communities formed during WW2, cultivated respectable image
4. Media reflected frank attitude towards sex & violence
a) Comic books aimed at teens displayed scantily clad women and violence
b) Hugh Hefner founded Playboy i n 53
c) Many men purchased the magazine, but the lifestyle was a fantasy
III. A Suburban Nation
A. The Postwar Housing Boom
a) By 1960 of Americans lived in suburbs, housing construction surged
2. William J. Levitt applied mass-production to housing - $7,990/house in 47
a) Financially unavailable to young families
b) Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Administration made mortages more
accessible - home ownership 60%
c) Levittowns were racially homogenous even after Shelley v. Kraemer outlawed
restrictions
3. Car ownership soared and encouraged creation of the interstate highway system
a) Car ownership & oil consumption tripled b/w 49-72ish
b) The National Interstate and Defense Highways Act constructed 42,500 mi of
highway over 10 yrs for $26 bil
c) Justified as nuclear escape route, made suburbanization possible
4. Suburban malls brought the market to the people
a) Suburbanites made up 60% of metropolitan retail trade in 61
b) Ray Kroc created the McDonalds chain, made fast food a staple
B. Rise of the Sunbelt
1. Suburbs thrived in the Sunbelt - south/southwestern states
a) Supported by military-industrial complex - suburbs grew around outposts, industries
were based in those towns
b) Militarization of Orange County perpetuated population growth, hosted new gen.
C. Two Societies: Urban and Suburban
1. As middle-class whites moved out of cities, nonwhites moved in - to poor conditions
a) The Kerner Commission drew attention to the other America
 b) Semiskilled/unskilled jobs disappeared to mechanization, exacerbated blacks poor
economic status
2. Urban blacks had no upward mobility thx to institutional racism
a) Urban renewal razed historic nonwhite neighborhoods & relocated residents in
federally funded housing - concentrated poor & supported segregation
3. Cities still attracted international immigrants as postwar policy allowed them in
a) Bracero Program during WW2 drew on Mexican-Americans for labor, settled
permanently
(1) Gravitated to southwestern cities
b) Puerto Ricans arrived by air
c) Cubans fled Fidel Castro & thrived w/middle-class skills and $$
d) Spanish-speaking immigrants created bilingual communities, supported Catholicism,
and were separate from whites & blacks