Second Economic Boom (Post 1946)

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  • Created by: Jess
  • Created on: 14-05-14 20:41
List the causes of the second economic boom
War (WWII and Cold War) / Post-war global economic order / Government policies / Technological advances / Baby boom / Housing boom / Consumer goods and advertising
1 of 67
What 2 items became particularly popular during the boom?
Cars and TVs
2 of 67
How much had been collectively saved by Americans during WWII?
$150 billion
3 of 67
How many privately owned cars were on the road by 1954?
67 million
4 of 67
What are the links to other causes of the boom that you can make to the consumer goods boom?
War: saved money, couldn't get consumer goods / Housing boom: fill them with goods
5 of 67
Name all the other industries helped by the motorcar boom
Leather, glass, rubber and steel / Restaurants / Drive-thru cinemas / Petrol / Construction of roads / Shopping malls
6 of 67
How many TVs were owned in 1946 and in 1960?
7'000 and 50 million
7 of 67
What was different about advertising during the 1950's?
Focus on the consumer and market research surveys conducted
8 of 67
State a good phrase about consumer goods
Consumer goods are no longer a luxury but are a necessity
9 of 67
Why was there a housing boom?
Because only 180'000 had been built during the New Deal so there was a massive shortage
10 of 67
What was the new make of house that became very popular?
The flat-packed Levitt house
11 of 67
What area of America developed massively during the boom?
The suburbs
12 of 67
Why did the development of the suburbs not help African Americans/racism?
Many were whites-only / Nick-named the "White Flight"
13 of 67
What was the mass movement of people to the suburbs known as?
The White Flight
14 of 67
Which industries benefitted from the development of suburbs?
Levitt's company / Roads / Construction / Shops / Cars / Workers to put houses up
15 of 67
Why could people buy houses easily?
Because of the Federal Mortgage Arrangement Act
16 of 67
Which act gave people cheap mortgages?
The Federal Mortgage Arrangement Act
17 of 67
Why did people choose to leave the inner cities?
Crime, bad schools, cramped, unpleasant, away from immigrants and African Americans, had the money to move somewhere nicer
18 of 67
Which 3 groups did the development of the suburbs not help?
Women, immigrants and African Americans
19 of 67
Why did the development of the suburbs not help women's rights?
There was the development of the non-working suburban housewife
20 of 67
What are the dates of the start and the end of the Cold War?
1945 - 1990
21 of 67
How much money did the US continue to spend on the military?
10% of the GNP
22 of 67
On what things in the military did the US continue to spend heavily on?
Nuclear weapons, intelligence, weapons, space
23 of 67
Why/Where were military bases set up?
In poor, deprived areas - to stimulate them
24 of 67
What was the name of the man who created the Marshall Plan?
George Marshall
25 of 67
What was the Marshall Plan?
Where the US would give aid to European countries (in dollars so they would have to trade with the US) to help them recover from WWII and so they didn't turn to extremist regimes - ie. communism
26 of 67
How much aid was given to Europe in 1947?
$13 billion
27 of 67
Why was the aid form the Marshall Plan given in US dollars?
So European countries would be forced to trade with the US
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Who was Marshall?
The US Secretary of State
29 of 67
What did Marshall believe on touring Europe in 1946-7?
That if the US didn't financially help those countries, they would turn to extremist regimes and become communist
30 of 67
Why was the US the head of the post war global economic order?
They were the world superpower and had no rival until Japan in the 1970s
31 of 67
What 2 things changed as a part of the post war global economic order?
Currencies were pegged against the $ and not the £ / The GATT was introduced
32 of 67
What does GATT stand for?
General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs
33 of 67
Why was GATT good for America?
Allowed the US to benefit from trade
34 of 67
Where was the post war global economic order established?
Bretton Woods
35 of 67
Why was there a baby boom after WWII (2 reasons)?
Return of soldiers from the war / More security and confidence in the economy
36 of 67
What was the most important cause of the economic boom?
WWII
37 of 67
Where was the home/heart of the new technological industry?
West - California - Silicon Valley
38 of 67
What was the new industry that was created after WWII?
Electronics/Technology
39 of 67
Name the 3 post-war government policies
Employment Act, low taxation and the Servicemen's Readjustment Act
40 of 67
When was the Employment Act introduced?
1946
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Who introduced the Employment Act?
Harry S. Truman
42 of 67
What was the Employment Act?
Truman's commitment to assuring economic growth
43 of 67
How much worth of tax cuts were there in the 1950's?
$6 billion
44 of 67
Why did the government decide to help returning soldiers?
They didn't want a repeat of the Anacostia Flats incident
45 of 67
What was the aim of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act?
To get soldiers back into the economy and society
46 of 67
When was the Servicemen's Readjustment Act?
1944
47 of 67
What is significant about the date of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act?
It was in 1944 = during WWII
48 of 67
What was the Servicemen's Readjustment Act also known as?
The 'GI Bill of Rights'
49 of 67
What does 'GI' stand for?
Government Issue
50 of 67
How much did the government spend on its veterans in total?
$16 billion
51 of 67
How (specifically) did the government help returning soldiers?
Gave them money to start businesses / Unemployment relief could be claimed / Low and cheap mortgages offered / Sent them back to college / Supported them financially
52 of 67
How many soldiers were sent to college?
2.3 million
53 of 67
Give 2 statistics about soldiers going to college
2.3 million sent / By 1950, half of all students were ex-veterans
54 of 67
Why did the government decide to send soldiers back to college?
They wouldn't be unemployed / Created an educated work force - for technical jobs / Help integrate them back into society
55 of 67
In what year did rearmament begin?
1938
56 of 67
In what year was there full employment?
1943
57 of 67
Why did rearmament begin in 1938?
Because the US were falling behind Germany in terms of military production
58 of 67
What was significant about the military output of the US in 1942?
It was equal to Germany, Italy and Japan put together
59 of 67
How much more was being spent on the military in 1941 than in 1939?
4x the 1939 amount
60 of 67
What happened to industrial output during the war?
It doubled - increased by 100%
61 of 67
How many millions of tonnes of ammunition were produced during WWII?
50 million
62 of 67
Why did Americans save their money during the war?
Nothing to spend it on (no consumer goods) / Could invest in war bonds and get interest back
63 of 67
Why was the US in a better position to most of Europe after WWII?
They left the war with no damage (due to bombings etc) so they didn't have to rebuild anything
64 of 67
How much money was saved during the war?
$150 billion
65 of 67
Why was WWII important economically?
It got the US out of the Depression (the New Deal only stopped it getting worse)
66 of 67
List the general ways that WWII helped the economy
Jobs, wages, profits for businesses, goods produced
67 of 67

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What 2 items became particularly popular during the boom?

Back

Cars and TVs

Card 3

Front

How much had been collectively saved by Americans during WWII?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

How many privately owned cars were on the road by 1954?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What are the links to other causes of the boom that you can make to the consumer goods boom?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

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