Peace, Prosperity, and
Progress: The 1950s
A Rocky Transition to Peace
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Truman announced a set of reforms
called the Fair Deal, including calls to
raise the minimum wage and enact a
national health insurance program.
With rising prices and unemployment,
workers in major industries went on
strike to get their demands.
In response to the strikes, Congress
passed the Taft-Hartley Act, limiting the
power of labor unions. This act outlawed
the closed shop, or a workplace in which
the employer agrees to hire only
members of a certain union. It also
banned sympathy strikes by other
unions.
An Upset Victory in 1948
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Truman’s whistle-stop tour
helped him win reelection in a
narrow victory over Thomas
Dewey.
Most of Truman’s Fair Deal
reforms were blocked by
Congress.
Congress enacted Truman’s
proposal to raise the
minimum wage and to
promote slum clearance.
Ike Takes the Middle of the Road
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The nation decided they “like
Ike” and his modern
Republicanism program, since
they voted him into office.
The nation looked forward to
expanded Social Security
benefits.
Eisenhower presided over a
massive peacetime arms
buildup, although he worried
about the “military-industrial
complex.”
Consumer Demand Spurs Economic
Growth
 Due to large savings and twice as
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much real income for many
families than in the 1920s,
Americans began spending more
money than ever before.
To encourage this spending,
businesses were using
advertising and offering
consumers charge cards.
Some industries pioneered a
method called planned
obsolescence by introducing new
or improved products to
encourage consumers to buy the
latest designs.
The Economy Shifts from Goods to
Services
 General Motors became the first
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U.S. corporation to earn more than
$1 billion a year.
One factor in GM’s success was
guaranteeing its workers wage
hikes that were tied to the cost-ofliving index.
Service industries, like fast-food
restaurants and motel chains,
began to compete for consumer
business.
New companies sold franchises.
(agreements to operate a business that
carries that company’s name and sells its
products.)
Workforce Shifts from Blue to
White Collar Jobs
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For the first time in history,
white-collar workers
outnumbered blue-collar
workers.
Many blue-collar workers
were now members of the
middle class.
White-collar workers were
usually salaried, while bluecollar workers were usually
paid by the hour.
A Marriage Boom Leads to a
Baby Boom
 The number of marriages
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increased tremendously since
WWII, and people were
getting married at increasingly
younger ages.
This rise in marriages led to a
large increase in the number
of babies born, resulting in a
“baby boom.”
More diapers, baby food,
homes, cars, and schools
were needed to
accommodate all of these
children.
Family Roles: Working Dads and
Stay-at-Home Moms
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Dr. Benjamin Spock’s book
encouraged mothers to stay
home and raise children full time.
Mass media, such as television,
magazines, and movies,
portrayed the so-called traditional
family with working dads and
homemaker moms.
The number of women attending
college dropped sharply, and
many who did attend often
dropped out to get married.
Middle Class Families Move to the
Suburbs
 New planned communities, like
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Levittown, provided needed housing
for middle-class families.
New suburban communities revealed
homogeneity, being predominantly
white and middle class.
More and more Americans and
American industries moved south to
the Sunbelt, increasing population in
these states.
This population shift was made
possible by massive water projects in
the dry Southwest and the invention of
air conditioning to cool buildings
during heat waves.
The Middle Class Dream: Two Cars
in Every Garage
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An increased number of people
commuting from the suburbs led to
the production/sale of more cars.
Cars became a status symbol, with
car companies competing to put out
new models and better designs
each year.
Increased amount of driving led to a
demand for a nationwide interstate
highway system.
The interstate highway system
created new roadside businesses,
like gas stations, motels, and
restaurants.
Advances in Medicine
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Dr. Jonas Salk created a polio
vaccine that would protect
people against polio.
New surgical techniques were
saving lives while more and
more antibiotics were being used
to treat many diseases.
All of these advances in
medicine increased the life
expectancy by almost two years,
while also helping to diagnose
and treat diseases.
Computers Enter the Workplace
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The first electronic digital
computer, called ENIAC,
performed 300 multiplications
per second.
Nuclear energy helped to
generate electricity while also
helping diagnose and treat
disease.
The invention of the transistor
allowed for smaller and more
reliable computers.