Sub-Unit Theme: Following World War II, the United States emerged from the war not only as a political and military superpower but also an economic superpower. The 1950s centered on economic growth, suburban development, and technological change, but not everyone shared in the new material culture.

Key Understandings:

  • The nation initially experienced postwar inflation, but a postwar boom in manufacturing and productivity boosted industrial output and employment. Increased federal spending also helped strengthen the economy.
  • President Truman desegregated the military, but Congress did not pass any meaningful civil rights laws during his term.
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower believed that the federal government had grown too strong, but he did not dismantle New Deal programs.
  • Eisenhower increased federal spending for education as well as for the building of interstate highways. Economic prosperity bolstered his popularity.
  • American life during the 1950s was affected by the growth of the suburbs and the car culture, migration to the Sunbelt, the growth of new service industries rather than manufacturing, the decline in the number of farm workers, increased business and agricultural productivity because of new technologies, and the expansion of educational opportunities.
  • In the 1950s an increasing number of Americans moved to the suburbs where their lives centered on the family, especially their children
  • With higher incomes, people spent more money on consumer goods. People attended church more, were healthier, and were entertained by television and rock-and-roll.
  • Some Americans rejected 1950s culture. They rejected what they saw as conformity and lack of individualism and runaway materialism.
  • Many African Americans and Latinos faced employment discrimination and segregation.
  • Mexican migrant farm laborers were often exploited and lived in substandard conditions.
  • U.S. government policy sought to destroy Native America tribal governments and cut off aid for healthcare and other services.

Essential/Focus Questions:

  • How do technological changes alter the lives of individuals?
  • How does innovation effect other changes in a nation?
  • What technological innovation has had the greatest impact on American life?
  • How does a government’s response to political events and situations impact the nation?
  • What social and political consequences resulted from the actions of the government during this time period?
  • Why is change so difficult for some people?
  • Why were some groups of Americans dissatisfied with conditions in postwar America?

Key Vocabulary:

  • Demobilizing
  • GI Bill of Rights
  • Baby boom
  • Productivity
  • Taft Hartley Act
  • Fair Deal
  • Interstate Highway Act
  • Sunbelt
  • Service sector
  • Information industry
  • Franchise business
  • Multinational corporation
  • AFL – CIO
  • California Master Plan
  • Consumerism
  • Median family income
  • Nuclear family
  • Benjamin Spock
  • Rock and roll
  • Elvis Presley
  • Beatnik
  • Inner city
  • Urban renewal
  • Termination policy

Skills:

  • Analyze how change occurs through time due to shifting values and beliefs as well as technological advancements and changes in the political and economic landscape
  • Sequencing and Chronology: Recognize important people and events according to the time period and/or impact.
  • Formulate historical questions and defend findings based on inquiry and interpretation
  • Identify, analyze, and interpret primary and secondary documents.
  • Interpret the significance of excerpts from famous speeches and other documents.
  • Identify points of view and formulate and support a point of view
  • Analyze visuals and political cartoons
  • Draw inferences
  • Predict Consequences
  • Identify connections among historical events and movements
  • Debate and defend personal interpretations of key events and issues including reflective and expressive writing and class discussion
  • Apply geographic skills and reference sources to understand how relationships between humans and their environment have changed over time.

Cumulative Progress Indicators:

  • 6.1.12.C.12.c Analyze how scientific advancements impacted the national and global economies and daily life.
  • 6.1.12.C.12.d Assess the role of the public and private sectors in promoting economic stability.
  • 6.1.12.B.13.a Determine the factors that led to migration from American cities to suburbs in the 1950s and 1960s, and describe how this movement impacted cities.
  • 6.1.12.C.13.b Evaluate the effectiveness of economic policies that sought to combat post World war II inflation.
  • 6.1.12.C.13.d Relate the American economic expansion after World War II to increased consumer demand.
  • 6.1.12.D.13.d Determine the extent to which suburban living and television supported conformity and stereotyping during this time period, while new music, art, and literature acted as catalysts for the counterculture movement.
  • 6.2.12.D.5.c Assess the influence of television, the Internet, and other forms of electronic communication on the creation and diffusion of cultural and political information, worldwide.

Performance Project Indicators:

  • Create multimedia presentations demonstrating the differences in youth culture in the 50’s and 60’s. Focus on literature, music, fads, and slang.
  • Compare job possibilities for women in the 1950’s and today. Where are the “glass ceilings” now?
  • Create multimedia presentations that demonstrate how technology has changed the way United States citizens live their everyday lives.
  • Create a visual representation depicting the impact of all new medicines and machines developed in this time period; include polio vaccines, birth control pills, and artificial hearts.
  • The Roots of Rock and Roll: Have students write a report on one of the musical styles of the 1950s and early 1960s that continues to influence rock-and-roll musicians today. Students will choose a a rock-and-roll musical style from the 1950s or early 1960s. Work in pairs to research and write a report on the roots and characteristics of that music, as well as its place in the development of rock-and-roll.
  • Exploring Postwar Life: Have students create one of the following items for a museum exhibit about postwar issues: a song, essay, letter, series of fictional journal entries, cartoon, or news report. Have groups of students choose one of the following topics: GI Bill, housing shortage, family roles, or economic problems. Each group should choose one of the suggested formats to represent the impact of their topic on American society in the postwar era.
  • Researching the Negro Leagues: Divide the class into small groups. Have the groups use the internet to research aspects of the Negro Leagues that flourished before integration, including notable teams and important players, such as Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Buck O’Neil, and Cool Papa Bell. Ask students to look into how the National Baseball Hall of Fame honors players from this era.
  • Urban Renewal: Have students work with a partner to draft a proposal for an urban improvement project in their community. Your plan may be the construction of a new facility, attraction, or housing development; the addition or restructuring of public transportation; the redevelopment or preservation of existing buildings; or a similar project that will change the landscape of your city for the benefit of the public. Consider possible negative consequences.

Resources:

  • United States History chapter 26 “Postwar Confidence and Anxiety”
  • J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (1951)
  • TV shows
    • “Leave it to Beaver”
    • “The Honeymooners”
  • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/peopleevents/p_mrs.html
  • Video:
    • Invasion of the Body Snatchers
    • American Graffiti

Return to the US II Curriculum Table of Contents

Unit 4: Post World War II America (1945 – 1980)