Transcript Chapter 13

Chapter 13
An Economic Boom
Section 1
 Many feared another recession after
WWII, but prosperity ensued.
 The nation needed to convert from
making war materials back to making
consumer goods.
 Government stated to demobilize- bring
the troops home
GI Bill of Rights
 Provided free tuition
 Provided unemployment insurance
 Provided preference for federal jobs
 Provided loans for construction of new
homes
 Suburbs became very popular
 8 million veterans went to college
Baby Boom
 After the war, a baby was born every 7
seconds
 4.3 million babies were born a year
 Between 1940 and 1955, the US grew
by 27% (the greatest increase in history)
Problems After the War
 Inflation—Prices were very high
 Demand for Products was high
 Goods were too scarce
US Dominates World Economy
 Huge demand for products caused a
high employment rate
 Nation enjoyed a higher standard of
living than other countries
Technology Boots Productivity
 Atomic Energy
 Computers
 Worker productivity—the rate at which
workers produced goods increased
because of technology
Government Spending
Supports Growth
 Due to the Korean War, the US spent a
lot of money on defense spending
 Marshall Plan initiated a foreign demand
for goods
Truman Overcomes Huge
Obstacles
 FDR died only 4 months after Truman
was a VP
 Beginning of the Cold War
 Communist Takeovers
Grappling with Congress and
Labor
 Unions demanded more pay
 Strikes increased
 Taft-Hartley Act
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Outlawed the closed shop—only union
members can be hired
Truman vetoed the Act
Congress overrode it.
Angering Segregationists
 Started Civil Rights Movement
 Desegregated the military
Truman Upsets Dewey
 Truman’s standing was so low that no
one thought he could win.
 Ran against Strom Thurmond
(Dixicrats)—against integration
 Henry Wallace Ran for the Progressive
party
 Tom Dewey ran for the Republicans
 Truman still wins
Truman Proposes a Fair Deal
 Fair Deal—Neal Deal but also included
national health insurance and civil rights.
 Truman failed to win most of his reforms.
Eisenhower Charts a New
Path
 Eisenhower (Republican)—nickname Ike
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Great personality
War hero
Went against Stevenson as the Democratic
candidate
 Conservative and liberal
 Did not cut down on New Deal
programs, but cut back on taxes and
military spending.