Society Flashcards
(26 cards)
1
Q
Impact of WWII on society
A
- WW2 greatly increased social mobility, changed patterns of employment and cultivated new expectations
- but many of these changes proved temporary, with the 1950s being an age of conformity + return to ‘family values’
- the prosperity + cultural freedoms of the ‘baby boomers’ in the 1960s fostered a new youth culture + resurgence of feminism
- late 1960s + early 1970s there were social tensions + ‘culture wars’ exacerbated by the Vietnam war
2
Q
What factors influenced social development?
A
- affluence
- demographic change
- changing patterns of urbanisation
3
Q
How did affluence influence social development?
A
- through out the post war era there was economic growth + rising living standards, making the ‘American dream’ a reality for millions of Americans
- BUT this affluence did apply to all = 25% of Americans living in poverty
- affluence didn’t guarantee social stability = riots + protest of the 1960s came from people who were relatively well off
4
Q
How did demographic change influence social development?
A
- population kept on rising (increased by 80m 1945-75)
- immigration changed (Ellis island closed 1954) but didn’t stop = skilled workers arrived by air
- massive internal migration = northward of AA out of south + many immigrants from Mexico into south west
5
Q
How did changes in urbanisation influence social development?
A
- cities continued to expand but were hollowed out due to the impact of the automobile = movement to the suburbs, decaying inner city districts inhabited by poorer citizens e.g. AA or Puerto Ricans
- the ‘White Flight’ deepened social + cultural + undermined the tax base + finances of cities like Detroit + St Louis
6
Q
Cultural developments
A
- the growth of mass media
- mass ownership of television sets + exploitation of mass television audiences by the tv network has a huge impact = advertising greatly increased by the spread of colour televisions in the 1960s
- other forms of media e.g. radio remained a central place in people’s lives = streaming news, entertainment, sport + advertising in peoples homes + cars
- press also had a reach e.g. New York Times + the Washington post were syndicated to local papers nationwide
- millions of Americans watched the same nightly news with Walter Cronkite on cbs + the same hit shows e.g. I love Lucy = mass media was not only an outlet for new values but a powerful weapon for social conformity
7
Q
Impact of McCarthyism on society
A
- redscare had already begun by 1947 befriended Senator McCarthy hit the headlines in 1950
- the hearings of the HUAC were regularly televised + the inquisitorial style made attacks by McCarthy + his lawyers + his publicists hard to defend
- Oct 1947 = HUAC investigation into the motion picture industry named 19 writers + directors as communists —> the ‘Hollywood Ten’ refused to answer any questions + were sent to prison for contempt of congress
- this led to the Hollywood blacklist which covered 320 names = ruined careers
- McCarthyism lasted much longer then he did = Hays Code continued ‘moral’ censorship until 1968
8
Q
Western economy
A
- before WW2 the west had been ‘semi-detached’ from Americas economy + society but the impact of the war triggered massive expansion + population growth
- became the hub for high tech industries e.g. IBM’s research base in Silicon Valley + Boeing aircraft company in Seattle-tacoma
- LA dominated cinema + tv production
- Las Vegas was turned from a desert into a gambling hotspot
9
Q
Social change in the west
A
- inward migration of Hispanics, mostly from Mexico —> 1942-60s there was a second wave of migrants under the ‘Braerco Program’ set up by the US + Mexican govt to supply ‘guest workers’
- there was also a lot of ‘illegal’ migration often organised by people smuggling gangs = by 1975 there were 2 million Mexican Americans
- by 1970s a new generation of Native American activists were campaigning for reforms + restorations of what had been ‘robbed’ from them in the past = 1973 AIM activists occupied wounded knee (where Sioux warriors had been massacred in 1890) - faced violent confrontation with the FBI
10
Q
Social change in the south
A
- economically, racially + culturally the south had always been locked into a different image of the past + remained ideologically different to the rest of the US
- however, after WWII the new south began to develop = the war itself saw black soldiers + improved educational opportunities
- the new age of television made developments in the south visible to the whole nation, buildings awareness of racial injustice + feeding demands for change + reform
- northward migration was on a large scale then ever in the 1950s + 60s = made a big impression on the nations consciousness
- civil rights organisations like NAACP grew stronger + new charismatic black leaders emerged
11
Q
What kickstarted the civil rights movement?
A
- it had already been long-established by 1955 but it was pushed forward by the Montgomery Bus Boycott led by Martin Luther king
- this was sparked by the refusal of Rosa parks to sit in the segregated section for African Americans of the bus as a deliberate challenge against segregation in public transport = Supreme Court ruled it to be unconstitutional in 1956
12
Q
Impact of the civil rights movement
A
- between 1957 + 65 the civil rights movement gained momentum
- Martin Luther king perfected the art of non violent demonstration e.g. march on Washington august 1963
- the rise of the movement had a major impact on politics + drove Kennedy + Johnson into pushing through import civil rights legislation e.g. civil rights 1964
13
Q
Limitations in success of the civil rights movement
A
- did not satisfy all aspirations for equality
- there was still strong resistance from white people, especially in the south
- there was also divisions amongst black leaders + groups e.g. between the black Muslim movement + Christian churches = radical leader Malcom X was assassinated by rival black Muslims in 1965
- frustration in AA communities boiled over into destructive urban violence in Watts, La in 1965
- Martin Luther king was assassinated in 1968
14
Q
Success of the civil rights movement
A
- the cause for racial equality still had far to go, but the south was changing
- the old democratic stranglehold on the south was broken
- a new generation of black politicians won elections = Julian bond was elected to the George House of Representatives in 1965, Maynard Jackson became the first black mayor of Atlanta in 1974
- 1967 Tennessee finally repealed the butler act under which John scopes had been prosecuted in 1925
15
Q
Freedom rides
A
- 1961
- activists from CORE took part in an interracial bus ride to challenge state laws of segregation + call upon the federal government to enforce Boynton v. Virginia ruling prohibiting segregation on interstate travel
- three riders were beaten heavily for using the white only waiting room at a bus terminal in South Carolina = attracted wide spread media coverage
- in Alabama the bus was firebombed + passengers were forced into a violent mob of 200 people
- November 1961 = the interstate commerce commission ruled that segregation on interstate buses + facilities was illegal as a direct result of the campaign
16
Q
School desegregation progress
A
- 1954 Brown v Board of education = banned racial segregation in schools
- 1957 white mob prevented the admission of nine AA students to central high school in Little Rock
- opposition to desegregation was encouraged by southern politicians = 1956 Southern Manifesto claimed brown v board contradicted the constitution + accused the Supreme Court of an abuse of power
- the principle promoter of this was Strom Thurmond, a southern democrat who would go on to be the longest standing senator in US history = persuaded 19 of 22 senators for southern states to sign the manifesto
17
Q
Impact of WW2 on women
A
- 350,000 women serviced in the US armed forces, both at home and+ abroad
- between 1940-45 female percentage of US workforce increased from 25% to 30% = HUGE - suggests women have gained some financial independence
- by 1945 one in four married women worked outside the house —> contrasts to the 20s where women were expected to drop out of work once they got married
- HOWEVER = women still expected to do their traditional female roles + progress reversed after WW2 with a pronounced swing back to social conformity + ‘family values’ in the 1950s
18
Q
Change for women
A
- attitude if federal govt —> 1942 Lanham Act which provided federal funding for day care, offering 50% of daycare costs for working mothers
- however = 1946 all but three states repealed the legislation of Lanham act thereby withdrawing federal funds
- 1945 20 million women in work, 1946 already fallen to less than 18 million
- women taking up stem subjects, law + journalism = professional progression but still restricted from senior jobs e.g. only 5% in CEO roles in 1970s—> still limited but women are starting to claim their space in other industries, breaking away from Secretary + waitress roles
19
Q
What was the termination era?
A
- govt policy towards NAs after 1945 was still characterised by a desire to assimilate natives
- three policies were used = Indian Claims Commission (ICC), urbanisation, termination
20
Q
What was termination?
A
- in order to speed up the policy of assimilation, a more aggressive approach was adopted
- natives would now be treated as self-supporting Americans + lose any special protection they had beeen given as ‘wards’ of the US govt
- ended the reservation system + encouraged migration to cities
21
Q
What was the ICC?
A
- set up in 1946 in response to pressures from NCAI + part.y recognition of the contribution of NA to the war effort
- a way for NA tribes to regain lands given to them by treaties in the 19th century - however in reality it did little to help the NAs as it worked slowly + with little regard to evidence provided by tribes themselves
- when settlements were made they were largely in the form of financial compensation rather than the return of land that the tribes wanted = prompted Sioux in the black hills of Dakota to reject compensation + continue their fight
22
Q
What was urbanisation? (NA)
A
- WW2 accelerated migration of NAs to cities e.g. native populations in major cities like New York + Chicago increased fourfold between 1930 + 1960
- by 1960, 60,000 NAs (out of a pop of 600,000) had left their reservations + settled in cities like Chicago + San Francisco
- fed govt encouraged urbanisation with the Bureau of India Affairs setting up job placement centres in cities such as LA + Salt Lake City a
23
Q
Positive effects of NAs
A
- minority of natives found a place amongst the urban middle classes, with some women marrying whites men
- jib centres set up by the BIA in 1948 helped NA find work
- this was supported by the Indian vocational training act 1956 which allowed natives to acquire ‘marketable skill’ + find work
24
Q
Consequences of the termination era
A
- employment opportunities were limited + many natives who had filled positions during WW2 had to give it up when whites returned - usually had the lowest paying jobs as well
- white hostility towards urban natives was common, previously had little contact due to reservations + there was a resentment at NAs perceived dependency on the nation + competition for jobs increased this
- Indian Vocational training Act only applied to those who lived near reservations + those who had already migrated did not qualify
- federal funding for native projects + facilities provided for under the new deal was slashed as funds were diverted to WWII + then the Cold War
25
Native American protests
- 1961 = national Indian youth council (NIYC) was established in New Mexico = reflects the emergence of a new generation of vocal natives
- they staged a fish in in 1968 to try secure fishing rights for natives on the west coast + went on to use litigation to gain land rights in 1970s
- NCAI continued its work filing law suits to try + gain rights for Indian land + employment = they managed to win some cases + the younger generation became more active in progress
- black civil rights movement encouraged Indians to find a voice, but arguably the focus on black civil rights + anti-war protests meant NA didn’t receive equal media focus
26
End of termination
- 1968 = turning point in federal policy towards Native Americans
- end of termination marked by the passage of the ICRA supported by Johnson which required states to obtain trial consent before extending legal jurisdiction over Indian reservations = essentially protecting the rights of Indians to self-determination
- contained a Bill of Rights for natives = Indian tribes exercising powers of self government were subject to same limitations + constraints under the constitution as federal, state + local govts.
- from 1968 onwards legislation + court decisions have protected Indian rights + increased Indian involvement in their own political + economic affairs
