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POST-WAR US AFTER 1945 - Coggle Diagram

- - - - this is the idea that anyone regardless of there background can achieve success
      - Consumer society in post war US
        
        Luxury goods- E.G. refrigerators, ovens, cars and TVs. were being produced at good prices. This then led to the demand was higher this also stemed from this goods not being available in the war era .
        
        By the end of the 50s 9 out of 10 family households had TVs. 8 out of 10 had cars and telephones and 7 out of 10 had washing machines
        
        A new advertising industry & the "buy now pay later " scheme persuaded more people spent there money.
        
        Shopping centres (malls) started to get built on the outskirts of large towns and cities.
        
        There was a boom in overseas spending on US goods.
        
        The US experienced the "baby boom" that saw a 40% increase in the population.
- - - - NUCLEAR POWERS- By 1949 the Soviet Union developed nuclear weapons. This led to a rivalry as the US and SU had very different political system (Communism in the SU and capitalism in the US). There was a concern that this would led to a nuclear war. This period was called the Cold War.
      - EASTERN EUROPE- After WW2 many Eastern Europe countries fell into SU power and the US was worried this would spread into the USA.
      - THE COLD WAR- By 1947 the US and Russia became increasingly hostile to each other. In 1949 China became a communist state. This escolated the fear even more as china similarly to the US is a vastly populated area. After this the Korean war began in june 1950 when communist North Korea started to invade the south.
    - - A member of the US govt. (Alger Hiss) was accused of spying on for the SU also Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were found guilty of spying and sharing US nuclear secrets and were executed in June 1953. This became headline news and led to the fear growing.
      - SENATOR JOSEPH McCARTHY- stoked the fear of communism. He used slogan like "Reds under the beds" he claimed many were working secretly in the govt. and saw it as his mission to root them out.
      - HOUSE COMMITTEE OF UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES(HUAC)- this govt. group began searching for communists in the US govt., workplace media & movie industry.
      - LOYALTY PROGRAMME- Truman introduced this programme to allow the FBI to investigate employees and sack any that are "security risks". Millions were searched by the HUAC and the loyalty programme between 1947-1950. However none were found guilty of spying many were forced out of there jobs because of the disgrace of there investigation many compared it to a witch hunt.
      - McCARRAN ACT- The actual name for this act is the 1950 INTERNAL SECURITY ACT but it is more commonly known as by the name of the senator who pushed the act. This act states that communists can not carry US passports or work in defence industries. All communist organisations had to be registered and fingerprints had to be taken of all the members.
- - - - Many southern states still enforced segregation or the "Jim Crow" laws
      - African Americans had the right to vote but many didn't as they were intimidated from registering due to violence/literacy tests etc.
      - Judiciary was White and juries were all white-very hard for blacks to achieve justice
      - Discrimination in employment E.G white teachers earned 30% more than Black
      - Best unis were closed to black students
    - - BROWN V BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA 1954
        
        Most schools were segregated. In Topeka Kansas the father of a black girl Linda Brown took the local education authority to court. he wanted his daughter to attend her local all whites school.
        
        he was helped by NAACP
        
        Brown lost but appealed to the supreme court
        
        In May 1954 the S.C declared that every education board had to end segregation in schools.
        
        Within weeks many cities and towns began to desegregate their schools.
        
        some Southern states were refusing this action. In 1956 not a single African American child was attending a school where there were white kids in 6 southern states.