Unit 2H.2 - The USA, 1955-92: conformity and challenge
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
Book
History for Edexcel A Level: Democracies in change: Britain and the USA in the twentieth century
Summarised, condensed, easy to understand revision notes for the Affluence and Conformity, 1955-63 section
Contains only the content covered in the 2022 summer exams (reduced content)
Includes:
Urbanisation and affluence and Kennedy's New Frontier
Changing Party Fortunes, 1918-31 - Flashcards/Q+As
How far could the historian make use of sources 1 and 2 together to investigate the impact of second world war on the status of Black American workers?
Edexcel History A-Level: Britain Transformed 1918-1997 A* Quizlet Flashcards
All for this textbook (29)
Written for
A/AS Level
PEARSON (PEARSON)
History 2015
Unit 2H.2 - The USA, 1955-92: conformity and challenge
All documents for this subject (26)
4
reviews
By: diyapawar • 1 year ago
By: apholdaway05 • 1 year ago
By: zaknyman05 • 2 year ago
By: noorraja • 2 year ago
Seller
Follow
lilylogan101
Reviews received
Content preview
1 Affluence and conformity, 1955-63
1 Urbanisation and affluence
Introduction - 1955-63 was a period of increased prosperity for most Americans
- Larger homes, labour-saving devices, cars and higher salaries
than anyone in the world
- Land of opportunity – hard work improves social status
- Affluence led to social and cultural change
o Rapid growth of suburbia
o Decline of the cities
o Mass production of goods and services
o Advertising
- Caused problems
o Conformity – American culture excessively homogenised
o Consumerism
o Advertisements saturated media and roadside
o American youth were less conformist and badly behaved
o Race relations – inferior status of black Americans was
prominent in the South
o Economic inequality – 1/3 of Americans were poor, prevalent
among ethnic minorities
The - Result of government policies, white flight and the black American
changing Great Migration northwards
nature of - Increasing number of black Americans lived in ghettos out of
cities personal choice or white racism
- Whites contributed to ghettoization as
o Restrictive covenants to exclude black Americans despite it
being legally unenforceable in 1948
o 1951 Chicago – thousands of WC whites used looting and
burning to drive out a single black family
o White flight made them unwilling to pay increased tax rates to
assist inner-city areas, higher affluence moving out of cities
meant there were cycles of poverty in cities
- Government attempt to alleviate the black housing shortage was
ineffective – only 325,203 federal housing units built between
1945-65 and many failed
Expansion of - 1948-58 – 13 million homes built in the suburbs
the suburbs - 1960 – 33% of Americans were suburbanites, but mainly MC
whites
- Post WW2 housing shortage and the increased availability of
mortgages encouraged builders to build more
- 1944-52 – 2.4 million WW2 veterans could purchase homes with
no down payment
- Increased car ownership and construction meant people could
commute to work
- Inner city populations of poverty, higher tax rates, noise and
congestion meant more affluent whites preferred spacious homes
in the suburbs
- Levittowns
o Residents expected to conform to rules e.g. weekly lawn
mowing, no fences, washing hung out on weekends
o Uniformity
o Racially exclusive, rocks were thrown at a black American
family, ‘if we sell one house to a Negro family, then 95% of
white customers will not buy into the community’
- Significance
, 1 Affluence and conformity, 1955-63
o Racially sterile, increasing the divide
o Expansion of cities, but decline in conditions
Growing - Post-war economic boom increased job security and disposable
ownership income
and use of - 1955 – 7.9 million cars manufactured
cars - 1945-60 – 133% increase in cars
- 1960 – 73.8 million owned cars
- Demonstrated one’s status and promised mobility and freedom
- Encouraged the desire of the youth to gain independence and
escape parental control
- 1955 – Chevrolets or Fords started at $1,300 (2/5 of the average
family income)
- Roadside motels and restaurants (1960 – 288 McDonald’s) created
thousands of jobs
- Congress authorised the construction of 41,000 miles of interstate
highways
- Significance
o Travelling to work
o Change in culture
o Tourism
o Superiority of American industry
o Teenage culture
o Drive through culture
White collar - 1960 – 35 million service workers, 25 million manuals
jobs - Higher wages
- Blacks didn’t have the qualifications to access these jobs
- Female employment growing 4x as fast as men – WW2 created
employment opportunities
- Significance
o Created growth cycle – jobs increase, more disposable
income, boosted economy
o Encouraged growth of new industries
Consumeris - 1960 – average American family income gave Americans 30%
m and more purchasing power than in 1950
domestic - Suburban Americans rushed to buy cars, labour- saving devices
technology - Essential part of the American dream
- First credit card in 1950 increased consumer demand
- Mass media spread the message through advertising
- Some feared consumerism and runway materialism were
becoming central to the nation’s identity and undermined
traditional American values of hard work and careful money
management
- Economists argued Americans were grossly materialistic and
cared little about the less fortunate
- Teenage consumer became a major factor in the economy
o Spent $1.5 billion on entertainment in 1958
o 1/3 of 18-19 year-old-females were married meaning they
were big spenders on major items
- Significance
o Decline of the inner cities in favour of out of town malls
o Rise of the teenager
o More leisure from labour saving devices meant more time to
spend money
Conclusion: Conclusion: Urbanisation and affluence
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller lilylogan101. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $5.15. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
