HOLT The American Nation Chapter 29 SOCIETY AFTER

HOLT The American Nation Chapter 29 SOCIETY AFTER WORLD WAR II Section 1: The Challenges of Peace Section 2: The Affluent Society Section 3: Voices of Dissent 1 HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

HOLT The American Nation Section 1: The Challenges of Peace Objectives: l How did the U. S. economy and American workers fare after World War II? l What were the most important issues of the 1948 election? l What were the major goals of President Truman’s Fair Deal, and were they accomplished? 2 HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

HOLT The American Nation Section 1: The Challenges of Peace The American economy and American workers after WWII l The economy remained fairly strong, despite fears of depression. A depression followed World War I. l American consumers could not buy many consumer products during the war, but had accumulated savings l Demand for consumer products after World War II created heavy spending and inflation. Workers staged strikes to increase wages l Workers’ problems included antiunion legislation, high inflation, and job loss. 3 HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

HOLT The American Nation Problems facing demobilized soldiers l Over 8 million workers to rejoin civilian life following the war l Need for homes l Creation of planned communities “Levittown's” l Home-building boom… Suburban sprawl l Need for jobs l G. I Bill- money for college education, starting businesses l Significant increase in college educated men l The Automobile and 4 HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

HOLT The American Nation Section 1: The Challenges of Peace Issues in 1948 l civil rights l labor unrest l high inflation l broader social security benefits l federal aid for agriculture, education, and housing 5 HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

HOLT SECTION 1 The American Nation The Challenges of Peace Question: What were the most important issues of the presidential election of 1948? 6 HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

HOLT SECTION 1 The American Nation The Challenges of Peace THE 1948 ELECTION President Truman’s Platform • supported civil rights in general and issued executive orders banning racial discrimination in the military and in federal hiring • supported the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act • supported increased federal aid for agriculture, education, and housing The Two-Way Split in the Democratic Party Cause: southern Democrats’ dislike of Truman’s stance on civil rights Cause: liberal Democrats’ dislike of Truman’s stance on labor and foreign policy Effects: split the party and created the possibility of a Republican win Election and Results • massive campaign effort mounted by Truman • attacked Republicans’ conservatism • election won by Truman 7 HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

HOLT The American Nation An Incredible Come-Back 8 HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

HOLT The American Nation Section 1: The Challenges of Peace The Fair Deal l sought full employment and a higher minimum wage l called for a national health insurance program l wanted affordable housing l tried to increase aid to farmers and expand welfare benefits l had limited success 9 HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

HOLT The American Nation Problems and Solutions: 1945 -48 Produce a non-linguistic representation of the problem and the resolution for your assigned number 1. Millions of veterans will need to readjust to civilian life. 2. The economy will need to withstand the cancellation of government military contracts 3. Post-war inflation challenged workers to provide for their families 4. Strikes cause significant disruption to the American economy 10 HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON