Teachers Discovering History As Historians

JCC Survey Course 2: Cyberlectures & Review: 10

Hyperlinked materials are considered part of each lecture and should be reviewed. Video Clips

As World War II came to an end, it was apparent the domestic and foreign policies of the United States had changed forever. Women, whose traditional role was considered to be in the home, were now experienced defense factory workers in jobs which were previously defined as beyond their physical and intellectual capabilities. This new financial and career freedom would not be relinquished. At the same time, the African American population had played a crucial role in the war effort at home and in the armed forces. They also, refused to return to pre-war conditions. Would a man would could eat in a restaurant in Paris accept being refused service at a diner in Atlanta? The Civil Rights Movement would make great strides in the 1950's, especially after the Supreme Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, (view this video clip from the History Channel Brown v. Board) the Montgomery bus boycott (Rosa Parks) and the rise of charismatic, nonviolent Martin Luther King, Jr (exceptional site). Although Brown v. Board technically applied only to schools, it implied that all segregated facilities were open to legal challenge and that multi-faceted, albeit painful, integration was possible.,

The problem of demobilizing up to fifteen million men and women of the Armed Forces and returning them to civilian life was an enormous task. In the immediate postwar years there were widespread fears of a return to depression including layoffs, inflation, shortages, strikes and a shortage of consumer goods. However, cheap energy, increased worker productivity and government programs including the GI Bill of 1944 (an excellent overview) (see a video clip from the History Channel GI Bill) the economy began a spectacular expansion that lasted from 1950 to 1970. This burst of affluence transformed American industry and society, and particularly drew more women into the work force. Footloose Americans migrated to the Sunbelts of the South and West, and to the growing suburbs, leaving the northeastern cities with poorer populations. Families grew rapidly, as the "baby boom" created a population bulge that would last for decades. Clayton Walters married Alice Gfg464lvs, on September 6, 1947, and contributed one child--Richard Clayton Walters, a rather handsome and talented fellow-- to the baby boom on December 7, 1949. In 1951, his grandfather, Jacob Gfg464lvs was 65 years old and forced into mandatory retirement. Jacob felt the need to supplement his pension and that Social Security provided by "Mr. Roosevelt" during the New Deal. He obtained a part-time job as a gardener at Our Lady of Victory Homes of Charity--the buildings and grounds of the former Father Baker Orphanage.

The automobile, massive construction projects (schools, hospitals, etc), the interstate highway system, the desire to be middle class, the availability of college and technical training, the television (our own "I Love Lucy"), technological change, the growth of suburbs, the highest standard of living in the world, economic prosperity, an enormous selection of consumer goods, unlimited employment opportunities, rock and roll, and influential advertising to tell us what we need for success-- fabulous fifties--browse through some interesting sites). For many Americans (within the social limitations of race and gender), a better way of life and new opportunities this was perceived as and achievable reality. In post war America, my parents were part of the lower middle class, bought a home in a nice city neighborhood on the edge of the steel plants and industrial area of South Buffalo. My father became a "white collar" salesman and my mother stayed at home to raise her darling son (me!). From elementary school, my father promoted college and middle class values. I was destined to become the first member of my immediate paternal and maternal families to attend college--in hopes of achieving an opportunity for more of the "American Dream". However, there were also those alienated from these so called "Happy Days"-- including poor urban and rural residents of all genders and races with limited education or prospect for economic advancement. As a child, I played sports with black children who were very talented--better then me--and I wondered why so few blacks were able to play professional sports, visit this site to understand African-Americans in the Sports Arena.

The Yalta agreement, near the end of World War II, left major issues undecided and created controversy over postwar relations with the Soviet Union. On April 25, 1954, delegates from fifty nations met in San Francisco to draw up a charter for a new organization, the United Nations, to replace the League of Nations. The main provisions of the charter were that member nations would:

Previously amicable relations between the United States and the Soviet Union began to deteriorate even before the official end of World War II. When the Soviet Union acquired the atomic bomb, the two super powers soon found themselves at odds over Eastern Europe, Germany and the Middle East. The Truman Doctrine announced military aid and an ideological crusade against international communism. The Marshall Plan provided economic assistance to starving and communist threatened Europe, which soon joined the United States in the NATO military alliance. The Communist Chinese won a civil war against the Nationalist Chinese. North Korea invaded South Korea, and the Americans and Chinese enter the conflict that ended in a stalemate. (Korean War) also a video clip from the History Channel Korean War.

The Cold War tensions and Cold War Technology created a general fear of communism and revelations of spying aroused deep fears of communist subversion in our country and culminated in the Joseph McCarthy "witch hunt". Listen to this audio clip by McCarthy Explaining His Actions. Using the new medium of television to enhance his great popularity, grandfatherly Dwight D. Eisenhower (Ike) was ideally suited to soothe an American badly shaken by the Cold War and Korea. Eisenhower was slow to confront McCarthy, but this dangerous man was finally exposed and removed from power. Eisenhower also reacted cautiously to the beginnings of the civil rights movement, but sent troops to Little Rock to enforce court orders--view this video clip from the History Channel Little Rock Confrontation. While his domestic policies were moderately conservative, they left most of the New Deal intact. His foreign policies were also generally cautious. He avoided military involvement in Vietnam, although aiding Diem, and pressured Britain, France and Israel to resolve the Suez crisis. He also refused to intervene in the Hungarian revolt and sought negotiations to thaw the frigid Cold War. Dealing with Khrushchev proved difficult, as Sputnik, the Berlin crisis, the U-2 incident and Castro's Cuban revolution kept Cold War tensions high.

Take a few moments to visit and review the cultural fads, fashions and other factoids of the 1950's!

 

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