Acts
What was the employment act of 1846?
Created a council of economic advisors to advise the president and congress on means of promoting national economic welfare
Baby boom
Cause: explosion of marriage and birth
effect: increase in population, helped expand U.S economy, focused on women’s attention to raising children
What were the causes and effects of suburban growth?
Cause: high demand for housing after the war
effect: more houses and levitttowns
What was the GI bill?
Helped WWII veterans by helping them attend colleges, receiving low interest, having government backed loans to buy homes, farms, and even start businesses!
extra: this GI bill had the effect of promoting construction and stimulating the postwar economic expansion
also had the effect of increasing the racial wealth gap as African Americans didn’t receive the same benefits
Levittown
A project of mass produced, low priced family homes on Long Island, New York made only for white families
effect: even more racial division
What is the 22nd amendment?
To limit a president to only TWO terms
result of reasoning against the election of FDR four times!
What is the Taft-Hartley act?
Outlawed closed shop (requiring workers to join unions before being hired, outlawed the practice of boycotting as a form of unions striking, gave the president power to invoke a 80 day cooling off period before a strike endangering national safety
purpose: check power of unions as they grow
long term effect: divided democrats and republicans further
Suń belt
Previously, power focused in the north east, now power in the southern states!
why? Warmer climate, lower taxes, economic opportunities
what is the fair deal?
An ambitious reform program in which Truman urged congress to enact national health insurance, federal aid to education, civil rights legislation, and funds for public housing
why did it fail?
trumans political conflicts with congress and the pressing foreign concerns of the Cold War
What is the highway act?
Allowed for 42,000 miles worth of interstate highways that linked all of the nations major cities
effect: new taxes on fuel, tires, and vehicles! Also accelerated the growth of suburbs and contributed to a more homogeneous national culture. Also widened the gap between the poor and rich
Inflation:
A huge problem because it slowed economic growth as consumers and businesses can’t afford high interest rates that came with high prices! To try and prevent this, businesses minimized prices and wages
effect: expanded the middle class, U.S challenged as country superpower
What were the frontier programs?
Called for aid to education, federal support of healthcare and civil rights
Trade expansion act
Authorized tariff reductions with the new European economic community of Western European nations
Stagflation
Economic slowdown+ high inflation
in response: nixon tried to cut federal spending but that only resulted in a recession and unemployment
after this he took the dollar off the gold standard and imposed a 90 day wage and price freeze
by 1972, the recession was over
New federalism
Revenue sharing, congress gave $30 billion in block grants to address local needs!
hoped it would check the growth of the federal government and return responsibility to the states