urabnisation and affluence

Question 1

what was the culural and economic mood of America in 1955-63?

Answer 1

unprecedented affluence, rapid growth of suburbia, happily bland consensus under Eisenhower

Question 2

how did car ownership change America?

Answer 2

• post war boom,
• 73.9 million owned 1960,
• demonstrated status,
• interstate highway

Question 3

what were “the Big Three” car manufacturers in America in the ’50s-60s

Answer 3

Ford
Chrysler
General Motors

Question 4

how expensive was the average car post-war?

fraction of family income

Answer 4

2/3 of an averrage family income

Question 5

how did car ownership show status?

Answer 5

• Wealthy white men would buy Cadillacs
• Working class men would buy Fords
• waxing the family car became a ritual of the suburbs
• men attempted the monopolise cars preventing wives from driving (masculine status symbol)

Question 6

how did on the road culture change American society??

Answer 6

growth of the Service Industry
* first Holiday Inn 1952
* 1960 228 McDonalds (grwoth of fast food)
* fall of traditional manufacturing jobs (outnumbered by 1960)
* old industrial hearlands became economically depressed (MidWest North East)

Question 7

what caused the growth of suburbia?

Answer 7

• post-war houding shortaege encouraged building cheap homes outside of cities
• “white flight” whites preffered spacious, racially homogenous suburbs to cities
• increased car ownership mean that people could commute to the cities easier.

Question 8

what government body facillitated the post-war house building?

Answer 8

Federal Housing Administration

allowed mortages up to 90% with a long pay off date
up to 41% of mortages were given through this so facillitated the growth in house ownership

Question 9

what facillitated the growth of urban ghettos?

Answer 9

• black people were denied housing loans and high paying jobs so were forced into expensive and poor housing
• whites unwilling to pay the taxes needed to help inner cities after “white flight”
• housing riots when Black families moved to suburbs - forced them out
• FHA excluded “risk” tennant s (Blacks and Jews) because they would “cause racil problems” amoungst white neighbours

Question 10

what was Pruitt-Igoe

and why did it fail?

Answer 10

• housing project attempting to reurbanise the inner citiy crisis.
• 33 high rise appartments
• almost exclusively housed Black Americans

• 1958 recession led to increase in crime and deviance
• little working facillities (eg. elevators and air conditioning)
• housing authorities starved for money and Black housing was not a priority
• building became unprofitable so rest rose - rent strikes.

Question 11

what was the effect of the teenage consumer?

Answer 11

• became ajor factor in the nations economy - spent over $1.5 billion on entertainment alone 1958
• young marriages encouraged teen brides to become a major spending power
• in 50-60s 1/3 of all 18-19yr olds were married.

Question 12

how did media contribute to the mass consumerism of the 50s and 60s?

what was a crituq of this?

Answer 12

mass advetisment
made consumerism seem like part of the American experience (The American Dream)

• Reisman - mass consumerism undermined the traditional American values of hard work and frugal money management
• preachers thought consumerism made Americans less empathetic