Issues & Perspectives; 1945-2000

Caroline Jones

May 14, 2015

Mrs. Lawson B Block

Suburban Life

Suburbs are looked at with nostalgia by most, reflecting on their childhoods and all the safety and love they felt from their neighbors. The perfect family living in the cookie cutter home is the general stereotype of life in suburbs. Being extremely common in the United States, I have never even questioned how suburbs came to be or how they impacted this country. I focused my researched mainly around a suburb named Levittown, because it best represented American suburbs evolving from 1945 to current suburbs. I had a difficult time finding information on suburbs other than Levittown, because it was the most popular, and had the largest impact during its growth. Growing to popularity due to several historical events, suburbs transformed the era culturally and technologically while innovating the living conditions in the 50’s.

At request of the federal government, Abraham Levitt and his two sons, Alfred and William, built Levittown as housing for returning military personnel. The postwar American industry was a well oiled machine and had mastered the techniques of mass production. The Levitt’s applied this technique to the construction of homes in a twenty seven step process, and within one year their team was building thirty six homes a day. Similar to now a day’s suburbs, every home in Levittown shared a similar layout, giving residents a feeling of stability. The GI Bill of 1944 provided veterans with college tuition and home mortgage subsidies, which gave the returning veterans a subtle transition to their new peaceful life. Designed around the idea of a protected community, it wasn’t long until Levittown was inhabited by more than just veterans.

American’s fled to Levittown due to post war and post depression. The advertisement of this Nassau County suburb emphasized the beautiful grass and open spaces. Providing safety, larger homes, an escape from city life, and affordable housing, everyone wanted to live there. The baby boom also played a large role into the growth of suburbs. With easy access to loans, affording houses in the suburbs increased opportunities for lots of Americans. Having two bedrooms, one bath, and a kitchen near the back of the home so the mother could keep an eye on the children playing, was the perfect layout for young American families. Racial fears were quite common in this time, and encouraged families to move away from the problems they encountered in the city.

Levittown was the perfect example of a suburbia, or as defined by Kenneth Jackson in Crabgrass Frontier: “Suburbia...is a manifestation of such fundamental characteristics of American society as conspicuous consumption, a reliance upon the private automobile, upward mobility, the separation of family nuclear units, the widening division between work and leisure, and the tendency toward racial and economic exclusiveness.” It was a symbol of can-do for some American’s, and for others it was seen as conformity and exclusion. Life in suburbia is not very different than life today in some suburbs. Just like we might borrow our neighbor's honey, they would carpool, babysit, and even help out if a neighbor was having a hard time paying bills. This community didn’t come without a laundry-list of rules that was required to be followed by every citizen.

From the layout of the streets to the looks of the homeowners, suburbs followed a picture perfect blueprint. The roads were designed to redirect traffic to the outside of the community to keep the noise level down. A mutual high expectation of home maintenance was felt among all neighbors living in the suburbs, because no one wanted to be the one neighbor with brown grass. This is now referred to as “keeping up with the Joneses”. The residents were almost as homogeneous as the homes in certain suburbs, such as Levittown. Many Americans did not like suburbs due to the racial exclusion. Some of the first residents of Levittown moved there due to their racial fears, because the homes were almost never sold to anyone but white buyers. Levitt defended his discrimination by believing it was the social customs of the time, "As a company our position is simply this: 'We can solve a housing problem, or we can try to solve a racial problem. But we cannot combine the two.’” Even when nonwhites were able to purchase homes in suburbs, they were faced with problems, due to not being tolerated. It’s obvious why city people would break away from their beloved apartments for a home on their own green grass.

Even though the requirements that residents must follow in the suburbs seem unnecessary, the urban lifestyle is an example of life without it. There’s not a happy medium when it comes to wealth in the city, either extremely wealthy upper class or less than lower class. The poverty in the cities created crime, the overcrowding created widespread of diseases, and hope of becoming rich created gambling problems. These problems are inevitable in the city, but the rules in the suburban community restricted them from happening. The glamorous life existed in the city, but there was no more penthouses than there were slums. The majority of city dwellers chose having to commute to work rather than a “glamorous” city life.

The growth of suburbs affected the country as a whole, and by 1960 one third of the country lived in suburbs. It came at the perfect time in history, following the Great Depression, war, and the baby boom, which allowed citizens to find a place of peace and tranquility. It caused a dramatic change in relationships, such as friendly neighbors, and a life unattainable in the city. Automobiles were popular before suburbs, but with suburbs becoming so common, it was the first time that they were seen as a necessity. I am glad I chose this topic, because suburbs are a concept everyone knows about, but I previously knew nothing about how they affected the country for the better. Even though the growth of suburbs had it’s ups and downs, it’s transformation into a new sense of life that revolved around family values, makes its growth one of the most significant in American history.

Suburbia in the 1950's

Newspaper article about Levittown

Construction of Levittown 

An aerial view of suburbs in 1950

Suburban life in the 1950's

Annotated Bibliography:

US History Scene This site had tons of information on Levittown and explained all the ups and downs the community encountered. It also included useful quotes that helped me to understand what suburbia truly is, and the both the good and bad opinions that Americans had about suburbs.

US History This article taught me the reasons people moved to suburbs, such as racial fears, affordable housing, and the desire to leave decaying cities. It included the details of the homes and the reasoning behind the blue print.

University of Washington This site told me that economic and technical transformations are not the only reason people were eager to move. The impact the war and the Great Depression had on America as a whole, made suburban homes a wish of the majority of the country.

University of Maryland  This website told me about a new fact that played a large role into desire to live in suburbia: automobiles. It also explained the impact the G.I. Bill played for veterans. This site is manly about the veterans living in suburbia.

Boundless: The Growth of Suburbs  This online textbook continued to explain the details of why American's wanted to move to a suburbia. It also provided information on life in the city, and the reasoning behind they wanted to move.

Postwar America This online book taught me the process the Levittown home builders took in building homes extremely fast. It also included Levitt's reasoning for why he wanted the neighborhood to be mainly white.

US History: The Underside of Urban Life This article told me about urban living and the difficulties the citizens went through. It gave me a clearer understanding of why one would want to live in the suburbs if they were living in the city.

History Net I learned a lot about Levittown from this site. It talks about the good and bad of suburbs in this time period, and how life was for the citizens living in an American suburb.

Guardian This site taught me about suburb life and values as well as speaking a little about urban life and values. I noticed the similarities between current suburbia and the beginning of suburban living while reading this article. 

Status Report

While researching suburbs and how they came to be so popular, I am learning how large of a role historical forces played into the growth and development. American's were not solely moving to suburbs for the economic and technological transformations, but also to find stability and protection after WWII. The war played a large role in mass production of materials, giving workers the capability to build homes cheaply and quickly. I am having a difficult time researching the way suburban life and values differ from urban life and values. I plan to find sources that explain the difference well, so I can fully understand my topic.

Cinderella Man

Caroline Jones
Agree with Prompt 1

The Man
The Great Depression

            Movies are an innovate technique to learn about history, because they are interesting and thought-provoking.  After watching Cinderella Man, I strongly agree with this statement: “A person can learn quite a bit about life in America during the Great Depression just from watching the film, Cinderella Man”. By watching Jim Braddock experience unemployment, applying for relief money, and a rare second chance, I feel as if I fully understand living in the 1930’s, during the Great Depression.

            During the Great Depression, 15 million Americans were unemployed and almost half of the countries banks had failed. At the beginning of the movie, Jim Braddock, a professional boxer, was shown living in a nice home and making cash from fights. Mae Braddock, Jim’s wife, is shown in colorful clothing, makeup, and a perfect bob haircut. As the Great Depression starts to affect the Braddock family, Mae’s clothes become dull and their beautiful home is downsized to an apartment.  Once Jim’s hand is broken and he has a bad fight, they provoke his boxing license.

            American’s became extremely desperate during this time, and whether a hard or lazy worker, a job was hard to find. The movie fully projects this theme when Jim goes to the docks every morning with hopes of being picked. There was a random selection of around 9 men every day to unload ships that arrived at the dock, so every morning dozens of men would crowd around the gate hoping to be picked. It became hard for Braddock to support his wife and three children with only 2 days of a work a week, if he was lucky. This was historically accurate with the times.

Once the electricity was cut off and the milkman stopped delivering, Braddock feared for his family’s lives. Braddock was not a man of taking what wasn’t his, so when he appeared at Madison Square Gardens asking Joe Gould to help him, Gould gave Jim thirty-five dollars knowing it was life or death. In the movie as well as real life, the money was used to pay the milkman, utility company, and rent, which left Braddock broke only a couple days after. He promised his children that he would never send them away, and without asking him, Mae sent the children to live with realities. Jim swallowed his pride, and applied for relief money, something Jim, as well as many Americans, believed they would never do. The majority of American’s were desperate and also applied for help; it was their last resort.  Due to a cancelation in 1934, Jim Braddock had the opportunity to fight John Griffin. Braddock knew this fight was the one thing that could save this family, and he fought whole-heartedly. Braddock fought hungry, giving him even less of a chance to win, but it was a third round knockout that sent Braddock home with the winning cash.

            Second chances during the Great Depression were few and far. Jim fought for the children and for Mae, and if it hadn’t have been for Jim’s hardships, the fight most likely wouldn’t have been his.  Jim Braddock stated: “So they matched Lasky and I, there was no talk about the heavyweight championship fight because they figured Lasky’d lick me. When I beat him I hit him with everything, I mean, wherever his kisser was. I had to punch there, a left hook, a right cross, it was one of them nights.” Jim Braddock was a man of courage and determination, and did everything in his power to change his family’s living conditions. Even though most didn’t get the chances Jim did, the movie shows how hard the depression affected everyone, and if given an unlikely second chance, that they would fight for it with all they had.

Standing in line for relief money.

Baer vs. Braddock June 13, 1935

Civil Rights Institute Fieldtrip

Our visit to the 16th Street Baptist Church was interesting and valuable. I heard about the events from the perspective of someone living in Birmingham during the Civil Rights movement, which is something not many get to do. We had previously watched a video featuring similar first hand stories, but actually being in the church was so cool. It is an important landmark around the entire country. The museum had real artifacts, such as a burnt KKK cross and the real armor cop car. Being able to physically see these artifacts, instead of just pictures of them, only made me want to learn more.

This field trip was extremely valuable, because everyone was interested in what was being told. If an event is important enough to make history, it must be fascinating, but reading the facts out of a textbook take away from it's significance. We may learn the facts and be able to remember them after reading the textbook, but it rarely makes people want to learn more. By enjoying ourselves and feeling as if we were there, gives it the chance of leaving a lasting impression and I believe that's the importance in education.

16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama

Questions about World War I.

1. World War I began on July 28, 1914. The war began when archduke of Austria-Hungary was assassinated. Two months after the assassination, the Central Powers were at war with the Allied Powers. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria made up the Central Powers. The Allied Powers included Britain, France, Russia, Italy and the United States.

2. The United States entered the war on April 6, 1917 due to Germany and Britain. Germany and Great Britain were threatening to sink our ships, and sunk three more ships, President Woodrow Wilson knew he was responsible for the safety of our country, so war was declared.

3. The Central Allies were falling apart when compared to the Allied Powers, and were not strong enough to fight the United States joined with the Allied Powers. The war ended November 11, 1918. 

4. The United States did not ratify the peace treaty, because they did not want involvement with the League of Nations, which would lead the U.S. to overseas problems and possibly overseas wars. All of the countries had agreed to stop fighting while the terms of peace were negotiated. 

5. I would like to know what the United States might do differently if given the opportunity to go back in time? Was there a mistake that the US regrets making during this war? 

The Influenza Pandemic of 1918

            When the year of 1918 is mentioned, most Americans think of World War I, when in reality, the Spanish Influenza was the true serial killer. It attacked 1/5 of the world’s population, and killed more people than the Great War. This deadly virus infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide. It was affecting the world as a whole, even those not infected. The Influenza Pandemic of 1918, which came in three waves, is responsible for 50 to 100 million lives.

            No one was prepared for an event of this magnitude to happen. Panic and loss of hope spread over the United States. On September 27, 1918 the influenza became a reportable disease, but at this point most states were unable to hold accurate records of patients, due to the vast numbers of sicken people. Since the pandemic followed immediately after World War I, the entire country was constrained from supplies and trained medical personnel. The War did provide nationalism, which was greatly needed to overcome this worldwide killer. Public Health services were asked by local officials to supply nurses and doctors.  The medical personnel that were sent often became ill before reaching their destination, and the slim number who did not become ill, were unprepared and under trained.

            The general public criticized the public health officials for their inability to unravel pathology of this outbreak. By the time the third wave of the influenza had hit the United States, they knew preventative measures needed to be taken immediately. The American Public Health Association issued policies to protect the citizens from this disease. They began putting people in quarantines as an act to contain the flu, but this required the individual to sacrifice their liberty for the good of others. Public gatherings soon became closed, such as schools, funerals, and town halls. This ban proved to being successful, because the cities that obeyed had more surviving citizens than those who did not follow social distancing laws. The public officials enforced the wearing of gauze masks, because most physicians and scientists believed the influenza was a bacteria instead of a virus, so the masks were actually ineffective. Laws were passed as well, such as a ban on spitting. Due to the strain on facilities, only the severe cases of the influenza would become hospitalized. The mild cases of the flu were asked to remain home.

            The Public Health Department’s goal was to educate the citizens on hygiene. They believe that if the general public is aware of the risks coughing, sneezing, and carless tissue disposal has on spreading the virus, then the pandemic would slowly cease. Flu posters were created and filled the streets with facts about the virus and played a large role in persuading the citizens to be cautious. Congress funded the Public Health Department with one million dollars to hire new doctors, but this made no positive impact. The newly hired medical personnel would generally catch the Spanish influenza within days of hire, similar to the nurses sent to states. This pandemic practically shut down the entire nation. Schools, businesses, telegraph and telephones services all collapsed due to the students and workers becoming ill. The streets piled high with trash, because the sanitation engineers were home sick. The mail service slowly came to a stop, due to ill workers. State and local departments of health suffered just as highly as the rest of the nation, suffering high absentee numbers.

This fatal virus was spread around the world in only two months due to the infected soldiers traveling to Asia, Africa, South America, and then returning to North America. The American military suffered greatly from the influenza. The war itself was already causing causalities, but this virus was infecting the soldiers that were not on the front line. The influenza discriminated against no one, traveling from base to base with the soldiers. The generals collaborated among each other in order to come up with the best-suited policies to halt the flu from spreading even further. By collaborating among each other and making hypotheses, the war generals became one step closer to eliminating the spread, even though there were limited options. At this point of the pandemic, all policies were based off what seemed most logical. The Spanish influenza was unprecedented in its strength by other pandemics. Trained medical personnel were sent to American training camps in Europe to assistance the soldiers. According to the American military, 26% of the army was sickened by the influenza. The army soon became the major factor of the Influenza pandemic.

Communication played a large role in the pandemic. At a time without social media, many people were completely left out from even knowing the virus existed. The most convenient way to communicate during this time period was to write letters, but that was before the mail service was on hold. A doctor living at a military base near Boston wrote to his friend upon his daily life with such detail that a reader could truly understand the reasoning behind worldwide panic.  With the spread of the virus occurring so rapidly, little work could carry on. Communicating to the Public Health Department provided these war camps with over 250 trained medical personnel when generally there was around 25 trained personnel in the medical field working to heal the soldiers.

            The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 was a shock to the universe, and also a polar opposite of your seasonal flu. Not to say this pandemic was positive in any way, but the nation came together in a way never seen before. The United States was forced to be innovative and collaborate in order to cease the pandemic, and they preformed the tasks well. It is proven that in times of devastation, countries come together and appreciate life from an entire new perspective.

Newspaper article warning citizens of the death tole from influenza

Ambulance in St. Louis during the influenza epidemic 

Mail man wearing a mask for protection against the flu

Influenza victims in 1918

Army affected by influenza in summer of 1918

Works Cited

United States Department of Health and Human Services 

I used this source to educate myself on the influenza pandemic of 1918. I found this source to be the most useful of all. It provides information from when the pandemic first strikes to the legacy of the pandemic. It has a section called "Life in 1918" that really helped me to grabs a better understanding of the struggles.

The Best Films Archive: Documentary on the Spanish Flu Pandemic in the United States

This source was a great resource for primary sources and hearing the first hand stories of the pandemic was interesting. The video features individuals from all over the country telling their stories of life during the influenza epidemic and how they dealt with the obstacles.

PBS: A Letter From Camp Devins, MA

This letter provided great knowledge about the impact the influenza pandemic had on the American Military. The author is a doctor at a base near Boston, and he writes to his friend about the adversity he is trying to overcome. It provides clear details, and draws a horrific image of what the soldiers were going through.

Stanford: The Public Health Response

I used this source to learn about the changes people were taking to avoid the flu. It discussed the authoritative and preventative measures they were following.

Harvard: Spanish Influenza in North America

I used this source to learn about extreme measures the citizens were taking in order to contain the virus, and how it continued to spread anyways. It taught me how powerful the virus truly was and how frustrating it must have been. The trauma was not only occurring in the United States, but the whole world.

Public Health Reports

This source provided the most factual information about being apart of the Navy or Army during the influenza pandemic. I learned the different waves the flu occurred and mainly focused on the influenza in crowded areas.

Textbook

This source only provided a single sentence on the influenza, but it is a reliable source. It gave me a good idea that I needed to find other sources, due to the lack of information.