Affluence and conformity , 1955-63

GNP:

• 1940 - $99.7B
• 1950- $284.8B
• 1960 - $503.7B

Consumer credit:

• 1950 - $8.4B
• 1950- $45B

Incomes:

• 1953- $4,392 (white families) $2,461 (non-white families)
• 1960- $5,835 (white families) $3,233 (non-white families)

People living in urban areas increased from 96.5m in 1950 to 127.4m in 1960. 

The Federal Housing Administration supported anti-jewish and anti-black covenants on suburban housing developments. 

Between 1949 and 1959, only 320,000 houses were funded under Truman's Publlic Housing Act. 

Levittowns- 17,000 houses each. NYS and Pennysylvania.

Federal Housing Administration financed 30% of all new homes in the 1950's

1960, three in five owned a home. Between 1950 and 1960, 18 million people had moved to the suburbs 

By 1970, 80 million Americans lived in suburbs.

National Interstate and Defense Highway's Act 1956- cost of $25 billion to construct a nationwide network of 42,500 miles.

1946- USA produced 2m cars a year, by 1955 this had risen to 8m. 

1960- 75% of Americans owned one car and 15% owned more than two. 

By 1956, 75m cars and trucks were on America's roads. 

3,000 drive in theatres

1,800 out of town shopping malls 

In 1960, twice as many women were at work compared to 1940 and 40% of women over 16 held a job. Female employment increasing at a rate 4x faster than that of men.

Defence spending- $40b (60% of federal budget & 10% of GDP)

1950s - suburbia earned $6.5k a year. 70% higher than the national average

1960- Mail order company Sears Roebuck had 10 million customers

1960- 4.000 out of town shopping centres. 

Out of 65,000 residents of Levittowns, only 57 were black

Middle class 'American Way of Life'

Films which did well were escapist, blockbuster films about war and adventure. 

'Rebel without a cause'- film about growing up in suburbia which was 'stifling'

'I love Lucy' & 'Father knows best' - shows traditional family roles 

Black American actor Sidney Poitier won Best Actor Academy Award for his role in Lilies of the field. 

95% of males and females were sexually active by the age of 15 in 1953

Rock 'n' roll' - originally popularised by black americans such as Big Joe Turner 'Shake Rattle and Roll'

Racism in the south meant that only white rock and roll took off. Bill Haley and the Comets perfomred 'Rock around the clock'

True national appeal came through Elvis Presley. First number one 'Heartbreak Hotel' 1955

Offered followers an alternative to the conformity and craving for consumer goods that they saw as the main features of American society

Experimening with drugs, rejecting affluent society and interest in Asian religions. Were against the arms race and supported sexual liberation. 

Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955-56, saw the rise of MLK. Formation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. 

SNCC- lunch counter sittings 

CORE- Freedom rides- Testing 1960 Boynton v Virginia, which outlawed segregation on interstate busses. Attacked by mobs in Alabama- forced federal government to protect them

Birmingham, Alabama- non violent but led to his arrest. Bailed by President Kennedy and Robert Kennedy.

Eugene 'Bull' Connor used water cannons, police dogs and clubs in order to break up demonstrations, led to the arrest 2,500. 

March on Washington- 250,000. 'I have a dream speech'. 

1964- MLK on Time Magazine and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. 

'Southern manifesto' - support segregation by all legal means. 1957 Civil Rights Act would have little impact on segregation

KKK- killed Emmet Till for talking to a white girl. Members of the Montgomery Improvement Association were sent death threats annd mob attacks.

Greyhound busses carrying Freedom riders were fire bombed in Alabama.

Medgar Evans assasinated (NAACP secretary for Missisippi)

James Meredith faced opposition to his attempt to enter the University of Mississippi 

White citizens' councils were effective at forcing southern politicians to oppose desegregation, but they could not prevent state intevention.

Minimum wage increased from $1 to $1.25 (1961)

Southern democrats ensured that certain groups of workers were excluded. 

Area development act 1961 - $394b over four years to aid areas such as the Appalachia. Attempt to provide an extra $455m in 1963 was blocked.

School assistance bIll- $2.3b over three years to construct new schools and raise teachers' salaries. Chruch schools were excluded and catholic bishops rejected the bill.  

Use of executive orders did increase school lunch and milk programmes- 700,000 children. 

Higher Educational Facilities Act- $145m in grants for graduate schools

Trade Expansion Act 1962- Cuts in tarrifs on average of around 35% between the USA and EEC and could cut tarrifs up to 50% with other countries willing to welcome US goods. 

Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity- allocate a proportion of federal jobs to black americans. Black American unemployment was still twice as high compared to white unemployment.

Publication of 'Silent Spring' highlighted the impact on the food chain of chemical insecticides. 

Clean Air Act 1963

National Park- 3.85m acres of land for the National Park Service

Addition of 6 national monuments, 20 historic sites, 50 wildlife refuges and eight national seashores. 

Peace Corps- send AMerican men and women to developing countries, 5,000 volunteers in first 2 years and helped carry American economic and technical aid to 46 countries.

Sputnik 1957. Yuri Gagarin first man in space April 1961. $7-9B exxtra over 5 years to help the space programme. 

Lacked strong mandate from the electorate. Had major problems in winning support in the US congress. 

After his death, his aid and trade reforms helped bring around economic propserity