The 1950’s post world war two, brought prosperity to the United States. America was receiving many advantages from winning the war. Compared to Europe, Americans were living very affluent earning 15 times more than the average European. Europe was becoming impoverished and their economy was deteriorating. During Woodrow Wilson’s presidency, one of the United States biggest projects were the interstate highways. This shorten the travel time to driving through states and driving cross country. The development of the interstate highways gave Americans a sense of freedom.
After this project was complete, it brought about an increase in industrial development. Because many people can now afford cars this caused the boom in the automobile industry. The baby boom also sprouted new innovations. With the population increasing many began to buy new homes. The increase in home building developed the suburban area. With the invention of air conditioning, the south was more realistic for living. Many people migrated to places such as California, Florida, and Georgia. This lead to people investing money in the south and the industry increasing.
Socially, segregation was still in progress at this time, however the civil rights movement changes this. Motown music was popular at this time and it brought whites and blacks together. This was also the time of Martin Luther King Jr. famous speech in DC. Perspectives on beauty also changed at this time. Prior to the automobile people viewed dark skin as those working outside, and as the lower class. However, now with the expansion of transportation dark skin is viewed as those who are affluent and can afford to travel on vacation. Chapter 28: What efforts did the Allies make to shape the postwar world?
The three allied leaders, which included Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt, took their first action in shaping the postwar world at the Yalta Conference located in the Soviet Union. Roosevelt proposed two major ideas. He believed that the first step was to ensure that the Soviet Union would continue in the war against Japan. His second approach was to end the United States reputation of isolationism, and participate in internationalism. Winston Churchill also had his own views of postwar world. He wanted to concentrate on reestablishing France and Poland as independent and democratic nations.
Stalin’s goals focused on imperialism; his target was to re-claim the territory given to Poland by Russia. He also wanted the Soviet Union to have main control over countries in Eastern Europe. Topics such as postwar Germany, and the newly termed United Nations were also discussed at the Yalta conference. With the three allied leaders having one common interest in defeating Germany, their next step was to determine postwar Germany. They agreed on occupation zones for Germany’s government. They decided to have the soviets control eastern Germany while America and Great Britain have control of the western part of Germany.
Berlin, the capital of Germany, would be under joint occupation. Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt all vowed to keep free elections, a democratic government, and constitutional freedom throughout Europe. However, shortly after, there was no progress in Stalin’s promise for free elections in Poland. The Yalta conference faced a lot of criticism but was also looked upon as a legacy. Many disliked Roosevelt’s decision in allowing Stalin to dominate Eastern Europe. However, Roosevelt felt that they made the best choices possible for the post war world. Chapter 30: How did the civil rights movement come to emerge in the 1950s?
In the 1950’s, communists during the cold war used propaganda as a major tool against the United States. Their main target was America’s social injustice regarding race, calling Americans hypocrites. This gave Eisenhower the opportunity to change the American views on race and stop segregation and discrimination. He experienced segregation first hand while serving in the military. He ended discrimination at many military bases in North Carolina and Virginia. Minorities such as African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics had the biggest influence on the emergence of the civil rights movement.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) focused on outlawing racial segregation, putting an end to the separate but equal doctrine. The main focus was in education. Many argued that the quality of education of blacks was not compatible with those given to whites. The most famous case brought to the Supreme Court by the NAACP was Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. It was ruled that the separate but equal doctrine was invalid and that the integration of public schools need to take place immediately.
Many southerners were not happy about the ruling and attempted to nullify the decision and rallied for resistance against the new law. With the integration of public schools, this cause many African Americans to have hope for change. Civil rights leaders such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr showed bravery and took courageous actions to fight for equality. After fighting for several years, using the tactics of Boycotts, motivational speeches, and riots, African Americans finally received some attention with the civil rights act of 1957 and later 1960.
