In 1944 Congress passed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, better known as
the GI Bill of Rights; GI stands for government issue. This law provided billions of
dollars in loans to help returning GI’s—soldiers, sailors, and marines—attend
college, receive special training, set up businesses, or buy homes. It also provided
unemployment and heath benefits for the GI’s as they looked for jobs. This was
critical to the development of the American middle class. It was so successful that
it was repeated for Korean War and Vietnam veterans, and was further expanded
after September 11, 2001.
With roughly 8 million citizens in uniform in 1945
and 22 million involved in war production, the GI
Bill helped guide a wartime economy smoothly back
into a peacetime economy.
More than 2,250,000
American veterans of
WWII received at least a
part of their college
education as a result of
the legislation known as
the GI Bill.
Built between 1947 & 1958 in Levittown
17,311 single family houses
171 miles of roads
Little League baseball fields
Lots of green space and neighborhood parks
Large, multi-purpose Community Hall
Sites set aside for churches & schools.
Levittown was built by Levitt & Sons using innovative
building methods and an assembly line approach, making
the costs more affordable than ever before. William J.
Levitt said "we channel labor and materials to
an...outdoor assembly line." Levitt & Sons broke the construction process down into 27 steps. They used specialized teams to repeat each step at each building site.
Although Levittown provided affordable houses. Critics
decried its homogeneity, blandness, and racial
exclusivity (the initial lease prohibited rental to nonwhites). The planned 2,000 home rental community was
quickly successful, half of the properties had been
rented within two days of the community being
announced on May 7, 1947. As demand continued,
exceeding availability, the Levitts expanded their
project with 4,000 more homes, as well as community
services, including schools and postal delivery. The
Levitt firm switched from rental to sale of their houses,
offering ownership on a 30-year mortgage with no down
payment and monthly costs the same as rental.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower saw the interstate highway system as critical to U.S. competitiveness,
safety, and defense. He envisioned “an America where a mighty network of highways spreads across our
country.” It took investment in all 50 states and across 35 years, but that’s precisely what we got. And in the
process, the nation’s highway network made a massive contribution to productivity.
Television
In the late 1940s, about 17,000 Americans owned television
sets. During the 1950s Americans bought six or seven million sets a year. By the end of the decade, most American
families had television.
Television profoundly changed American life. Millions of
Americans watched the same programs. Families gathered
to watch quiz shows such as The $64,000 Question. Children
tuned into programs such as The Mickey Mouse Club and
Howdy Doody. Teens kept up with the latest hit songs on
American Bandstand. Families followed weekly episodes of
I Love Lucy, Leave it to Beaver, and Father Knows Best. The
images shown in many programs—of happy middle-class
families in neat middle-class homes—helped shape American’s expectations for their own lives.
Finally, television had an important effect on the consumer
culture. Television advertising helped create a vast national market for new products and fashions.
During the 1950s the nation’s population rose from 150 million to 179 million, an increase of nearly 20%. People call the soaring birthrate the baby boom. Several factors encouraged the baby boom. Husbands and wives who had postponed having children until the end of World War II started having families. With
higher incomes, couples felt they could afford to have more children. In addition, better health care, improved nutrition, and medical breakthroughs against disease helped reduce the infant death rate.
Women of the Saturday Evening Post, Part Two. Biceps and riveting guns had deserted Post covers
by 1956. Instead, these two women can barely get their cars out of the driveway, let alone down the
street. No doubt, however, they could stir up a mean Jell-O salad. (The Curtis Publishing Company)
Name: ______________________________________________________________________
1950s Domestic Life
Station: GI Bill
1. Name four ways the GI Bill aided veterans.
2. How did the GI Bill effect education?
3. Describe two ways the GI Bill effected American society,
Station: Suburbia
1. How did Levitt and Sons make housing more affordable?
2. Why were some critical of the new housing developments?
3. Describe how Levittown effected American society.
Station: Interstate Highway System
1. Where was the interstate highway system built?
2. In what region of the United States did the population increase the most?
3. Describe how the interstate highway system effected American society.
Period: ____________
Station: Television
1. What happened to the sales of televisions between the 1940s and 1960?
2.How did television portray the ideal family?
3. Describe two ways television effected American society.
Station: Saturday Evening Post
1. What problem are these women having?
2. Describe where these women live.
3. Where do these women work?
4. What does this picture tell about what women are, or are NOT, capable of?
5. How is this different from the past cover of the Post (Rosie the Riveter)?
Station: Baby Boom
1. What years did the baby boom take place?
2. List three reasons the baby boom began in 1946.
3. Note: This question is not written on your card! How did the baby boom effect schools in the United States? How did it effect
production of food and goods?