RRQ Exemplar
Please notice the level of detail, analysis and description present in these two sample RRQ exemplars. To
receive full credit for your RRQs, you should reach for the same level of analysis and description.
Name – Exemplar #1
Date
Foner Review Questions Chapter 24 #1,4,5
Note: Good RRQs specify the chapter and questions for the particular assignment being submitted
clearly at the top of the page. Similarly, the questions are typed out prior to providing a response.
1. Explain the meaning of the “American standard of living” during the 1950s.
The "American standard of living" completely transformed during the mind-twentieth century,
specifically the 1950s. It was a decade of reverence for the esteemed economic system of capitalism
after a decade of horrendous war. Coming out of the Second World War, the 1950s symbolized a
new period of ultimate economic expansion, relatively stable costs and prices, and a lowering
unemployment rate- all leading up to a "golden age of capitalism" and an increased "American
standard of living". (Foner 991) This increased standard of living only came through however, due to
increasing wages for the common man and average citizen. Between 1946 and 1960, the nation's
gross product was merely doubled and because of that, this new generation of Americans was finally
better off than their parents and previous ancestors. As Foner points out, "about 60 percent of
Americans enjoyed what the government defined as a middle-class standard of living." (991) In all
facets of life, nutrition, shelter, income, education, and even leisure, the majority of Americans were
better off. Most of these middle-class Americans now had money to spare, or used that money to
enjoy the finer innovations that came along with this new standard, including television, airconditioning, and even air travel. In the end, not only did the poverty rate in America decrease during
this decade, but also the basic standard of living for the average American was drastically advanced
simultaneously.
4. How did the growth of suburbs affect the racial lines of division in American society?
As Foner clearly opens up his first paragraph under "A Divided Society": "Suburbanization hardened
the racial lines of division in American life." (1001) Why? It all started with the idea of an increased
standard of living. Finally during the 1950s, people were able to make their dreams come true, move
to the suburbs, own a house, and live with an increased standard of living. However these dreams
were true only for a majority of white Americans, isolating those who accomplished their goals from
the massive immigrant and ethnic communities and pockets of the nation's largest cities. This
paradox was bittersweet, as while a great deal of Americans was able to pursue their dreams and
move to the suburbs, the racial boundaries grew even more rigid. Because there was no civil rights
legislation, governmental agencies and organizations were able to issue rents and mortgages that
banned suburban housing from being sold to non-whites. Racial pluralism grew stronger and
stronger, as it became evident throughout neighborhoods, towns, and cities across American that
there were strictly white neighborhoods and strictly black sections of the city, with as much separation
as possible. (1001) In other words, the growth of the suburbia in 1950s America proved nonetheless
that the racial division of society now had de facto physical boundaries as well.
5. Explain the ideological rifts between conservatives in the 1950s. Why did many view
President Eisenhower as “not one of them”?
During the 1950s, it became evident that the conservatives due to "ideological rifts" would split. The
two sections that were formed became known as the libertarian conservatives and the new
conservatives. While both remained Republican in value the two differed as "a group of thinkers
began the task of reviving conservatism and reclaiming the idea of freedom from liberals." (Foner
1004) This group, the libertarian conservatives, strongly opposed a strong, national government, as
they called for true freedom. Because of this they desired great, individual autonomy and unrestricted
capitalism- two means of unregulated and true freedom, a belief at the core of libertarian
conservatism. On the other hand, the new conservatives regarded freedom "as first and foremost a
moral condition", and that at some times, the vast power of these freedoms may need to be lessened.
They looked upon President Eisenhower as "not one of them" for he called for the continuation of
New Deal programs, which went against the classic Republican view, and the views of the two new
Republican parties. Although Eisenhower realized his actions would oppose the classic Republican
view by both expanding bureaucracy and limiting true freedom if the programs were continued, he
continued on, earning him the perhaps notorious name among the Republicans as "not one of them".