Postwar America: The Return to

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Postwar America The Return to Normalcy

• Politics and the Rise of Suburbia

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Postwar Politicss and Partisan Turmoil Elections

• 1944 Democrats controlled Presidency and both
  houses of Congress
• 1946 In off year elections for 80th Congress,
  Republicans took control of Congress for 1st time
  since 1932 (split government)
• 1948 Truman won election in his own right.
  Democrats regained control of 81st Congress.
• 1952 Dwight Eisenhower elected President (1st
  Republican in 20 years). Republicans regained
  narrow control of 83rd Congress.

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Result of Split Government

• Shifting legislative initiatives, partisan
  rivalry and vetoes
• Points of consensus Prosecuting the Cold War
• Points of conflict Domestic agenda and
  continuation and advance of New Deal

4
The Cold War at Home

• 1947 Federal employees required to take loyalty
  oaths
• 1947 HUAC investigated Hollywood for subversion
• 1949 Federal prosecution and conviction of
  Communist Party leaders under the Smith Act
• 1949 Alger Hiss convicted of perjury
• 1950 Rosenbergs charged with spying for Soviet
  Union. Convicted and executed in 1953.
• Internal Security Act of 1950

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The Cold War Abroad

• Reinstitution of draft 1947
• Marshall Plan
• North American Treaty Organization
• National Security Act

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Republican Legislative Initiatives

• Taft Hartley Act limited the power of unions
  1947
• Tax cuts 1947
• Constitutional amendment limiting presidents to 2
  terms 1947

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Democratic Legislative Initiatives

• National Health Insurance proposed 1948
  (failed)
• National Housing Act supported urban renewal
  (1949)
• Expansion of Social Security to workers not
  previously covered
• Increase in Minimum Wage

8
Challenging Jim Crow

• Truman differentiated his administration from the
  Republicans during 80th Congress
• Truman desegregated the federal workforce (1948)
• Truman desegregated armed forces (1948)

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Beyond Partisan Politics

• Normalcy for most Americans
• Securing and keeping a good job
• Finding decent housing
• Returning to private life and leaving the great
  crises of world politics behind
• And the Question How?

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Planning the postwar future

• Where would the most promising jobs be?
• What parts of the country would prosper?
• How would people live?
• Lessons from the past

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Before the Depression

• 1880-1930 Dramatic growth of urban America.
  Economy based on manufacturing and commerce
• 1890 Closing of the frontier. Farming was no
  longer a growth industry for newcomers and young
  people migrated to cities.
• Immigrant migrations of 1880-1930 were primarily
  to urban areas
• Black migration out of South to northern cities
  began in 1910 and continued to 1930.

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If past was prologue.

• Cities would again be the place to be.
• There was pent up demand for manufactured goods
  produced by industrial centers.
• Cities had grown dramatically during war years.
• Cities were the center of culture, entertainment
  and nightlife.
• Cities had public transit systems and related
  services.

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Could the cities continue to expand?

• Problems on the horizon
• Crowded housing
• Deteriorated infrastructure and housing after 15
  years of depression and war
• Congested transportation
• Corrupt political machines

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Solutions to the Housing Shortage

• Suburbia Build new housing at the periphery of
  cities
• Suburban models in 1945
• Middle class bedroom suburb residential
  community with transportation to center city
  (auto or rail)
• Working class industrial suburb with jobs within
  walking distance or near transit

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Pre 1945 Suburban Development

• Developer acquired open land and built new
  housing
• Upon completion residents could vote to
• Annex to city to acquire public services (water,
  sewage, schools, amenities)
• Remain independent and build services
• Both models existed

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Post 1945 Suburban Development

• New model Working class or lower middle class,
  bedroom or car culture suburb
• Small houses
• Mortgages supported by the Federal Housing
  Administration or Veterans Administration
• Modest but prosperous suburbanization
• An end to the previous pattern of expanding urban
  integration.

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The Levitt House and its Occupants
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From Potato Farm to Bedroom Suburb Levittown,
New York
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Levittown after construction
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Levitt became a national leader
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Life in early Levittown
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Life in early Levittown
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The House
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Floor Plan Four rooms plus bath
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Floor Plan Four rooms plus bath
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Suburbanization in Milwaukee in 1950s

• An initial exception to national trends
• Milwaukee continued to annex adjacent land in
  1950s
• The Suburbanization of new housing and
  industrial development took place both within the
  city and in new suburbs

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Milwaukee 1945
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Milwaukee, 1950s
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Current Milwaukee Neighborhoods
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Milwaukee County and its Suburbs
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National Patterns

• End of Annexation as an urban growth strategy
• In Wisconsin, the Oak Creek Law 1956.
• Milwaukees last annexation was 1960
• Legal segregation by race, religion, national
  origin in the national housing market led to
  building of segregated cities and suburbs
• Black and white rural migration to cities
  replaced departing suburbanites

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New Migrants to Milwaukee, 1945
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Birth of the Black Community