1.1 - Urbanisation - cars Flashcards
(19 cards)
1
Q
One key and obvious sign of post-war American affluence
A
Increased number of cars
2
Q
Why had car purchases slowed in GD & WW2
A
- Factories changed to war materiel production in preparation for war
- Cars previously not cheap - economic depression
3
Q
How accessable was it to get cars in 1955?
A
- Still not cheap: WC + MC tended buying Chevrolets or Fords (started at $1,300 which about 2/5 of family income)
- BUT post-war econ boom + greater job security = more money to spend on cars
4
Q
How did growing car ownership change American lifestyle?
A
- Spacious new cars with automatic transmissions (not gearboxes)
- New equipment (power steering, better engines, radios, heaters, AC) = easier more luxurious drive
- Demonstrated status + promised mobility & freedom
4
Q
What was the perspective of those who remembered GD?
A
- Liked to spend money on new cars
- 1955 alone: 7.9 million new cars manufactured
5
Q
Who were the Big Three?
A
- General Motors
- Ford
- Chrysler
6
Q
What kinds of cars did the Big Three make?
A
- Long, multi-coloured + decorated with lots of chrome
- Ostentatious tail-fins
7
Q
Summary of Eisenhower (general)
A
- Wartime achievements (mastermind normandy landings) = respect
- Foreign > domestic policy (disliked excessive fed gov intervention) - left democrat new deal in place while disagreeing with aspect of interventionism
- Rarely responded to black American demands for greater equality (lack empathy)
- Balanced national budget - prevent destabilisation of finances (military + big businesses)
- 1958: established NASA - retaliation to soviet sputnik launch & national defence edu act (promoted science - prevent fall behind soviets)
8
Q
Why did Eisenhower initiate a great highway construction programme?
A
- After WW2: Compared to German autobahns, American roads described as in ‘shocking condition)
- Car ownership: 1950 - 39.3Mn vs 1960 - 73.8Mn therefore interstate highway system vital to handle greater traffic
- Though greater convenience, happiness therefore LS (most agreed)
8
Q
Details of the congress authorised interstate highway system
A
- 41,000 miles
- Opened up travel - changing American society and culture
9
Q
How did automobiles reflect and shape US society?
A
- Social + ethnic status
- Young people + women greater freedom
- On-the-road culture created = explosive growth in service industries
- Suburban growth + urban decline
10
Q
How did automobiles reflect and shape social and ethnic status
A
- Wealthy white men: Cadillacs & Lincolns (most expensive and spacious)
- MC + WC: Fords and Chevrolets
- Poorer hispanic Americans: cheap, second hand Chevys
- Cadillacs: desirable status symbol for black MC
11
Q
What was the ‘suburban ritual’ with cars and what did it reflect?
A
- Polishing with Simoniz car wax
- Greater disposable income and leisure time for MC families of 50s
12
Q
How did automobiles influence young people
A
- Gain independence & escape parental control
- Important part of dating (1953 Kinsey survey - young people had almost as much sex in automobiles as did in homes)
- Young men: expressed individuality = customising cars for speed + style
- Respectable, safe family cars into chrome-covered, souped-up ‘hot rods’ / ‘grease machines’
- Drive-in movies - aimed for young people
13
Q
How did automobiles influence women
A
- Used automobiles to visit shopping malls
- YET automobiles designed for women reflected trad attitudes
- 1955: Dodge La Femme - came with matching lipstick and shoulder back
- Women could buy clothes with same fabric as ford Victoria
- Family car = source of conflict (men try to assert dominance by monopolising driving seat)
14
Q
What was the new ‘on-the-road’ culture?
A
- Cheap accommodation + fast food
- Cars = easier + more varied life therefore two aspects important for travel
- 1952: 1st holiday inn near Memphis - began modern American motel chain
- 1960: 228 McDonald’s
- Roadside motels + restaurants = tens of thousands jobs in service industries
- large rural areas covered with roads, motels, restaurants, stores, parking lots, neons ads + signs
15
Q
McDonald’s starting place
A
- 1940: Dick and Maurice McDonald opened drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, CA
- Emphasis on speed, volume, low prices, ease of purchase
- Fear: service too slow
- Plates + silverware swapped for paper bags, wrappers, paper cups (no need to wash)
- 1954: Ray Kroc became franchise manager
- 1955: First franchise opened in Des Plaines (Chicago suburb)
- McDonalds made $100,000/ year based on $0.15 hamburger
- Ray Kroc bough out brothers and expanded it to globally renowned company
- Positioned along highways for convenience - encouraged growth
16
Q
What impact did the on-the-road culture have on American economy and workforce?
A
- Increasing numbers employed in service / associated office-based work (1960 - 7.6Mn service workers with number of whte collar workers at 27.2Mn - grow from 21.2MN in 1950)
- Until 1950: large proportion of blue-collar workers but new technology left USA econ less dependent on heavy, manual labour in factories and mines (increased automation decreased %age of industrial workers of workforce 39% to 36% in 1960)
- 1960: 34.8Mn service workers outnumbered 25.6Mn manual workers
- Fall in manufacturer jobs - econ depressed areas in old industrial heartlands (Midwest & NE)
17
Q
Arguably most central impact of automobile expansion
A
- Suburbanisation
- Allowed people move from cities to spacious, suburb homes with easy drive into work
- Left cities with those who could not afford move out - lost tax base therefore deteriorated
