CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

America at Midcentury, 1952–

1963

PART ONE:

Introduction

Chapter Focus Questions

What characterized post-World War II prosperity?

What was the ideal of suburban life? What was the reality?

What characterized the emergence of youth culture?

What were the criticisms of television and mass culture?

What characterized foreign policy in the Eisenhower years?

Who was John F. Kennedy and what was the promise of a New Frontier?

PART TWO:

Popular Music in Memphis

Memphis

Segregated Memphis. Elvis Presley. Sam Phillips. White and black music blend. Rock ‘n’ roll.

PART THREE:

American Society at Midcentury

The Eisenhower Presidency

President Dwight D. Eisenhower . Business-like government. Rejects conservatives’ calls. Real wages rise.

Subsidizing Prosperity

Federal subsidies Levittown. The federal government:

GI Bill interstate highway system Education funding

Suburban Life

Suburban life: domestic ideal housewife

Suburban growth. Church attendance. Chart: Growth of Suburbs Religion—fit in.

FIGURE 27.1 The Growth of the Suburbs, 1950–70 Suburban growth,

at the expense of older inner cities, was one of the key social trends in

the twenty-five years following World War II. By 1970, more Americans

lived in suburbs than in either inner cities or rural areas.

SOURCE:Adapted from U.S.Bureau of the Census,Current Censuses, 1930 –1970 (Washington DC:U.S.Government Printing Office,1975).

California and Suburban Life

California embodied postwar suburban life

Cars connected its components. Chart: L.A. County Population

FIGURE 27.2 L. A. County Population 1920–80

Organized Labor and the AFL-CIO

Trade unions. AFL-CIO. Numbers decline.

Lonely Crowds and Organizational Men

Suburbs. Conformist. Personality sells.

The Expansion of Higher Education

Baby boom. Higher Ed. Students=corporate values

Health and Medicine

Immunization. Medicines. Doctor shortages.. AMA.

PART FOUR:

Youth Culture

The Youth Market

“Teenager”. Purchasing power. Teenagers portrayed as special.

“Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll” Radio. Cross-over music. Cover versions. Alan Freed.. Chuck Berry.

Almost Grown Rock ‘n’ roll. Teenagers torn. Rock ’n roll dangerous. Juvenile delinquency. Popular.

PART FIVE:

Mass Culture and Its Discontents

Television: Tube of Plenty

Television. Advertising and TV. Early TV .. Sitcoms. Movies and TV. Fads and sensations. Chart: Radio and Television Ownership, 1940–1960

FIGURE 27.3 Radio and Television Ownership, 1940–60 By 1960 nearly 90 percent

of American households owned at least one television set, as

TV replaced radio as the nation’s dominant mass

medium of entertainment. Radio ownership rose as well,

but Americans increasingly listened to radio as an

accompaniment to other activities, such as driving.

Television and Politics

Prime-time--no references to political issues.

Television brought congressional hearings

Slick ads for presidential campaigns.

Culture Critics

Critics. “Middlebrow Culture”. The Beats.

PART SIX:

The Cold War Continued

The “New Look” in Foreign Affairs

Nuclear option. Dulles. Foreign policy “new look”.

Foreign Affairs

Anticommunist uprisings. Gary Powers.

Covert Action and Intervention

Eisenhower pro covert action. The CIA. Iran. Israel and Suez..

Intervention in the Caribbean

Map: The U. S. in the Caribbean Guatemala.

MAP 27.1 The U.S. in the Caribbean, 1948–66 U.S. military intervention and economic presence grew steadily in the Caribbean following World War II. After 1960, opposition to the

Cuban Revolution dominated U.S. Caribbean policies.

Vietnam

Vietnam. Domino theory. Vietnam divided.

Ike’s Warning

Nuclear anxiety. “Military industrial complex.”

PART SEVEN:

John F. Kennedy and the New

Frontier

The Election of 1960

Map: the Election of 1960 JFK. Richard Nixon. JFK innaugurtion.

MAP 27.2 The Election of 1960 Kennedy’s popular vote margin over Nixon was only a little over 100,000, making this one of the closest elections in American

history.

New Frontier Liberalism

Liberal agenda. Female equality. Economy. Space. Strong executive branch.

Kennedy and the Cold War

Eased tensions Green Berets, weaponry . Alliance for Progress.

The Cuban Revolution and the Bay of Pigs

Fidel Castro. No US relations. Bay of Pigs. The plan failed.

The Missile Crisis

Cuban missiles. Blockade. Soviets backed down. JFK pledged no invasion. Cooperation with Soviets.

Assassination

November 22, 1963.