All slides (1940s 1950s)

American Historical Period (1940s-1950s)

Part 1: 1940 - 1949

1940

• 1940s was dominated by World War II.• Women were needed to replace men who had gone off to war,

and so the first great exodus of women from the home to the workplace began.

• 1.5 million students are enrolled in colleges and universities in the United States.

• Franklin D. Roosevelt wins reelection to a record third term.• The National Education Association calls on educators to

contribute to the nation's defense by fostering faith in American democracy.

• American Association of University Professors establishes a Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure.

1941

• Japanese bombs Pearl Harbor December, 7th, 1941. American formal entry into World War II.

1942• The U.S. Armed Forces Institute established – located in Madison,

Wisconsin provides a variety of educational services to military and civilian personnel in the armed forces.

• The Congress of Racial Equality is founded in Chicago. With college students playing significant roles, it initiates a series of actions, including the “Freedom Riders,” of the 1960s, to test new civil rights laws in the South

1944

• The G.I. Bill (officially titled Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a bill that provided college or vocational education for returning World War II veterans.

1945

• End of World War II• Japan surrendered after two atomic bombs

were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

1946

• College enrollment exceeds two million students, nearly half of whom are veterans attending under the provisions of the GI Bill.

1947

• The Truman Commission Report lays the policy groundwork for dramatically increased participation in higher education. The most important enduring legacy of the report was the promotion of the community college system across the United States.

• The affiliation of the National Training Laboratory (NTL) to NEA, which was a sign of success of adult education. This model used teaching methods from both structured and informal education

1948

• Mohandas K. Gandhi, leader of Indian independence and proponent of craft centered education who preached and practiced nonviolence, assassinated in New Delhi, India

1949

• The National Commission on Accrediting is formed by the major college and university national associations to accredit the accrediting agencies.

American Cultural History1950-1960

The end of World War II brought thousands of young servicemen back to America to pick up their lives and start new families in new homes with new jobs. With an energy never before experienced, Americans began buying goods not available during the war, which created corporate expansion and jobs. The baby boom was underway….

Quick Facts at the beginning of the period…

Population: 151,684,000 Unemployed: 3,288,000 Life expectancy: Women 71.1,

Men 65.6 Average Salary: $2,992 Labor Force male/female: 5/2 Cost of a loaf of bread: $0.14

Reviewing the Fashion-era Timeline1950

1. War in Korea2. Confirmation of Hydrogen

Bomb Program by President Truman.

3. Credit Card system introduced in America.

4. Mass production of computers began.

5. First Organ transplant takes place

19511. Rock and Roll and color TV starts in

USA.2. The still camera is given a built in

flash.

Education Status!***As the United States entered the

1950’s, only one-third of all school districts offered adult education programs, and these were mainly in urban areas, financed most often by local district funds rather than by state funds, and limited to vocational education.

19521. New USA President Dwight

Eisenhower elected.2. Identity cards and food rationing

ended.

Education Status!*** The 1948 national extension report

called for an expanded concept of education that went beyond providing information: to help people think, to broaden subject matter, and to provide service to new audiences. Extension continued to serve its mainstream clientele, the middle-class farm community, but in the 1950’s, it also began to address social problems through rural development programs, leadership training, and county level councils.

19531. Mount Everest conquered by

Hillary and Tensing.2. DNA the secret of life discovered

by James Watson and Frances Crick

Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) established. Includes the U.S. Office of Education.

1954

3. US segregation made illegal in United States.

4. 54% of American homes had television sets.

Supreme Court, in Brown v. Board of Education, rules that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. This case preceded by cases in Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.

19551. In the USA, the Civil Rights

campaign got underway.2. Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the

Clock” rocks the world.3. 60% of Americans were in

the “middle class”, having incomes between $3000 and $10,000 per year.

1956

1. Elvis Presley became an international, world acclaimed star with Love Me Tender film.

2. IBM created the first hard disk drive.

3. Velcro fastening introduced to public.

Education Status!***King and other leaders confronted

two critical educational tasks in turning the passive masses into protestors with a strategy. 1. Understand and use nonviolence. And 2. Turn passive people into protestors. This was a call for fundamental change in how African Americans understood their relationship to white society.

19571. The Space Age becomes a

reality

2. Lasers developed.

19582. NASA founded.3. Stereo LP records first sold. 4. Experiments first began in

a desire to create the modem.

5. USA annual family income reaches $5000.00

19591. Barbie dolls invented for

children. 2. The microchip was invented,

making way for future home computers.

3. Alaska and Hawaii join the USA and become states of North America.

19601. Almost 60% of American

families owned their own homes.

2. By the end of the 1950’s most American households owned their own car and washing machine.

3. Approximately 90% of Americans owned at least one television set.

Education Status!*** During its program planning in the

spring of 1957, the [Ford] Foundation decided to allocate additional funds for a few years to its Program in Economic Development and Administration, in order to accelerate its efforts to strengthen business education in the United States and thus indirectly throughout the free world.

National Defense Education Act (NDEA), in response to Cold War and Sputnik, provides federal aid for science, math, foreign language, and guidance, and establishes forgivable loans for higher education costs for prospective elementary and secondary teachers. Reasserts emphasis on academic fundamentals.