Crossroads: High School Curriculum
Unit XI: Leader of the Free World: 1945-1975

ROLE-PLAYING ANALYSIS-CAUSES AND IMPACTS OF THE POSTWAR ECONOMIC BOOM

Lesson 3

ROLE-PLAYING ANALYSIS

CAUSES AND IMPACTS OF THE POSTWAR ECONOMIC BOOM

PART I -- DIRECTIONS: You are President Truman's chief economic advisor. The year is 1947, and the President is concerned that, with the winding down of wartime production and spending, the American economy might slide back into depression. Your assessment predicts years of steady growth, based on long-term trends in both the American and the world political/economic situation. Make your case in a brief "position paper" that outlines your thoughts for the President. Make it brief but complete -- the President is a busy man. Be sure to consider all of the following aspects of the situation:

LONGTERM ECONOMIC TRENDS/FORCES IN U.S. ECONOMY

  1. Federal minimum-wage law.

  2. Rapid unionization of industrial work force under protection of Wagner Act.

  3. Federal GI Bill and readily-available FHA-subsidized mortgages for returning servicemen.

  4. Federal Social Security Act and federal welfare programs.

  5. Pent-up postwar demand for consumer goods.

WORLD POLITICAL/ECONOMIC SITUATION

  1. Reconstruction of Western Europe and Japan under auspices of Marshall Plan

  2. Destruction and dislocation of European industry -- particularly damaging to prewar competitors Britain, France, and Germany.

  3. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/Bretton Woods Conference -- effort, under American sponsorship, to prevent economic upheavals through tariff reduction and currency stabilization.

  4. U.S. containment policy against U.S.S.R. -- entailing remobilization of U.S. armed forces, expansion of defense budget, military and economic aid to diverse countries threatened by Communist expansion and/or subversion.

PART II -- DIRECTIONS: You are a feature writer for your local newspaper. The year is 1957, and your editor has assigned you to write a piece detailing how and why the lifestyle and economic situation of a typical local resident has changed in the past twenty years. In your article, feel free to draw on the analysis you completed for Part I. Also, explain the origins and assess the impact of the following economic and cultural developments:

  1. Levittown-style suburbs with mass-produced housing.

  2. television and mass-media marketing.

  3. the vast growth of the automobile culture and its contributions to the construction of extensive highway systems throughout the country.

  4. supermarkets, chain stores, and "shopping centers"

  5. growth of the "convenience" industry -- fast food, TV dinners, consumer labor-saving appliances.

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