Changes in the American Society and Culture in 1945-1968 - Essay Example

Module Changes in the American Society and Culture: 1945-1968 Post-World War II America emerged as a stronger nation thank before with Americans convinced that they had cultural superiority, economic strength and superior form of government. The war had also left the American society in a position where the traditional societal organization became questionable, planting the seeds of agitation against White supremacy and stereotypical role of women (Griffith and Baker 22). This state was maintained even amid challenges for over two decades (1945-68) before subsiding. Some of the stand out developments that characterized this period includes a consumer-driven economic boom, the civil rights movement and the heightened drive for liberation on a personal level especially among the young Americans. This study explores these three aspects guided by the thesis that they were the greatest forces for change in the American society between 1945 and 1968. Consumerism as a Driver of the Economic Boom - 1945-1968: The twenty years after the World War II were characterized by an unmatched economic expansion in the western world. The GDPs of many countries rose gradually to double the prewar figures, while the living standards grew proportionately. It was an era characterized by the dawn of mass consumerism. However, it is starkly discernible that the US led the way by a huge gap, achieving in the early 1950s the average per capita GDP that western European nations would only reach by the late 1960s. A brief overview of the economic boom indicates that the per capita GDP grew by an average of 2.7% annually and continuously from 1949-1968 in comparison to under 1.5% per capita GDP growth per year from 1913-1949 (Junker and Wagner 256). The consumer culture was also driven by media, as the telling impact of the Seventeen Magazine on teenage consumption and the accompanied attention by the corporate world (Griffith and Baker 122-3). There was parallel growth of real wages and productivity whose result was an economic confidence with well-off consumers fueling one of the most spectacular economic expansions ever witnessed. The middle class had and exercised purchasing power, consuming what the high productivity had resulted in (mass production). Mass consumption included purchase of mass-produced homes in sprawling suburbs as the domestic market drove economic growth forward. This perhaps explains the reason behind the USA experiencing the economic boom much earlier than the rest of the western world. The birth rate was at an all time high bringing forth the baby-boom generation whose parents intended to provide with good life they never had as they grew up during the global recession (Elcott 7). One aspect of this mass consumerism is in the growth of television and its impact. By 1950, less than 3 million Americans had television sets, spectacularly increasing to over 50 million a decade later. This was accompanied by creation of a more uniform culture in the US. It is clear that the surge of capitalism was driven by the heightened consumerism and people’s growing incomes. Pervasive television imagery, booming suburbs and unrestricted spending power changed the culture of Americans and how they viewed themselves (Cobbs-Hoffman and Gjerde and Blum 331-2). A strong home economy was also important in the establishment of US global economic power and influence as efforts could be diverted to global economic issues. Hence, consumer-driven economic expansion is one of the main stand-out aspects and defining phenomena that characterized the period between 1945 and 1968. The Civil Rights Movement: The USA is a nation built upon a melt-point of different cultures, races and ethnicities and thus from inception was plagued by the problem of racism, providing the divisions that shook the very foundations of democracy that the nation prides itself in. Dubois cofounded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored people (NAACP) with the aim of protesting the accommodation being pursued by the likes of Booker T. Washington instead agitating for political and social equality early in the turn of the 20th century. Such activities laid the ground for the Civil Rights Movement that was to follow during the 1940s-60s as the NAACP multiplied its membership particularly in the South. A responsive presidency and Supreme Court alongside the rural-urban migration provided opportunities for agitation, increased the African-American electorate and succeeded in making the push for civil rights a national rather than sectional issue (Riches 59-63). Threats of demonstrations from the civil rights groups during the 1940s led to banning of racial discrimination in the defense forces and in the government by President Roosevelt. Similar threats prompted President Truman to end segregation in the armed forces as the Black vote started being appreciated as it helped Truman win key victories in the 1948 elections. In 1954, civil rights agitation won a Supreme Court decision to desegregate schools. One of the highlights of the civil rights movement was the Rosa Park-prompted bus boycott after she was arrested for refusing to surrender her bus seat to a White passenger. The boycott ended after the Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation in Alabama was unconstitutional. Martin Luther King, Jr. led non-violent direction action of civil rights agitation into the late fifties and early sixties. Agitation for signing of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the 1960s was perhaps the epitome of the Movement. It was accompanied by a series of high profile assassinations including a number of civil rights leaders and students, with the most notable being the assassination of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. (Griffith and Baker 221). The Civil Rights Act was signed by President Johnson and the Voting Rights Act was passed by Congress in 1965 amidst widespread and higher scale demonstrations, racial violence segregation stiffness and law enforcement violence. The fact that the Civil Rights Movement was one of the main occurrences that shaped the period between 1945 and 1968 cannot be overstated. It was accompanied by significant events that tested the strength of American nationhood and had very significant impacts on American Society. During this period, segregation was confronted in many areas of the US society, while importantly the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were passed. It set the stage for integration in the American society, and is still a relevant historical issue up to now (Newman 47-55). Liberalism in the USA: 1945-1968: Within two decades (between the 1940s and 1960s) the USA society transformed from a largely conservative one towards a liberal one, with everything seemingly being open to question particularly among the young generation. Thus, issues such as politics, manners, sexual relations, and the position of the woman in society and even the meaning of America itself were subject to scrutiny, however accompanied with counteraction which was especially strong during the 1940s (Griffith and Baker 22). Although the highlights of liberalism prevailed in the 1960s, the stage was set in the 1950s as indicated by unrest between and among the Democrats and the Republicans. The Democrats were interested in what more could be done or achieved by the USA while the Republicans were concerned with where they went wrong. It is particularly striking however, that the forces at work during the period were outside control of either party and instead were vested in other elements in the society (Cobbs-Hoffman, Gjerde and Blum 396-7). Some of the events that shaped the liberal revolution include the invention of the birth control pill by the Stanford University in 1960 which fundamentally changed behaviors of millions regardless of religion, political affiliation or economic privilege. The sexual revolution and advent of feminism were also key events during this period, with women arguing that gender differences were not based on biology and as such women and men should be treated equally before the law and in society; they should get equal education and work opportunities, gender discrimination and gender stereotypes that limit the role of women to the home should be done away with (Lorber 27-8). There rise of psychotherapy practice, Transactional Analysis, encounter groups and other such movements. Other non-traditional ideas that gained prominence during this period include physical fitness and the health food craze. Millions of Americans experimented with different lifestyle choices, questioned the ideas of monogamy, marriage, the nuclear family and heterosexuality. Divorce, premarital sex, out-of-wedlock children and homosexuality among others lost much of the stigma that had traditionally been associated with them. Cobbs-Hoffman, Gjerde and Blum (397) argue that the age of liberalism continues to provoke much debate since people are not in consensus about its legacy. While Kennedy and Johnson implemented wide reforms in line with the movement and public opinion on social welfare (Griffin and Baker 26), the Democrats still lost the elections. Besides, some of the individuals at the forefront of reforms, John and Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X were assassinated indicating how important these issues were. The move towards liberation is a defining feature of the 1945-1968 period since it was large scale, multifaceted, drastic and has influenced the self concepts of Americans ever since. CONCLUSION The consumerism-led expansion of the economy, the Civil Rights Movement and the shift towards liberalism were the most significant defining features of the Post-Second World War America. This was due to several factors including their national-wide reach appeal rather than being region/state/section-based. They also changed ways of thinking among Americans, influenced later generations and are still the subject of much inquiry even as of today, and it is thus difficult to conceptualize greater forces of change in the American society in the period under question. Works Cited Cobbs-Hoffman, Elizabeth, Gjerde, Jon and Blum, Edward J. Major Problems in American History. USA, Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Elcott, David M. Baby Boomers, Public Service and Minority Communities: A Case Study of the Jewish Community in the United States. BJPA. Web. 14 November, 2011. Griffith, Robert and Baker, Paula. Major Problems in American History since 1945 3rd Ed. USA, Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Print. Junker, Detlef and Wagner, Robert F. The United States and Germany in the Era of the Cold War, 1945-1990: 1945-1968. USA, Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print. Lorber, Judith. Gender Inequality: Feminist Theories and Politics. USA, Roxbury Publishing Company, 2005. Print. Newman, Mark. The Civil Rights Movement. GB, Edinburgh University Press, 2004. Print. Riches, William, T. The Civil Rights Movement: Struggle and Resistance. New York, Palgrave MacMillan, 2004. Print. Read More