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Postwar America: The G.I. Bill, Baby Boom, and Social Changes

This chapter discusses the transformative years following World War II in the United States. It highlights the G.I. Bill of Rights, providing veterans with benefits like unemployment support, education funding, and housing loans. The baby boom era saw a surge in marriages and births, peaking in 1957. The Taft-Hartley Act limited union powers, while the Interstate Highway Act facilitated suburban growth. The Beat Movement rebelled against social conformity, and urban renewal projects had unintended consequences for the urban poor, ultimately leading to the controversial Termination Policy affecting Native Americans.

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Postwar America: The G.I. Bill, Baby Boom, and Social Changes

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  1. Chapter 19 Vocab Postwar Confidence and Anxiety

  2. G.I. Bill of Rights • Law enacted by the federal government granting veterans a variety of benefits including: • A year of unemployment benefits for those veterans who could not find work. • Financial aid for college/ technical training • Government loans for building homes and starting businesses.

  3. Baby Boom • Returning soldiers make up for lost time by marrying quickly and starting families. • In 1957 (the peak of the baby boom) one American baby was born every 7 seconds.

  4. Taft-Hartley Act • Outlawed the closed shop (a workplace where only union members can be hired). • Rolled back some rights that labor unions had been granted during the New Deal. • Truman vetoed the bill, but Congress overrode the veto.

  5. Interstate Highway Act • Authorized funds to build 41,000 miles of highway consisting of multilane expressways connecting the nation’s major cities. • Biggest public works expenditure in US History (bigger than any New Deal reform). • Authorized by Ike in 1953. • Allowed for suburban growth.

  6. Beat Movement (Beatniks) • Refused to conform to accepted ways of dressing, thinking, and acting. • Rebelled against materialism and conformity of American society.

  7. Urban Renewal • Aimed at stopping middle class Americans from fleeing the cities, these projects cleared tracts of older housing to build freeways and other development. • These policies backfired, driving people from their homes to make room for the developments and freeways. • The poor were forced to find housing in already overcrowded areas.

  8. Termination Policy • Changed the rules governing Native Americans. • Sought to end tribal governments and relocate Native Americans to cities. • Terminated federal responsibility for the health and welfare of Native Americans. • Proponents argued that it would force Native Americans to assimilate, but in reality, it made things worse for them.

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