How far do you agree that living standards in the USA were transformed for all Americans in the years
1933-60?
Intro:
- Increased home ownership growth of consumer society & leisure industry federal gov action
o Did increase for some, however some excluded from growth & economy fluctuated
- Defining ‘transformed’ as having experienced radical improvement, not transformed
P1: Home ownership & Appliances
- Increased Home Ownership:
o Increased quantity of houses built/available
Levitt company- mass production of prefabricated houses, quick & cheap to build, more
people could afford to buy a house
o Home ownership: 1920 census 6,700,000 owned homes - 1940 census 15,200,000 owned
o Some increased living standards by moving to suburbs (cities viewed as crowded and slum-
ridden) aided by development of infrastructure (e.g. 1956 Highways Act)
- Better home facilities/appliances:
o Running water, bathrooms, lighting, cooking, heating, refrigeration, radios (82.8% of people in 1940
census said they owned a radio)
o Labor-saving devices cut down housework time, raising leisure time
- However…
- Many of poorest Americans could not afford houses in 1960, Levitt refused to sell to black Americans
- Migration to suburbs created inner-city downwards spiral, increased inequality by 1960
P2: Consumer Culture & Leisure Industry
- 1933, Great Depression (Wall St. Crash Oct. 1929), 1/3 of banks were bankrupt 1933, unemployment &
homelessness (low SoL)
- 1941 US joined WW2, increased employment and boosted economy boom continued after war and led to
post-war affluence of 1950s and 1960s (fueled by: huge demand for consumer goods, employers expanded
and raised wages, post-war ‘baby boom’, farm subsidies, rising gov. spending)
o E.g. production increased from $213 billion 1945 - $284 billion 1950
- More leisure time
o 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (40-hour week legal max.), After war people took jobs with less hours
- Increased time and money to spend on leisure activities
o 1938 Act also introduced minimum wage- more disposable income to spend on leisure
- More available consumer goods and leisure activities
o War-time production shifted to producing consumer goods, extended range of goods (e.g. toy
industry made $1.6 billion 1959 and $2 billion 1961)
o Shopping became leisure activity, movie theatres, spectator sports, tourism (e.g. Disneyland 1955)
- Development of cars and car-related infrastructure
o increased mobility, travel further faster and more cheaply
o 1956 Highways Act allowed for 41,000 miles of interstate highways
