The Post War Years 1 Postwar Prosperity 04 03 2014 a Countries were devastated from the War but not the United States b There was rationing during WWII people couldn t really spend money even though they were making it Ex Military workers c 1945 people had cash to spend because they accumulated it during the war They spend lot of money d Baby boom 1946 1960 So many people were being born e GI Bill Service men s readjustment act Way for veterans to ii Gives you hiring preferences for job especially government readjust back into civilian life i Unemployment benefits jobs iii Health care benefits iv Low interest loans for homes v Paid for veterans to go to college after WWII It gave them better educational opportunities vi Prior to WWII college was for the economic elite After WWII it became well known for more people especially veterans f Air travel is starting to expand g Tourism become part of American economy becomes popular after WWII People would pay money to travel and visit places Certain places began to market for tourists Two of the most famous from 1950 Las Vegas and Disney Land i Vegas was created in 1950 to attract tourists and they would gamble money that they could afford to loose It symbolizes ii 1955 Disneyland Baby boomers were a target for their post war prosperity location iii NC advertised itself as a tourist attraction Had much to offer mountains coasts wright memorial etc 2 Suburban America a American culture that wasn t urban or rural Something that is very common to us today General prosperity Real estate took advantage of this 1 3 of American lived in suburbs by 1960s This was especially common in the south Everyone lived close to each other b Levittown suburban area people began to conform to one another Homogenous society 3 Television took off in the 1960 s Became a commercial venture 40 million TVs in 1957 Affects way we talk dress what we watch and dress what we learn TV was the primary way of getting the news ABC NBC CBS were the only channels They stressed conformity 4 Critics of Post war changes a Very critical or television and advertisers They feel that people are being taught to conform it created trends You don t want to be too different America was spending more on advertising than on religion 5 The Civil Rights Movement Originated with WWII the end of it During WWII felt they were fighting extreme racism and evilness with Germany African Americans were encouraged to vocalize their opinions President Truman looked at the way African Americas were being treated He took the first step as President to desegregate military units a The Brown Decision system constitutional i 1942 series of law suits regarding segregation in the school ii 1954 that school segregation by race was no longer iii Emmett Till 14 year old boy from Chicago who visited family is Mississippi Some say that he whistled at a woman at a grocery store To white men went to his house and murdered him and threw him into the river His mother had an open casket to show what happened to him It was all over the news The two men were found and out in jail Took 60 minutes to find the men innocent b Backlash i Montgomery Busy Boycott Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person She was arrested This caused the bus boycott ii MLK Organizer and leader of boycott Received PhD from Boston University His strategy was summed up as non violence You had to break a law to cause attention but peacefully People would eventually come around and see what was happening iii Most famous protest Greensboro sitins February 1960 4 black college students walked into a department store Asked to be served when sitting at a counter They were refused and they refused to leave They didn t leave until they closed They showed up again the next day but with more people This was the start of the sit ins They were called terms things were thrown at them but they followed by King s words and didn t fight back They were arrested because they were technically breaking the law They eventually won c Challenging Jim Crow i 1955 1963 March on Washington People who were opposed to segregation MLK gave his speech I had a dream Politicians had to pay attention to what they wanted ii 1964 congress passed the civil rights act prohibited segregation in public places based on race iii 1965 Voting rights acts Prohibited literacy test grandfather clause all of those 6 Cold War Struggle between US and Soviet Union Terms Brown vs Board MLK Greensboro Sit ins GI Bill Baby Boom Rosa Parks Levittown 04 03 2014 04 03 2014