United States History: 1877 to the Present

The United States Since World War II

USII.8

The student will demonstrate knowledge of the key domestic issues during the second half of the twentieth century by

a) examining the Civil Rights Movement and the changing role of women;
b) describing the development of new technologies and their impact on American life.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Begin the unit by asking students the following questions:
- Which industries benefited the most from new technologies?
- What impact did new technologies have on American life?
Explain that the industries benefiting from new technologies included the following:
- Airline industry -- jets
- Automobile industry and interstate highway system
- Entertainment and news media industry
- Exploration of space
- Computer industry
- Satellite system -- telecommunications (pagers, cell phones, television)
- Internet
Assign students one of the seven above industries to research the development of the new technology.
Use graphic organizers fournd at http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm (Score Graphic Organizers) or http://teacherresourcecatalog.pwnet.org/docs/Reading (Reading Strategies for Content Teachers) or http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/readquest/strat/(ReadingQuest: Reading Strategies for Comprehension) and have students organize the following background information on the seven industries that benefited from new technologies.
Have the students research the impact of new technologies on American life, including the following:
- Increased domestic and international travel for business and pleasure
- Greater access to news and other information
- Cheaper and more convenient means of communication
- Greater access to heating and air-conditioning
- Decreased regional variation, resulting from nationwide access to entertainment and information provided by national television and radio programming, Internet services, computer games
Have the students create a chart of new technologies and the industries that benefited.
Impact of new technologies on American life
Increased domestic and international travel for business and pleasure
Greater access to news and other information
Cheaper and more convenient means of communication
Greater access to heating and air-conditioning
Decreased regional variation, resulting from nationwide access to entertainment and information provided by national television and radio programming, Internet services, computer games
Explain that United States society underwent many changes as a result of WWII. Many of these changes manifested themselves in the ways individuals lived and worked. One important demographic shift was the "baby boom" of the 1950s. As young soldiers returned from war, many people felt they needed to make up for lost time. People married, hurried off to college, and started a family all at once. Many returning soldiers benefited from the G.I. Bill to help them pay for education and homes. Many families also moved from the city to the suburbs.
In order to examine these trends, have students analyze a set of graphs charting major demographic trends in the twentieth century. As students analyze the data, have them answer a series of questions, working in pairs, small groups, or as a whole class. Graphs for this session can be found in "Demographic Trends in the Twentieth Century: Census 2000 Special Reports" published by the U.S. Census Bureau and found at http://landview.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/censr-4.pdf. Print the graphs for students' use, or show the graphs in an electronic presentation. A sample selection of graphs to use are noted below with accompanying questions:
- Figure 1-2. Population Increase by Decade: 1900 to 2000, found on page 13 of document.
  - In what decade was there a decrease in the growth of the population? What accounted for this decrease?
  - In what decade was the highest percentage increase in the population? What accounted for this increase?
  - What has been the trend in population growth since the 1950s? What are some long-range societal and economic problems that might occur as a result of this trend?
- Figure 1-14. Total Population by Metropolitan Status: 1910 to 2000, found on page 32.
- Figure 1-15. Percent of Total Population Living in Metropolitan Areas in Their Central Cities and Suburbs: 1910 to 2000, found on page 33.
  - In what decade was the biggest shift from living in metropolitan areas to living in the suburbs? What accounted for this shift?
  - What is the trend in American living patterns?
  - What information is not represented by these graphs? How might this missing information increase understanding about American society during these time periods?
- Figure 2-4. Percent Distribution of the Total Population by Age: 1900 to 2000, found on page 56.
  - What happened to the age of the American population since 1950?
  - When was the largest percentage of the population under the age of 15? What explains this circumstance?
  - What accounts for the aging of the American population? What are some long-range problems associated with having an aging population?
- Figure 3-4. Percentage Races Other than White or Black by Race: 1900 to 2000, found on page 77.
  - What are the trends in the racial make-up of the American population?
  - What impact will this trend have on American society?
After students have analyzed the graphs and answered the questions, discuss their answers, and help them draw some possible conclusions regarding the data. Ask students how the data might affect future legislation concerning education, health care, affirmative action, and other social issues.
Explain to students that with increasing dependence on the automobile and the construction of the Interstate highway system, people began to move out of cities into the suburbs. Review with students the characteristics of a suburban versus an urban setting. Explain that immediately after World War II, there was a housing shortage. As a result of this shortage, construction companies attempted to find innovative ways to build suburban housing in a fast and efficient manner.

WEB SITES

http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmah/autohist.htm
History of the automobile

http://www.gbcnet.com/ushighways/history.html
History of the US highway system

http://www.wan-press.org/article.php3?id_article=2821
Brief history of newspapers

http://www.aerospaceguide.net/spacehistory/
Space history

http://www.pbs.org/nerds/timeline/micro.html
PBS history of the computer

http://www.sbca.com/mediaguide/history.htm
Satellite industry

http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml
History of the Internet

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