Unit 2H.2 - The USA, 1955-92: conformity and challenge
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History for Edexcel A Level: Democracies in change: Britain and the USA in the twentieth century
This 13 page document contains 26 Essay Plans for History Alevel Paper 2 USA Conformity and Challenge, the essay plans cover the length and breadth of the course and were my main source of revision for History Alevel. The Essay Plans include: The Question, Valid Criteria, a line of argument and 3 P...
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Unit 2H.2 - The USA, 1955-92: conformity and challenge
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How accurate is it to say that cultural change in 1955-63 was driven by the affluent young?
VC: extent of challenge / change, impact on mass culture (society / universality)
LOA: Affluent change was most convincingly driven by the affluent young shaping popular culture and using their
purchasing powers to challenge their parents. However it was still severely limited in practice
Affluent Young
The young were become their own mass market due to the rise of Saturday jobs
Therefore teenagers were able to dictate the culturally challenging goods that society would not normally
provide
$182 million on records 1954, $521 1960 Elvis and Chuck Berry = Rock n Roll = cultural change
The Rise of the Beat (who were mainly middle class) rejecting materialism = cultural change, Ginsberg’s Howl
poem about Drugs and homosexuality – if nothing else mainstreamed previously side-lined ideas
Beats were limited to white middle class boys
The affluent young generally conformed with mass consumption e.g. $20 mil lipstick, $9 mil home perming hair
sets, $25 mil deodorant
Rock n Roll did not transform culture as most subjects of Elvis’ songs about gospel and love – conformity
Film and Television
MLK debuted ideas on televisions The Open Mind 1957 depicting ‘New Negro’ = Challenge
Douglas Sirk’s Imitations of Life 1959 showed black mother as heroine of story rather than the white family
Rise of Spaghetti Westerns showed conformity towards escapism e.g. Sergio Leone / Eastwood
Popular family sitcom Father Knows Best promoted patriarchal nuclear family / domestic bliss. The Adventures
of Ozzy and Harriet, middle-class suburban families
Even “challenging” films such as 1955’s Rebel without a cause showed a defiant rebellious James Dean conform
to his father’s authority by the end of the film
Advertising
1954 Yale historian David Potter argued Advertising was a socially influential as education and religion, because
it dominated the media, exercising social control and popular standards
In 1957 book The Hidden Persuaders argued advertisements psychologically manipulated consumers which
could in theory lead to cultural change
However advertisers generally used these methods for conformist purposes
Advertising 1955 Dodge La Femme with matching lipstick and wall to wall pink interiors
Used it to cement social norms of consumerism – flashes of Coca-Cola in film theatres / links between Marlboro
cigarettes and Wild Western Cowboys
To what extent did Kennedy achieve his New Frontier Aims?
VC: Legacy, extent of transformation in America
LOA: Whist Kennedy saw marginal improvement and successes within his New Frontier, this is limited due to the
high expenditure on the Vietnam war, restricting his ability to make real change in America
Poverty
Minimum wage increased from $1 to $1.25 for 3.6 million workers
Area Redevelopment Act 1961 saw $394 million create 26,000 jobs and train 15,000 more
Manpower development and training act 1962, 351 programmes for 12,600 people
Omnibus housing act 1961 $5 billion in grants
Food stamp programme fed 240,0000
5 million remained unemployed – congress refused to reauthorize ARA 1963
Min wage failed to cover ½ million poorest e.g. black laundry workers
Space and Science
Kennedys legacy saw first man on moon 1969 – Neil Armstrong
1960 creation of Cape Cod National Seashore national park
October 1957 Russians sent first satellite to space “Sputnik”
1961 Yuri Gagarin orbited earth – Soviet success
, $40 billion spent on space race rather than welfare
War and Peace
1961 Peace Corps aided 44 countries and was largely popular domestically with 71% agreeing with the
programme – Gained political allies such as Philippines
1962 Kennedy successfully removed missiles from Cuba
Kiddie Corps
1961 Bay of Pigs mission publicly failed humiliation
Involvement in Vietnam war increased from 1000 advisors in Vietnam 1960 to 20,000 by 1963
To what extent had the civil rights movement achieved its aims by 1963?
VC: longevity of success, regional universality of success
LOA: limited in region (only success in Montgomery) and scale -
Political
Montgomery Bus Boycott – Browder Vs Gayle 1956
Browder Vs Gayle limited to Montgomery
No Civil rights act
No voting rights act = no representation
80% could not vote – Rosa Parks payed $16.50 poll tax
No voting rights act
Social
1954 Brown Ruling saw removal constitution sanctions of De Jure segregation (education)
250,000 marched peacefully in Washington – emotional impact (media)
De Facto segregation still prominent and remained
Little Rock Crisis 1957 – Arkansas governor ordered National Guard to keep students out
White citizens council peaked in 1956 250,000
Rise of KKK bombing the Birmingham church 1957 killed 4 young girls
Shot and killed Viola Liuzzo (northern white) participating in Selma campaign
Economic
Minimum wage – affected many black workers $1 -$1.25
Birmingham campaign aimed for equal employment opportunities
2500 arrested in Birmingham – high pressure water jets and dogs caused media outburst
However did not help black laundrettes (250,000 poorest)
No access to Levittown’s or suburbs
South Carolina spent $179 per annum on white child / $43 on black child
How accurate is it to say that teenage culture posed a significant challenge to US cultural conformity 1955-63?
VC: significant – was it transformed from 1955-63? Long-lasting and universal change
LOA: while some significant changes, these were mostly shallow materialist changes underling the lack of challenge
teenage culture gave to conformity. Counter culture mainly limited to white middle class and film, TV and music
failed to encourage the promotion of mainstream challenging ideas. Not significant.
The Rise of Rock n Roll
Rise of ‘non-conformist’ icons – Elvis / Chuck Berry
Rock ‘n rolls popularity proven by Elvis’ $35,000 deal with RCA
Feared the impact on morals – Elvis seen as Overly sexual – he was filmed from waist up on family show the Ed
Sullivan Show
However, the content of Elvis’ rock songs was mainly gospel and love focussed not enabling mainstream music
to tackle political issues
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