postwar america: the return to “normalcy” politics and the rise of suburbia
TRANSCRIPT
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Postwar America: The Return to “Normalcy”
Politics and the Rise of Suburbia
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Postwar Politicss and Partisan Turmoil: Elections
• 1944: Democrats controlled Presidency and both houses of Congress
• 1946: In off year elections for 80th Congress, Republicans took control of Congress for 1st time since 1932 (split government)
• 1948: Truman won election in his own right. Democrats regained control of 81st Congress.
• 1952: Dwight Eisenhower elected President (1st Republican in 20 years). Republicans regained narrow control of 83rd Congress.
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Result of Split Government
• Shifting legislative initiatives, partisan rivalry and vetoes
• Points of consensus: Prosecuting the Cold War
• Points of conflict: Domestic agenda and continuation and advance of New Deal
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The Cold War at Home
• 1947: Federal employees required to take loyalty oaths
• 1947: HUAC investigated Hollywood for subversion
• 1949: Federal prosecution and conviction of Communist Party leaders under the Smith Act
• 1949: Alger Hiss convicted of perjury• 1950: Rosenberg’s charged with spying for Soviet
Union. Convicted and executed in 1953.• Internal Security Act of 1950
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The Cold War Abroad
• Reinstitution of draft: 1947
• Marshall Plan
• North American Treaty Organization
• National Security Act
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Republican Legislative Initiatives
• Taft Hartley Act limited the power of unions: 1947
• Tax cuts: 1947
• Constitutional amendment limiting presidents to 2 terms: 1947
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Democratic Legislative Initiatives
• National Health Insurance: proposed 1948 (failed)
• National Housing Act supported urban renewal: (1949)
• Expansion of Social Security to workers not previously covered
• Increase in Minimum Wage
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Challenging Jim Crow
• Truman differentiated his administration from the Republicans during 80th Congress:– Truman desegregated the federal workforce
(1948)– Truman desegregated armed forces (1948)
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Beyond Partisan Politics
• Normalcy for most Americans…– Securing and keeping a good job– Finding decent housing– Returning to private life and leaving the great
crises of world politics behind
• And the Question: How?
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Planning the postwar future…
• Where would the most promising jobs be?
• What parts of the country would prosper?
• How would people live?
• …Lessons from the past…
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Before the Depression…
• 1880-1930: Dramatic growth of urban America. Economy based on manufacturing and commerce
• 1890: Closing of the frontier. Farming was no longer a growth industry for newcomers and young people migrated to cities.
• Immigrant migrations of 1880-1930 were primarily to urban areas
• Black migration out of South to northern cities began in 1910 and continued to 1930.
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If past was prologue….
• Cities would again be the place to be.– There was pent up demand for manufactured
goods produced by industrial centers.– Cities had grown dramatically during war
years. – Cities were the center of culture, entertainment
and nightlife.– Cities had public transit systems and related
services.
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Could the cities continue to expand?
• Problems on the horizon:– Crowded housing– Deteriorated infrastructure and housing after 15
years of depression and war– Congested transportation– “Corrupt” political machines
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Solutions to the Housing Shortage
• Suburbia: Build new housing at the periphery of cities
• Suburban models in 1945:– Middle class bedroom suburb: residential
community with transportation to center city (auto or rail)
– Working class industrial suburb with jobs within walking distance or near transit
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Pre 1945 Suburban Development
• Developer acquired open land and built new housing
• Upon completion residents could vote to:– Annex to city to acquire public services (water,
sewage, schools, amenities)– Remain independent and build services
• Both models existed
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Post 1945 Suburban Development
• New model: Working class or lower middle class, bedroom or car culture suburb– Small houses– Mortgages supported by the Federal Housing
Administration or Veterans Administration – Modest but prosperous suburbanization
• An end to the previous pattern of expanding urban integration.
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The Levitt House and its Occupants
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From Potato Farm to Bedroom Suburb: Levittown, New York
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Levittown after construction
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Levitt became a national leader
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Life in early Levittown
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Life in early Levittown
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The House
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Floor Plan: Four rooms plus bath
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Floor Plan: Four rooms plus bath
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Suburbanization in Milwaukee in 1950s
• An initial exception to national trends
• Milwaukee continued to annex adjacent land in 1950s
• The “Suburbanization” of new housing and industrial development took place both within the city and in new suburbs
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Milwaukee 1945
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Milwaukee, 1950s
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Current Milwaukee
Neighborhoods
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Milwaukee County and its Suburbs
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National Patterns
• End of Annexation as an urban growth strategy– In Wisconsin, the Oak Creek Law 1956.
• Milwaukee’s last annexation was 1960• Legal segregation by race, religion, national origin
in the national housing market led to building of segregated cities and suburbs
• Black and white rural migration to cities replaced departing suburbanites
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New Migrants to Milwaukee,
1945
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Birth of the Black Community