Topic 4 - Changing Quality of Life (Living Standards)

Question 1

define living standards

Answer 1

• a measure of how much wealth and material comfort a person owns
• massive in America
• strong correlation between living standards and been able to access the American dream
• alters over time

Question 2

what was considered a decent living standard in 1917

Answer 2

• having a roof over your head a job and a family would have been considered the dream

Question 3

how do each of the other themes link to good living standards

Answer 3

• if a president is not giving access to good living standards and thus the American Dream they’re not gonna be popular
• civil rights - there wasn’t always equal access to good living standards
• women’s rights and immigration - living standards for these different groups

Question 4

how did the concept of high living standard change over time

Answer 4

• became more expensive after post-war boom

- became more to do with how much ‘stuff’ you owned making the divide between the rich and poor a considerable matter

Question 5

what things are part of a good living standard and achieving the American Dream

Answer 5

• employment
• lifestyle
• healthcare
• education
• capitalism
• racial demographic
• president, their approach, party and policies
• decade of birth
• geography
• war

Question 6

what group had the best access to the highest standard of living

Answer 6

• white middle class Americans
• for minority groups just having good sanitation and a job would be seen as a good standard of living - parallels and diversity across different groups

Question 7

how does the president affect the standards of living

Answer 7

• both have merit but depending on economic circumstance one party usually better than the other
• democrats - good jobs, workers, immigrants and civil rights - strong communities and public services
• republicans - more profit, pay and benefit cuts, fewer rights for all people, less money for schools and community needs - laissez faire

Question 8

how did geography affect your standard of living

Answer 8

• big cities like NY and Hollywood have extreme wealth but also extreme poverty
• run down areas-overcrowding and poor housing
• southern states had more agricultural employment so less profit and less wealth so lower standard of living
• more wealth in North East

Question 9

how did the decade you were born affect your standard of living

Answer 9

• born in early 1900s by time your mid 20s its wall street crash time - middle aged life in severe hardship
• born mid to late 30s you turn 20 in 50s which had great opportunity to excel
• late 50s/early 60s you endured the hardship of the 70s

Question 10

discuss how the evolution of technology ‘necessities’ impacted the quality of life

Answer 10

• new necessities included such items as cars, radios, fridges and TVs
• roaring 20s
• big ticket high priority items
• if you didn’t have these things you weren’t conforming to what was seen as life necessities and standards to have good living
• added layer to living standards
• shows how living standards criteria began to creep up

Question 11

how did standards of living not always reflect how hard people worked

Answer 11

• first half of 1900s there were significant disparities dependent on colour and gender
• whites had higher life expectancy than non-whites - 48/33 in 1915
• average salary for white man in 1939 was $1234
• but for other races it was less than half that
• men earnt more than women
• best living for middle class white man
• but nuclear family meant wife benefited to

Question 12

why did whites have a higher life expectancy than non-whites in 1915 (48/33)

Answer 12

• lifestyle
• they had better access to a good quality of life and living standards
• better food and sanitation, healthcare and wages

Question 13

impact of executive on living standards for non-whites

Answer 13

• federal policy did help with ensuring all racial demographics had access to good standard of living
• but not till 60s when CRM really took off
• and even then it took time to have key effect

Question 14

when did big changes to standard of living happen

Answer 14

• FDR’s New Deal

Question 15

what was the impact of Frances Perkins on living standards

Answer 15

• first woman to serve in presidential cabinet (FDR)

- workers rights, child employment, working conditions, pay

Question 16

what was one reason life expectancy was so low for Americans and how did this improve

Answer 16

• down to fact many couldn’t afford medical care
• health of nation improved significantly with FDR’s medicare scheme
• incorporated dree medical care for those who could not afford it
• reduce death rate and improve living standards in the most fundamental way

Question 17

discuss FDR’s New Deal and its impact

Answer 17

• we think of it as very white middle class orientated but in terms of its wider impact it very much helped shaped the unfortunate demographics
• depression put everyone on back foot but his New Deal and social security had huge (+) LT changes and ST of most Americans

Question 18

discuss how FDR improved education

Answer 18

• during depression many families couldn’t afford to send their children to school or may have needed them to work to help financial income
• education increased massively under FDR’s regime
• LT impact on living standards
• those people can go on to get good jobs to provide themselves with a high living standard and will pass that on to their children
• rising prosperity
• by 1940, 73% of children aged 11-17 were in school
• up from just 27% in 1917

Question 19

what was the difference between the 1910 census and the 1940 one

Answer 19

• 1910 it asks if you have running water, a garage, if you earn $30,000 per anum
• as you get into 40s, 50s it asks about materialistic and technological luxury item
• if you’re filling it out and don’t have these items you think if the gov is asking about these should I have them?
• tick sheet telling you if you have achieved the American Dream

Question 20

give some things the 1940s census said

Answer 20

• only 60% of homes included an indoor flushing toilet but 83% had a radio!
• non white homes had significantly worse sanitation
• 27% of homes had no way of keeping food cold

Question 21

what was the impact of the SWW on Standard of Living

Answer 21

• during war, patriotism/conservation of goods - shift away from consumerism - after war people craved new things they’d sustained from, consumerism boomed
• better industry/infrastructure enabled US to grow in terms of production of goods after war
• post war economic boom meant public had more disposable income and a greater propensity/capacity to spend - high living standard
• reduction in consumer spending during war - living standards shrunk during war period

Question 22

why did living standards drop during the SWW

Answer 22

• rationing - less access to goods
• work longer hours - less leisure time
• some goods not sold at all e.g. Ford changed to war manufacturing
• stagnated or fell
• willing to experience a drop due to patriotism - galvanising of nation by Pearl Harbour - if it wasn’t war and they dropped people point fingers at President

Question 23

why did living standards raise after the SWW

Answer 23

• went crazy

- people been working more with less leisure so earnt and saved lots of money

Question 24

discuss living standard during the SWW

Answer 24

• most Americans prospered during SWW
• the gov heavily encouraged US citizens to invest money in war bonds to help the war effort
• main problem for Americans during war was not lack of money but lack of goods to spend their money on
• many consumer goods were not manufactured
• decline in house building
• rationing was an issue
• 1945 federal gov introduced the General Maximum Price Regulation which froze prices so some goods were allocated through rationing

Question 25

what did Pearl Harbour cause

Answer 25

• a surge of patriotism
• all Americans were keen to contribute to the war effort
• those who could not enlist played their part by conserving food and oil and purchasing war bonds#
• perhaps people knew good times were on the horizon if they got through this
• willing to drop for overall benefit

Question 26

discuss the impact of TV on Consumerism and health

Answer 26

• TV ownership growth was phenomenal
• 1950-60 houses with tv went from 9-85%
• suburbia - selling point was TV
• women and children targeted because of their pester power
• advertising and tv influenced more than just what people purchased, it influenced lifestyles
• labour saving gadgets and fast food gave people, especially women more free time in their daily lives which improved their living standard and how much they were accessing the American Dream

Question 27

how did suburbia and tv and consumerism all intertwine

Answer 27

• created one-up mentality and neighbour envy
• competition became a detriment to living standards
• could never really achieve the American Dream because it was always a case of wanting more for white middle class people
• then you get AA who just want to get out of inner cities - want a suburban house and their first car
• Hispanics just want to work up pay scale while whites argue about how fast their car goes

Question 28

what is the American Dream always doing

Answer 28

• changing

- different dreams based on time and circumstance

Question 29

why did the health of the nation begin to decline by the mid 60s

Answer 29

• prominence of soft drinks, sweets, pre-cooked meals and cigarette advertising
• pre cooked meals = tv dinners

Question 30

discuss economic situation of 60s for non whites

Answer 30

• by mid 60s over 40% of non-whites were living below the government defined poverty line
• Vietnam war
• crazy when CRA and EPA passed - shouldn’t be happening
• why Johnson’s GS was necessary
• American and whites ignorant to much of the plight of the inner cities while whites lived happily and prosperously in suburbs
• near enough half on non-whites struggling to survive each month - frightening

Question 31

discuss the teenage consumer market of the 50s

Answer 31

• from 50s American affluence meant teens prime targets for expanding leisure industry
• on average teens were spending around $10b a year on cars, clothes, leisure etc…
• gold mine for advertising industry
• teens did not struggle during this period
• no GD or worst of SWW
• red scare and Korea but in general affluence (+)ity and economic freedom
• teens huge part of economic success during this period as bought into consumerism
• one of highest standards of living during this period - ironic as many threw it away to become Hippies in the 60s

Question 32

discuss the post war economic divide in 1960-80

Answer 32

• although golden years post war was boom time it was not perfect for everyone
• wealth gap always existed but in 50s and 60s it widened
• cold war impacts caused crisis in consumer confidence and economy declined
• non whites often lost jobs to whites
• those that were employed paid less
• 1960 40% average income for whites/blacks

Question 33

whats the overall take away for the 1950s

Answer 33

• always think of 50s as a success but remember that behind all that there is always people trying to catch up and to have success
• wasn’t as golden for everyone as it might be perceived
• but in general it was America’s best decade
• perhaps republicans (Ike) should have intervened but silent hand laissez faire and the economy looked golden on surface!

Question 34

define two-speed society

Answer 34

• different parts and demographics of US progressing at different rates
• AA, minorities and the poor can’t keep up with the relentlessly changing American Dream

Question 35

discuss the impact of CRA on changing quality of life for AA and minorities

Answer 35

• CRA had ensured that employers were obliged to employ black workers but this then caused resentment as coloured workers were seen as token workers
• needed a generation to take effect
• if you have an architect position in 1964 e.g. not many AA qualified - need 10 years for them to go through college system before truly effective

Question 36

what took place for whites in 1960s

Answer 36

• white flight
• by mid 1960s many affluent middle class families had moved to suburbs
• inner city housing generally rented by AA

Question 37

discuss AA quality of life in 1960s

Answer 37

• over 40% of non-whites were living below the gov defined poverty line ($3000 per year for family of 4)
• quality of housing/facilities was poor
• houses divided into sub-let rooms and often left without repair or renovations
• due to spiral of decline created by neglect and poverty some areas like Bronx became notorious for their crime and drug issues

Question 38

what was planned shrinkage (1960s in inner cities were AA lives)

Answer 38

• some councils neglected the inner cities altogether with a strategy known as planned shrinkage to try and force people to leave
• it didn’t fix anything
• when they moved to other areas they worsened and the problem just kept building
• significant funding needed to happen to get people a solid employment footing and improve infrastructure
• but this is expensive esp when pres like LBJ has more pressing war issues
• where MLK ran into problems - passing CRA cost nothing but King’s later goals of improving living standards cost a lot of money and so didn’t get same level of white or federal support as it requires raising taxes e.g. which would make pres unpopular and lose some of white vote

Question 39

what was JFK working on before his assassination

Answer 39

• a ‘New Frontier’ to challenge poverty - wanted opportunity for all - carried out some of his promises like Housing Act and EPA
• it was evolved by LBJ into his Great Society

Question 40

what was LBJ’s Great Society

Answer 40

• a mission to fight poverty and remove civil inequality
• created agency to tackle problem with budget in excess of $960 million
• improve and extend social welfare so that it covers more people
• the scheme did achieve a degree of success but some argued although well intentioned it was not sufficiently funded
• big statements to wage war on poverty - impossible in a capitalist society that was already misaligned
• not winning against poverty and created a society that was becoming dependant on benefits and welfare

Question 41

discuss the funding of the Great Society

Answer 41

• $960 million sounds like a lot but it was not compared to Vietnam
• good ideas but guns over butter
• money made improvements but not enough to sustain LT

Question 42

what were CAPS (Community Action Programmes) in LBJ’s Great Society

Answer 42

• provided relief to poverty stricken areas
• CAPs campaigned for funding and concentrated on the most pressing issues in their areas like medical care or housing regeneration
• localised as poverty and inequality not even across America
• better than a sweeping act
• specific basis in specific areas
• good idea but funding not sustainable

Question 43

why did the standards of living dramatically decline in the 70s for everyone

Answer 43

• economic depression caused by the oil crisis despite federal intervention to try and help
• poverty already unmanageable for black minorities but when the safety net of whites not been government dependent hits it put the gov in an impossible situation
• unemployment
• inflation
• homelessness
• lack of confidence

Question 44

what did Nixon do to try and improve quality of life

Answer 44

• set about dismantling the Great Society
• introduced welfare to workfare - essentially working tax credits
• linked welfare payments to inflation so the buying power of those receiving welfare remained the same
• this was something overlooked by LBJ and was pretty successful
• it was great but it wasn’t solving the problem it was just living with it, needed a more prominent stance from someone like Reagan

Question 45

discuss the fading American Dream under Ford and Carter

Answer 45

• despite good intentions/strong relationship with public Ford failed to make a lasting impact on economy
• inflation/unemployment was crippling the country while ongoing crisis with Soviet Union made matters worse
• loss of V war under ford
• both raised and cut taxes to adjust spending but with little success - led to stagflation that characterised the mid-late 70s
• couldn’t regain confidence of country
• unemployment
• many could no longer afford the American Dream
• issues on a holistic level - not just AA and minorities struggling white Americans now in challenging period

Question 46

discuss carter

Answer 46

• whatever he tried in last two years of his administration scarcely mattered
• such was the decline in confidence in both the presidency and in spending
• economy ground to a halt
• standards of living declined
• electorate voted for change