Post-War America

1. Post-War America

2. Changes after WWII • Unemployment rises • Prices rise • High divorce rates • Government had to control prices & wages • Then spending increases • “The affluent society”

3. Harry Truman • President after WWII • “The buck stops here” • Strikebreaker • “Had enough?”- Campaign slogan against him • Very low ratings • Dixiecrats- Southern democrats who opposed Harry Truman and formed their own party • 1948 Election- Polls said that Truman would lose, but he defeated Dewey

5. 1950s Civil Rights • Much racism in South after WWII • Congress resisted Civil Rights at first • Truman’s Executive Orders ended segregation in the armed forces and ended discrimination in federal hiring practices • Jackie Robinson- First African American in major league baseball

6. Dwight D. Eisenhower • Republican • War hero from WWII • “I like Ike” • Elected President in 1952 and 1956 • Brown v. the Board of Education- Major 1954 Supreme Court case that led to the integration of public schools. • Interstate Highway Act

7. Attorney Thurgood Marshall (later to become Supreme Court Justice Marshall) and his team celebrate after landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

8. The Baby Boom • Population explosion after WWII • Late 1940s to early 1960s • Many white families moved to suburbs • Better medicine

9. 1950s Family • Importance of family was a dominant viewpoint in 1950s culture • Many believed women’s roles should be limited to mother and homemaker • Reinforced by TV shows: Father Knows Best, Ozzie and Harriet • Many women rebelled • The Feminine Mystique- Book that began the modern feminist movement

10. 1950s Culture • More leisure time because of the 9 to 5 work day • New hobbies: Comic books, movies, TV, cruising, records, sports, etc. • Labor saving devices • Planned obsolescence of products • “Automania” • Drive-Ins & Drive-Thrus

11. Mass Media • Communication that reaches large audiences • Old methods: Newspaper, Radio • New Method: TV • 90% in 1960 • Comedies: I Love Lucy, The Texaco Star Theater • News: Person to Person • Kids: Mickey Mouse Club, The Howdy Doody Show • TV Guide • TV Dinners

12. Beat Movement • Beat = Weary • Nonconformity • Big movement in cities like San Francisco, LA, NYC • Little structure in poetry & literature • Popular with college students • Jack Kerouac, On the Road

13. Rock ‘n Roll • Alan Freed- DJ in Cleveland who brought Rock ‘n Roll to the north • African American rhythm & blues roots • Chuck Berry, Bill Haley and His Comets • Elvis Presley = King of Rock ‘n Roll • Condemned by conservative groups • Increased record sales • Race radio

15. The Inner Cities • Great poverty in 1950s cities • The Other America- Book that raised awareness about the conditions of the poor in cities • Slums- Crowded run-down areas where the poor lived in cities • Urban Renewal- Programs to tear down slums and rebuild. Caused more problems because the new housing was often too expensive for the poor.

16. The 1950s Teenager • Because of changing lifestyles and values, the teenager became an important life stage in the 1950s family • School instead of work • Businesses targeted teenagers • James Dean- 1950s movie star/teen idol • American Bandstand- Dance competition TV show geared towards teenagers

17. 1950s Cinema • Hurt by TV • Cut movie audiences in half • Competed by: -Stereophonic sound -Color movies -3D Movies -Smell-O-Vision? • Epics: Ben Hur & The Ten Commandments • Alfred Hitchcock Thrillers • Rear Window, North by Northwest, Dial M for Murder

19. The 1940's were the biggest boom in comics.  This was the Golden Age of comics and the characters are viewed with almost reverence by fans still today. This especially true of the years between 1940 and 1941.  As a matter of fact all the characters on this list are in those two years.  Catwoman made her debut in Batman #1 in 1940. No one could know the impact this lady villain would have on comics. She is perhaps had the longest running comic for a villain ever. Making her first appearance in 1941 in All Star Comics #8. Wonder Woman has been one of the greatest female characters in comics still today. She was to be an equal to Superman. She was not the first female comic character, but she is considered an archetype for the characters who came later.

20. Starting off in 1941 punching Hitler himself in the face in Captain American Comics #1, the Captain has easily been one of the best heroes ever created. He is also considered an archetype for the patriotic American comic character. The Golden Age of comics saw many new heroes come out in the 1940s, and Aquaman is no small exception making his debut in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941. Plastic Man was the biggest superhero satire ever an first appeared in Police Comics #1 in 1941. He is considered to be one of the biggest comic heroes of all time in a historical context and is listed along with characters like Batman and Superman.

21. 1930s Comics

22. Norman Rockwell • American painter and illustrator • Most famous for Saturday Evening Post covers • Over 4,000 original works, over 300 Post covers • Four Freedoms • Painted an ideal version of society

24. The Cold War Begins • End of WWII: 1945 • United Nations • Two superpowers: United States & Soviet Union • Communism vs. Capitalism • Joseph Stalin • Fear of Communism